Duckiputz´ account of the World at large

3G instead of just wifi

2010-09-03T18:05:00.002+02:00

I have finally succumbed and got a 3G iPad,replacing my wifi-only model.

I stuck to 16gb, though, I haven't come close to using that much space, so no need to burn cash.

—-- this article posted from iTowel, my Apple iPad, using Blogpress.

Know where your iTowel is (II)

2010-06-26T13:52:00.001+02:00

And here is a suitable backdrop...

—-- this article posted from iTowel, my Apple iPad.

Know where your iTowel is

2010-06-26T13:45:00.005+02:00

So, I have finally succumbed and got myself an iPad. Since I have wifi basically everywhere both at home and at work, I figured a wifi iPad should be enough, and 16 GB should be ample. I use the iPod Touch for media like music, whereas I will be trying to make the iPad more of a personal information manager and GTD Device.

I shall keep you guys posted on progress.

—-- this article posted from iTowel, my Apple iPad.

Battery tool for MacBooks

2010-05-06T18:43:00.003+02:00

Well, folks,

I bought an Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch, the old model with a Core2 Duo, of the second unibody generation with the non-user serviceable battery. It was a demonstration model at the dealer, and with the sales assistant unsure as to how long it had been there, I wanted to check if the battery was healthy. I still got a little discount, but I needed to check that battery´s history , quickly.

Here´s a tools that did just that: coconutbattery

Oh, and the MBP is gorgeous :D

Just Testing

2010-03-15T20:56:00.002+01:00

... Blogging from my ipod Touch!

The virtual keyboard, as always, was a bit of a bother.

The ails of a friend ...

2009-09-26T14:45:00.006+02:00

are being felt by their friends, too.

I have been raised in what used to be the "western" Federal Republic of Germany, and there never was any doubt for me that the United States of America were our natural ally, and the locals´ relationship I´ve experienced with American citizens, servicemen, associates or others was better than friendly. And I´ve spent my formative years in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz (Eng. Rhenania-Palatinate), formerly nicknamed "Nato´s biggest aircraft carrier", so there was much familiarity either way. There were attacks (and only singular events) on service men, perpetrated by the extremist and thoroughly isolated "Red Army Faction", but they mostly attacked the German state, killing politicians, Federal Judges, the police etc.

Americans are my best buddies.

Overall, I expect most of my countrymen, or at least most of those that were fortunate to grow up on this side of the Iron Curtain, would still consider the citizens of the USofA their allies and friends. Even when old Rummy complained that we "Old Europeans" would not join the Iraq quagmire willy-nilly.

And that´s where the hurt comes in. When you always had a high opinion of the USA as THE modern republic, what happens right now is a hurtful experience. I´ll give you a very mild example:

(directly linked from daybydaycartoon.com . Do visits Chris´ site by all means, it´s a great web comic, despite the spin. Chris, if there is anything wrong with the link, pls notify, I know you´ve visited us here.)

I can only answer this in pure GI lingo: WTFO?

Folks, comparing the circumstances of the election leading to G.W.Bush´s 2nd term, I don´t think any reasonable persons can have any doubt that Barack H. Obama is the rightfully elected President.

DEAL WITH IT. GET WITH THE PROGRAM.
STOP FOAMING AT THE MOUTH.
BE REASONABLE AND ABOVE ALL, RATIONAL.
BE THANKFUL THAT CORRUPT BUNCH THAT GAVE AWAY REPUBLICAN AND ALL-AMERICAN VALUES TO THE LOWEST BIDDER IS REMOVED.
REMEMBER YOUR HISTORY.

Hell´s bells, if this sh** carries on the only thing you can wish for is Old Zachary Taylor to come back from the grave and getting to work on all those Birthers, Medicaid-bashers and "Hussein Osama"-baiters that desecrate your country´s flag and heritage.

Germany was once a country that was torn in strife like the USA is now. What came of it? That little Austrian Charlie Chaplin lookalike that ruined most of the world in his short career. You know, the same guy Obama is being pictured as or with:

Suckers, you have no idea what you´re talking about.

Thank you for listening. Excuse a concerned friends open words, if you please. I sincerely hope you lot pull through that crisis in your democracy.

Nuff ´sed

2009-07-29T13:00:00.002+02:00

July 4th redux

2009-07-08T18:27:00.003+02:00

netbooked

2009-05-10T17:33:00.003+02:00

Finally succumbed and got myself a mobile internet device. Initially, I wanted an iPhone (and somehow, I still do). Considering my requirements and my experience with Iphones, however, I looked for alternatives.

I am not saying the iPhone is a bad thing. Not at all. I just wanted a more powerful solution, that was still portable. And my fingers are just wrong for the iPhone´s screen keyboards, I´m afraid. It would also have been hideously expensive, as I would have had to buy one WITHOUT a data plan. Got two of these things already. Do not really need another, do I?

Now, my favourite solution would have been a Mac OS X netbook. Unfortunately, the smallest Macbook is still 13.3 inches. Are you listening, Steve? AND WHILE YOU`RE AT IT: BRING BACK THE NEWTON. Honestly, a pen driven netbook with OS X the size of my venerable MessagePad 2100 and an up-to-date technolgy platform underneath would be THE SHIT. And I know you guys could do that right sodding now.

So, while I am waiting for those fine folks at Apple to deliver... I needed an alternative:

portable (netbook size)
enough processing power and storage to run a decent OS
keyboard suitable for actual use

I came up with the Samsung NC10, the keyboard and the accumulator capacity calling the shots. One Annoyance (with capital A): it came with Windows. It also does have an 802.11g Wifi, not draft-n. I will live. Did not get the one with an UMTS modem, as I wasn´t convinced it would work with other OSs than Windows.

Windows XP lasted for about five minutes, as I prepared for a hacked Mac OS X install. Seems that this is, at least not yet, a feasible solution, too little of hardware is being supported at present, and I didn´t want to start with massive hardware mods right away (like changing the WiFi i/f).

So, next stop: Linux. Turns out that a regular Ubuntu 09.04 desktop edition will do the trick nicely. I did not even go for the netbook remix. All hardware, power modes etc. supported.

Hooking it up to my UMTS phone and using it as an internet dialup was a matter of minutes. Moved to an USB stick in the meantime... more UMTS features.

I will watch the developments to adopt Mac OS X keenly though.

Leap to Leopard

2009-03-30T01:26:00.003+02:00

Well, Saturday afternoon brought... more work. So much for me going to the shooting range :(

But at least there was one pleasant duty: My Leopard DVD arrived. My trusty iMac still ran on Tiger 10.4.11 , and I will be getting the latest one pretty soon, so, I figured, stuff like time machine would be nice, and having a working boot camp assistant for my GameOS (Windows XP) might also be a good thing.

So I backed up the home dir once more, did the upgrade, solved a little mail problem (easily solved with the help of two Google searches, always a good thing to wait a little before jumping on some newish shiny O/S... let some other guys blunt their teeth first) , set up time machine and let it do it´s first backup to an USB disk I had prepared. In the meantime, disk indexing happened, and although the machine was still working happily and responsive, I decided to do my shopping. And I returned to a fully working machine. No problem with any app. All critical settings working.

So, when my new 24" behemoth will arrive sometime next week, I´ll have a time machine backup ready to migrate from. And it will likely be as painless as this afternoon.

And people ask me why I eschew any Windows for my Macs .... Well, folks, I remember my Windows version changes with the time they cost me and the gnashing of teeth that came with it. I´ll be damned if I go back to that.

got VDSL? Good and bad...

2009-03-18T11:04:00.002+01:00

Bad: two days off-line
(UMTS is just slooooow)

Good: bandwidth
25/5

Meine DSL - Geschwindigkeit beträgt

Download: 22.562 kbps
Upload: 3.980 kbps

Wie schnell ist dein Internet?
Mache jetzt den Test:
DSL Speed

A lively flock I

2009-02-26T16:34:00.003+01:00

Just some of my Pelikans.

From left to right
120 (manufactured by Merz&Krell)
140
400
M250 pre ´97 green/black
the same in blue/black
M200 blue/black
same in red/black
M200 Demonstrator blue/green/red
M215 rings
M215 "lozenge" ("Rhombe")

below, from left
P1
M400 old style

More new (really new) pens

2009-01-29T20:02:00.003+01:00

Just arrived: to complete my series of Pelikan 215s, one with the rhodium squares pattern, and an M400 in tortoiseschell/white, both with a fine nib:

More old new pens

2009-01-23T16:53:00.003+01:00

From bottom to top:
Pelikan 120*
Pelikan P1
Lamy 27
Lamy 57*

(* from RossPens, thoroughly recommended)

Finally, Mr Lincoln had won.

2008-11-06T04:19:00.009+01:00

from here.

from here.

Got an old pen...

2008-09-17T16:19:00.004+02:00

well, aktually, I got a new pen, but: it´s a pen, that, in this shape, has been manufactured since 1966.

photo linked from LAMY web site.

It is a Lamy 2000. Like all Lamy pens, it is pure utilitarism, the barrel and cap made from a fiberglass enforced plastic, the then newly developed Macrolon, a piston filler mechanism and a mostly covered point. The finish is said to be awfully resilient, let us see how well it ages in daily use.

The only logo is the company name on the side of the clip hinge, in simple capital letters, and the point looks like a simple steel point. It is, in fact, a gold point plated with platinum. Utter and complete understatement. But then, that´s how I like my pens, the only departure from that principle being my opulently coloured Souverän Grand Place in my favourite 600 barrel size. Please stay tuned, I need a good enough macro lens to make a photo worthy of that one.

My Lamy2000 has an M(medium) nib, and is one of the smoothest-writing nibs I´ve ever had. Not much flex, which is a subjective difference from all my Pelikans, but nice nonetheless. The Pen is quite light, has a nice barrel diameter, and is long enough not to require posting the cap.

Filled with Pelikan "Brilliant Black", it produces a line similar to hat of a fibre-tip pen, with no noticeable feathering even on modo-e-modo faux Moleskine paper. I might go for another one with a fine nib, just so I´ve got a spare and an option for really fine writing like in the Moleskine reporter.

I´ll link some reviews of this classic and timeless pen later.

Time off?

2008-07-29T13:58:00.003+02:00

Hey, I´ve taken a whole week off work. Weather is nice and sunny, although climate change brings a heavy gush of rain on and off.

I wrote, I took time off, but that´s not really true... so much to be done. Visit to doctors, to the vet, setting up the new web site for our gun club (now 426 years old!), tinkering with computers, and improving my BF2 skill.

Well, I will try to make the most of it.

Have a nice day!

Top Ten Firefox Keyboard Shortcuts | The Apple Blog

2008-07-22T00:00:00.000+02:00

This is one for us Firefox users. I like the shortcut to re-open a tab closed accidentally best, personally.

Top Ten Firefox Keyboard Shortcuts | The Apple Blog

virtual gunsmoke

2008-06-27T05:31:00.005+02:00

Gunsmoke

2008-03-11T00:22:00.002+01:00

Well, a couple of the guys from the local Association (I´d link a webpage here but unfortunately our old web master literally took it with him when he left us, so you´ll have to wait until yours truly has time to set something new up) went to take our chance to try a new variation of our sport: multi-distance and metal targets. So, off we went to Grünstadt on last Saturday.

Well, it was all a lot of fun and would have been even better, if my handgun had not decided to have a jam or two. Unfortunately, I had sent my trusty 1911 off for a clean and overhaul... and got it back with half an extractor, so I had to fit the 9mm barrel instead. I had used that a couple of times already on our range but for the metal targets I had bought cartrdges with a heavier bullet (124 as opposed to 115 grs). The Ol´11 , already pining for its .45 barrel, did not like them a bit.

So I quit the first round, and borrowed a friend´s Para Ordnance for the metal shoot-off. Well, at least hat went quite well.

And to help matters, I got myself a Bianchi holster and a replacement extractor. I´ll fit that tomorrow, and I am finally back in the game. Picked up a couple of ex US Army mags, too. My replacement mag by Mecgear will not let the slide catch do its job, so that goes back to the store, and I´ve got three mags now.

Stay tuned, next Saturday coming up.

Kitties gu leoir!

2008-02-14T23:16:00.007+01:00

I´ve been meaning to upload these, and I finally found a quiet minute. These are Maunz (black-white) and Red Bull (red-white).

Red Bull (And aptly named he is, for he can be a bugger for keeping you up at night if he feels so inclined) got his name from the neighbours, who took him and his brother in after someone got rid of them in summer, two years ago. I kept seeing them and occasionally fed them. Together, however, they started to fight, and in September last year, after not having seen him for a week, Bully, as he is known for short, turned up with a severe wound on his right front paw. Since he was not the neighbours cat (or so they felt), I caught him, took him to the vet and saw him through recovery (the whole paw was bloody and heavily inflamed), and after that, he stayed home with the rest of the pack, to avoid a recurrence of this kind of trouble. He still likes to sneak out, but overall, he´s happy and well cared for at home.

And so we have got a new napping and playing partner for Maunz, filling in for Müffel and Marvin the previous incumbents of that position.

Hey, wake up! I think we´re being watched.

Aww, whatever!

Firefox for Web development

2008-01-07T22:43:00.000+01:00

I´ll have to redesign our Gun Club Web site some time soon, so for me and all of xou in a similar plight, help youself:

Why Firefox Is a Web Designer's Best Friend

Mondays always suck

2007-11-26T16:45:00.000+01:00

from http://www.savagechickens.com/blog/2007/11/monday.html

blog recommendation: OS X : Command Line Warriors

2007-11-07T22:33:00.001+01:00

OS X : Command Line Warriors

This is quite a nice blog, with interesting reasoning about Linux, OS X and M$. Some will be advocacy, but most is quite ineresting.

Are you artistic or logic - Maybe both... : All My Faves | Blog

2007-09-13T15:47:00.000+02:00

Just stumbled upon this on. Now, do you consider yourself an extremely logical person? Do you have pointed ears and say "fascinating" a lot?

Or are you a hip, artist, creative-type of guy (or gal)?

Find out:

Are you artistic or logic

Google Earth’s Hidden Surprise: A Flight Simulator

2007-09-03T19:14:00.000+02:00

I haven´t seen it myself yet, but it certaninly will be the first thing to check on the ol´ iMac when I get home tonight... it seems, Google Earth contains the chance to take to the skies, in a comfy four-seater or in an F16. Join me in clicking on the heading above to find out ;)

Hang on, Vista is no more painful than XP...

2007-08-23T22:38:00.000+02:00

... or is it?

(original comic from http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comics/20070331.jpg)

Bring back the NeXT feeling

2007-08-22T22:57:00.000+02:00

When I first saw a NeXT Computer (although it was the same package, it was not originally called "cube") I was fascinated with the cleanliness and the power of both the OS and the development package. I was a student at that time and couldn´t think of buying one of those sleek machines at that time. When I had rejoined work life in 1993, NeXT Hardware was on the way out, but NeXTSTEP for Intel Processors (NSfIP) appeared as an implementation of NS 3.1. I immediately spent some money on that package, with an erly adopters package, and on a PC to match the hardware compatibility list. I was hooked for a time, but work soon took over much of my time and I didn´t stick to it.

Later, I picked up a NeXTstation Colour, and that adorned my desk as an everyday work machine for quite some time, until the monitor broke. Even later, I picked up a couple of PA-RISC boxes, 712s and 715, and more followed, and NS for PA-RISC. I still have a 715/100 next to my desk in the home office.

And finally I got an iMac... it´s not exactly the same thing, but OS X retains enough of that luster and sheer satisfaction I had experienced with NeXTStep.

For some time there has been a free implementation of OpenStep, GNUSTEP, which I always wanted to try out. I just stumbled on the page below, looking for a build to match my distro, SuSE (back from debian).

Well, now to find some time. Vacation coming up in a month.

GNUstep Binary Packages for SUSE Linux

Linux Weather Forecast - The Linux Foundation

2007-08-22T22:04:00.000+02:00

For thos of us who, like me, are no longer intensely involved in Linux development, but want to keep track of the latest trends and features in kernel development. I must say I like the mode of presentation.

Linux Weather Forecast - The Linux Foundation

Mac and Blackberry

2007-08-06T22:54:00.000+02:00

For all those out there like me, who use a Mac and a Blackberry, here is good news: PocketMac for Blackberry is now available free as a download for BB users. Just follow the link in the headline.

Reference for EVERY Character Key on a Mac

2007-08-06T20:46:00.000+02:00

Adoring your Mac but stuck with some Windows Apps and VM-ing or dual-booting to run Windows? Still confused with key combinations in the Mac World? (I am!)

Here´s help. Click on the heading for the link.

Useful for the Mac

2007-07-23T15:22:00.000+02:00

To give at least a little back to the on-line community, that helped me to set my iMAC up without any proprietary software at all, I will post some of the quality web sites that I found helpful. Just watch out for this category: "fruitful links"

Freeware OS X - Freeware software for Apple Macs | OSX |

Spammers

2007-07-09T19:50:00.000+02:00

Microsoft is the new SCO

2007-06-04T19:00:00.000+02:00

Well, we all read it, Micro$oft (or should I write Micro§oft) has accused the linux community (hey, that´s possibly you and certainly me as well) of a three digit figure of patent violations.

So far, so bad.

The questions remains, what is Bill and Screamin Steve up to? Are they bent on becoming the next AT&T or SCO?

Here is an article I would like to suggest to you:
http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2007-05-25-018-26-OP-SW-LL

Death to the RIAA, Joy to the rest of us

2007-05-02T13:13:00.000+02:00

If I had the time, I would give you a half-day rant regarding that ol´ topic, but I´d rather have this fabulous comic do the work for me ;)

I Can't Stop Thinking! #6

How to go about blogging

2007-04-27T16:18:00.000+02:00

You´ll all have noticed that I simply find too little time to provide a stream of content. Perhaps I should have my blogging done for me? And then, perhaps not:

An Apple a day ...

2007-04-11T20:43:00.000+02:00

... keeps Windows away. So they say. I ordered a 20" iMac (2.16 GHz, 256 MB graphics) last week-end, and with any luck it will be here by Friday.

With the Apple II (europlus and IIe) being the first desktop computers I´ve used, and with the amazing design and hardware facts, this was just the thing to blow this years bonus payment on. Well, that, and that now, with OSX my trusty HP715/100 under NeXTStep gets a worthy successor/neighbour.

I will not be Windows-free, however... I need it for the games. Which about sets things right, I can just about stomach it as the game console OS.

For the multiple-OS approach here´s a link (in German). The Mac will not boot a regular CD. Why? It´s got no old-style BIOS anymore, but a more recent and powerfull boot loader, and Apple BootCamp is the way around this. From what I´ve read the solution is elegant.

I´ll keep you posted.

Dirk Olbertz » Erste Schritte mit BootCamp auf dem iMac : The Blog that never sleeps

Back from vacation

2007-03-19T19:14:00.000+01:00

Well, what´s there to say, it was a two-week vacation, basically, if you don´t subtract the time I spent working. Apart from that I got a few things done but only half of what I really wanted to to. The second week was nice until Tuesday when I began to develop toothache and ended up with a root canal on a molar, which was simply the most painful experience I have had so far. Not that it was my first ever root canal, but this one was by far the worst, the ones before were plain sailing. Perhaps a patient on national health gets less narcotic?

So I am back in the harness, and the first day basically was all lost to cathing up with stuff and sorting out a schedule for this week. Ten more working days until the new job at another department, where I´ll be doing stuff with new products. What I´ll be doing exactly, I cannot tell you. Well, I could tell you, but I´d have to shoot you ;)

Understrength, again

2007-02-02T16:08:00.000+01:00

This Wednesday, I had to say good-bye to another cat, Felix, who only just joined us in September last year. After labouring over a week over a lung edema, kidney failure and frequent visits to the vet, and in the light of his deteriorating renal status, relieving him of his pains was the only option left.

Felix was a slightly traumatized yet kind and quiet cat that liked to pounce on me siting in my leather armchair and make himself at home in my lap. He also vied with Wusel and Maunz for his then favourite napping spot, on my pillow.

I am sad for this loss, but he is out of pain now.

Farewell, brave little fellow.

1st smoke of the day

2006-12-12T13:19:00.000+01:00

A late one, being on sick leave today and waiting for a chance for a doctor´s appointment, mood quiet, and Peterson Sherlock Holmes in Strambach Calabash.

Have a nice smoky day.

Regional portal for Rhine-Neckar Triangle

2006-11-24T11:20:00.000+01:00

Just found the regional Portal. All German, but then, that´s is more or less what one speaks here ;) .

Linked to heading.

Once more, dear friends, once more..

2006-11-21T12:34:00.000+01:00

Another short business trip to London, the usual bother with flight security, a nice pub dinner with Treacle Sponge to follow (yum!), sleep-over at a nice but incredibly bland business hotel, good meeting with clients etc. and back.

No photos from old Thiefrow at all (funny that, they did not mind at Frankfurt Airport, as long as I stayed away from security installations or staff), but at least these two for the record:

St. Mary´s at (East) Bedfont. Taken rather hurriedly across busy A30.

Nice new Class 450 EMU serving Feltham Station. Shame about the broken light.

Quote of the day?

2006-11-05T17:08:00.000+01:00

Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid.

Who said this? Guess, then check here: LINK

Improving one´s image

2006-11-04T13:27:00.000+01:00

In a brisk move, Poland´s Prime Minster, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, has issued a statement through his press officer to the effect that the Prime Minister is not to be photographed in profile.

Perhaps he should work more on his profile than his image, one wonders.

I am a what? ESPT?

2006-10-26T16:12:00.000+02:00

ESTP - "Promotor". Action! When present, things begin to happen. Fiercely competitive. Entrepreneur. Often uses shock effect to get attention. Negotiator par excellence. 4.3% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

comment withheld

2006-10-24T21:47:00.000+02:00

click here. Sorry, German only.

Kitties gu leoir!

2006-10-13T15:24:00.000+02:00

Felix

Daisy

Wusel

Maunz

Photography, the final frontier

2006-10-11T14:35:00.000+02:00

These are the voyages... No, never mind. I´ve finally upped and gone and bought a camera. Not one of those digital use-a-year-and-discard el cheapo jobbies, no, this time I went for a real one. The cheap ones were just to limiting.

Then again, there are some (Hello, Michael!) that would question my choice, because to them, a digital SLR is not a "real" camera. But then, Michael is a part-time professional elitist^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hphotographer, and I am just a regular guy who wants to take pictures and possibly put them up onna net.

Got myself the Canon EOS400D which I understand is their most recent offering. And here it is:

Another year on the net. Or how I noticed I turned canocical.

2006-09-24T21:41:00.000+02:00

I turned 39 on September 18th... so far so good.

This quote of mine got posted on the same day.

Coincidence? I sincerely hope so.

BTW.: this is where the birthday dinner took place. Utterly recommended: Village Gaulois

Video Little Richard channels Dubya

2006-09-15T16:34:00.000+02:00

YouTube - President Bush uses Little Richard as translator

Gay black Jewish clansmen ...

2006-09-14T13:52:00.002+02:00

... for tolerance and understanding ;)

How tigers are caught ...

2006-09-11T22:58:00.000+02:00

Having just acquired two new tigers for my home, I had to think of this, the initial Calvin & Hobbes.

New Ross Anderson book available on-line

2006-09-11T21:26:00.000+02:00

Hey, folks, this is a nice comprehensive book.

Security Engineering - A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems

Two more steps toward purr-fection...

2006-09-11T17:57:00.000+02:00

Well, Saturday I finally managed to get my kitty count back up to four, picking up Felix and Daisy from the local asylum .

The two are still a little traumatized, but they have started making little forays into their new environment. I´m sure they´ll be fine with a little time.

This is before, at the asylum:

Daisy(right):

Felix(left):

always on the move...

2006-07-28T18:00:00.000+02:00

just got back from London (sorry, no pics), and now I´m tying up all loose ends so the company can spare me for a meagre week.

Got some new tobaccoes i haven´t smoked yet, and a new snuff. Ah, the perks of working abroad ;D

Karsten

Make queries safer

2006-06-27T22:04:00.000+02:00

Now as a Firefox plug-in (and we thought firefox was pretty safe already), this tool will warn you of nasty websites when queried from Google or Yahoo.

Protection from Adware, Spam, Viruses, Online Scams | McAfee SiteAdvisor

An Inside View From a Google Employee

2006-06-27T21:56:00.000+02:00

An Inside View From a Google Employee: "# Zorba writes that he has only about one meeting per month.
# “The company’s structure, at least for engineers, is amazingly flat.”
Zorba says the Google hierarchy is just five levels: Programmer - Tech lead - Manager - Department lead - Larry/Sergey/Eric. Google just assumes their workers are competent, Zorba adds."

How not to spend your Whitsunday week-end

2006-06-06T19:27:00.000+02:00

Hey, we all love three-day week-ends. Unfortunately I started mine with toothache on Friday afternoon, which was temporarily helped by painkillers, but Saturday the ol´ dentist had to remove a cyst from a bit of left-behind premolar. The sedation did not stop me from having loads of fun for two days, my jaw probably could not help feeling unhappy about this half-inch long ectraction wound.

Isn´t it nice when the pain stops?

More bang for the buck

2006-05-24T18:26:00.000+02:00

Well, something like that, anyway.

I happened upon this rifle 3 weeks ago, and it was a bargain, complete with a shiny barrel, scope mount and powerful RWS variable scope. The funny thing about this one is, it is significantly younger that my Mk. 4 (this one is made in 1967, same as me, the Mk. 4 is war-time produced in ´43), but it actually is the older model, SMLE. Then again, it is chambered for the newer , non-rimmed .308 Win aka 7,62x51 NATO round.

TV goes digital

2006-05-17T15:37:00.000+02:00

My place of Residence, Ludwigshafen, has been moved from analogue television to DVB-T. This was a hard transition, the analogue modes simply shutdown yesterday.

The impact is limited, however, most households having cable or sat, and the digital programming now limited to 11 publicly-financed channels. And for me, who scarcely uses his TV at all besides watching DVDs, there is not really a down side to this anyway. Well, I did buy and program a receiver, and I actually found a channel making use of the novel digital features: ARTE, the French/German cultural station, and one of the few I can stand watching, broadcasts with German and French audio streams. Voila.

Definitions of the SI units: The binary prefixes

2006-04-06T21:04:00.000+02:00

We all know that the exactitude of metrics of disk storage has suffered a bit over the last years. None of us techies is surprised to find that the nice new 300 gig harddrive does not really offer room for 300*1024*1024*1024 8-bit bytes.

Well, here´s a proposal to finally set things right again:

(click here, buster)

And another toy... vewy bwitish.

2006-04-05T21:39:00.000+02:00

Bought this rifle today, a Lee Enfield Nr 4 Mk1, manufactured in Canada in 1943. The paratroopers bayonet was a bonus. I like the SMLEs, the peephole rear sight is a lot easier on the eyes, and even though it´s not as tough as the ususal Mauser, it´s a nice rifle, and I liked all the LEs I fired before, even the "Jungle Carbine".

(This is not my rifle, but a photo I got from I-have-no-clue-where-on-the-net. I just got the bayonet, but not the sheath)

It´s raining again...

2006-04-03T18:47:00.000+02:00

Hey, want to find out about the weather? I mean, not by looking out of the window, like I am doing now, and checking out a beautiful thunderstorm :(

For Germany, have a look: WeatherOnline Germany

The Earth shook...

2006-04-03T18:42:00.000+02:00

...and no, I am not referring to third base last night. Hey, if you´re not in Japan or near the St. Andreas gap, or otherwise easily frightened, have a look:

Global Seismic Monitor

never be short of a good excuse

2006-03-24T15:35:00.000+01:00

... at least if you´re an IT administrator.

Well, this here could help. But don´t over do it, you´ve been warned ;)

"Bastard Operator From Hell"-Style Excuses

Cor Blimey, that British Slang!

2006-03-13T19:43:00.000+01:00

For Americans and other aliens: this might be a valuable guide to some of the quaint colloquialisms and idioms that provide the reasoning behind the subtitles on that quaint Limey programme that CBC had to subtitle ;)
´ere you crikey toffs, jis click the heading!

Whither Google

2006-03-13T13:15:00.000+01:00

Internet world benefactor of aspiring dominator?

UserFriendly Strip Comments

The shame...

2006-02-27T14:32:00.000+01:00

$CO still aren´t giving up. My, oh my, I keep having AT&T v. UCB flashbacks.

Blackberry has a future, again

2006-02-23T17:00:00.000+01:00

Seems the patents NTP placed their faith in to squeeze as much as possible out of RIM did not exactly hold water when reviewed by the American Patent Board.
In Germany, there was never an issue, the patent case was dismissed out of hand.

Well, that means I might be able to enjoy my 7290 for a while.

Vivid Thoughts: Blackberry in the Clear

My kinda ´puter:

2006-02-22T23:07:00.000+01:00

Honestly folks, Hp been going pretty down-hill lately, scrapping the PA-RISC for that idiotic ITANIC, but now, for their fourtieth anniversary, they show they are still geeks at heart. It´s like Apple bringing back the Newton and introducing the iLavaLamp. Check out the link for the geekiest coffee table ever!

HP Labs marks 40th with high-tech coffee table | CNET News.com

Blackberry-a-limbo

2006-01-23T18:55:00.000+01:00

Seems the blackberry technology by RIM (research in motion) violates some insignificant IP firm´s patents, or so they say. The courts are all over it by now. Now what to order, RiM or wait for Micro$oft´s new offering. And have they observed all the patents involved?

Supreme Court Won't Hear BlackBerry Appeal - New York Times

Internet tools that can be fun

2006-01-23T15:01:00.000+01:00

The Internet is a huge abstract mass, isn´t it?

Check out this link and have it paint a "social map" of your favourite web site.

TouchGraph GoogleBrowser V1.01

IT quote of the day

2006-01-16T14:21:00.000+01:00

"I don't want one of those systems based on the cellulite processor."

Nuff sed,

Yours truly

IT Agony Bingo

2006-01-10T15:48:00.000+01:00

Yeah, we all played bullshit bingo before, but here´s a variant.

It´s so déja vu, it brings tears to Yours Truly´s eyes.

UserFriendly

Not quite yet forgotten...

2006-01-04T21:30:00.000+01:00

I have to admit it, I still love NeXTStep. I keep a machine running at home to read netnews and do Unix work. It´s an HP Series 9000 715/100, (so called "green hardware", "black" being NeXT´s Motorola-based own, "white" being PCs and I think "purple" meaning SPARC.) running NS 3.3 developer with the y2k patches.

Why do I run an OS that´s over 10 years old on hardware that´s about as old?

Because I can.

Anywhere, if you want to have a look, go here :
NEXTSTEP and OPENSTEP Resource Page

2005-12-09T16:52:00.000+01:00

back with my nose to the grindstone

2005-12-07T18:03:00.000+01:00

Well, hi and howdy to everyone,

after a short vacation I am back in the usual world of work and headache. Just a short account of events:

Danish pipemaker Karsten Tarp was visiting
My tummy went bad on me for a couple of days
I don´t have a bathroom of my own right now and will not have one for the next two weeks.... renovation taking place. Got an upstairs bathroom, though.
I am back at work (yippie). Good-bye private live for some time.

Was in Munich yesterday, travelling in business, nice chat with a prospective customer and a spot of lunch next to lovely English Garden in Munich (famous for the nude sunbathers in summer). Back in falling snow, so finally the AWD is coming into its rights. Also the autonomous heating and the seat heating sees some fair use now winter is here. Am I getting soft or what?

Well, I am typing this sitting in the cafeteria/smoking area at work, considering a sandwich and a pipe to smoke. Most of the SOD (Shit-of-the-day) is through, time for a little respite.

10-4 and 10-7,

Karsten

Ask the Web Oracle

2005-11-21T14:08:00.000+01:00

... sometimes even cold lifeless machines can come up with the truth:

(this is a capture of an actual web session)

Yet another personality test on the internet

2005-11-08T19:36:00.000+01:00

Funny, how old habits die so hard ;)

Here´s my OS personality test result. NeXTStep was sadly not an option.

click for more

Marvin 1993 - Nov 6th 2005

2005-11-07T13:53:00.000+01:00

My cat Marvin, with me since 1996, had to be put to sleep Sunday night, due to rapid failure of the nervous system, after merely two days of struggle. After it became clear that the respirative apparatus was about to fail, I felt it was time to let him go and be without pain.

Marvin was always my favourite cat, with a very friendly attitude. AFAIR, his only fault was a tendency to sneak from the flat door when I came home and bolt to a hiding place .... ANYwhere in the house. His favourite place must have been my belly, which he visited every night at bedtime, for cuddling and saying "good night".

And that was also how we said "good-bye", we snuggled one last time, with his breathing becoming ever more ragged, before I took him to the car to see the vet about that last service.

Cuddlekitty, you won´t be forgotten.

That leaves me with two cats, Maunz (pron. Mowns) and Wusel (Woozel).

SCO comes clean, at long last. Judges remain doubtful.

2005-11-02T13:41:00.000+01:00

SCO have finally provided a list of "infringements" by IBM and Sequent, formerly a systems supplier of highly-available Unix-systems, subsequently purchased by IBM.

Notably, SCO have again widened their scope from actual code "lifted" to "concepts communicated".

Not entirely surprised,

yours truly.

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Israel warns of Tehran 'danger'

2005-10-26T17:53:00.000+02:00

Well, with auld Geordie W. being well around the bend, here´s a president that´s frothing and foaming at the mouth.

BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Israel warns of Tehran 'danger'

the complete idiot’s guide to big country

2005-10-06T16:11:00.000+02:00

Big Country, virtually unknown nowadays, still is among my favourite plays and a constant part in MD circulation. Although I do not agree with all the findings of the actory, this page here gives you a good discography of the band ... and downloads ;)

jefitoblog

Your kitties´ body language

2005-09-27T23:10:00.000+02:00

So now I know why my biggest furball greets me with a view of his furry backside in the morning ;)

I´m back

2005-09-26T17:30:00.000+02:00

After nearly two weeks of absence (most of it vacation, I´m back.

Lots of travelling, e.g. to the battlefield of Verdun, not really enough sleep (after all, my time off) and many things more.

What happened in the mean time?

Germany had federal election, which did not really effect a clear decision on a new gouvernment, leaving the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats basically on par.

More hurricanes, more political upheaval about that.

Well, give me a bit for breather, and I will be back on the boards.

Americans Annoyed By International Shit On Internet

2005-09-07T20:38:00.000+02:00

This is an absolutely hilarious bit.

And for those who still don´t get it, it´s satire. Honestly!

New Orleans looking pretty bad

2005-09-02T14:28:00.000+02:00

I´m not going to recount all the bad news. After some gloating from oddball politicians, Germans reacted in the usual way: sending money and oil.

The good thing is, the USofA is hardly any odd 3rd world country that has a hard time to cope with such a calamity. Or is it?

Land unter

2005-08-31T21:31:00.000+02:00

"Land unter" , literally: "the land is under" in the German spoken on the coastlines of the Baltic and the German Sea.

It seems New Orleans got hit very hard indeed, now that the high winds have ceased, the water is still on the rise. My feeble best wishes and my sympathies to anyone affected. God help you.

Annoyingly enough, the hate mongers cannot even stop to spin their wheels in the face of a major calamity like this.

To wit, David´s Medienkritik, the good folks that cannot let a good bit of propaganda go to waste:

I am deeply ashamed to say that one part of that enterprise is actually German. A heartfelt sorry to the clear-thinking individuals left in this hemisphere.

Today´s Cat Owners´ Food-for-thought

2005-08-30T17:08:00.000+02:00

Why Cindy Sheehan has a point:

2005-08-30T16:09:00.000+02:00

Sometimes my job is a lot like this:

2005-08-30T15:41:00.000+02:00

Bias... it´s not just for breakfast anymore

2005-08-29T14:07:00.000+02:00

Hey,

what I am really startled about is not that there´s wars going on or standing by to happen. What annoys me is that there is a rift in the civilized world.

Welcome to the all new game show "patriots v. shit-hearted liberalists/communists/Frenchmen/democrats".

We´ve come a long way when people ignore the facts.

To quote Mr Ben Elton:

If all else fails, only a total pigheaded unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.

Gen. Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett
"Blackadder Goes Fo(u)rth"

In a lighter vein:
>click<

MAC OS X for Intel ... it´s not just for Macs anymore

2005-08-16T14:00:00.000+02:00

Pls follow the link to one of the sites that publishes the first results of hacking OS X to run on non-apple hardware.

Pardon me, but this was soooo predictable. I guess "The Steve" is having a meltdown over his own stupidity.

Hardmac.com : Le "Macbidouille" in English

LOTD: Technology ... for Country Folk

2005-08-15T17:54:00.000+02:00

Oy, follow this ´ere link!

Car pics

2005-08-15T17:38:00.000+02:00

Took the new car out on the first longer tour, to Luxembourg, which is about 250 klicks from where I live. Weather was shitty here and I did not expect better there, but it turned out to be quite bright. Didn´t bring a camera, so I had to take these with the phone:

Stama 1987 - OLD SCHOOL REUNION - REGISTER NOW - STAMATIKER ALLER LÄNDER, VEREINIGT EUCH!

2005-08-09T16:54:00.000+02:00

Sorry folks, this has to be in German:

Aufgewacht, STAMATIKER des Jahrgangs 1987, unter dem obigen link sammelt Rainer Willems die verfügbaren Kontakte für eine mögliche 20-Jahrs-Reunion.

Stama 1987

Are T*ts bad for Europe?

2005-08-08T21:21:00.000+02:00

They are, if you follow the latest news from Brussels:

click here

For some reason (other than the otherwise obvious one), the dirndl-clad waitresses have caught the eye of the blessed officials at the European Authorities.

While not everybody is a fan of scantily clad females in dubitable and highly alcoholised company, I have never heard anybody ever took offense in such a way that they would feel the need to abolish this, all things considered, rather harmless bit of bavarian pseudo-heritage.

Well, we live and learn.

Flabberghasted,
yours truly.

Stereotypes continued

2005-08-03T20:34:00.000+02:00

Well, it´s kinda out-of fashion, but I am a confessed Christian. Horribly protestant, too.

One thing remains with my faith that upsets my stomach on a regular basis, viz, a certain brand of "Brethren".

The best thing yet is branding "Harry Potter" novels as satanistic. Wow. Ever read one?

Mind you, in a similar vein, a "Christian" publication covering satanism in Rock Music dubbed Jethro Tull (anyone as old as I am to remember them? Thank you, no need to stand up at your age) satanistic. Why? One of their band members "died in misterious circumstances".

The band member in question, John Glasscock, an erstwhile drummer, died during a complicated heart surgery.

What on Earth did I miss? Is Christian Barnard the Antichrist?

OK, End-of-rant. Cartoon time ;)

No Americans were hurt in producing this blog entry

2005-08-03T20:15:00.000+02:00

I do not like stereotyping. Period. It seems to be the fad of the day. I´ll have none of it. In the words of Groucho Marx: I´m against it!

Well, dear stereotypers, eat this:

I am a longhaired Hippie who never was out of a steady job nor skimped his service duties to his country, I am staunchly liberal, yet I own and shoot guns and advocate controlled handgun posession for any civilian fit to do so, I love my SUV (diesel powered, ECO-rated, 85%recyclable) and I like Americans. My best buddy on this planet most definitely is one.

That´s what´s wrong with you lot: you just don´t see life is NOT black and white. If so, evolution by continuous improvement would never have happened. Well, it would explain things like the current POTUS and some of the other low-lives that contaminate the administration of an otherwise great country.

Well, if all these words were too tiresome to read, enjoy the cartoon ;) *)

*) Yes, I was deliberately stereotyping. It was done with humourous intent.

Comic alert!

2005-08-01T21:29:00.000+02:00

You have to have a peek at this: