BCD 18.02.2022

More of a change than a comment, but, as I’ve said before, if you’re looking for a blog with strict adherence to the rules, keep looking … Just noticed today that they’ve changed the packaging for my underarm deodorant. Again. Although there was more than enough room for both pieces of information, the packaging nowContinue reading “BCD 18.02.2022”

Shoot first, ask questions later

A minor miracle occurred here recently at the University of Not-Bielefeld. No, no. Admin is still here in all its full glory. (Changing that would require a major miracle and you would not believe the amount of paperwork involved to get miracles on that scale approved nowadays. Much, much easier a few centuries ago.) Instead,Continue reading “Shoot first, ask questions later”

3G, or not 3G, that is the question

I know. Another corona blog entry. But, with the fourth wave pummeling Germany at the moment, the admin types can’t get up to their usual mischief and are busy focussing their creative energies surfing this current wave. Now, Germany getting “pummeled” is really a relative thing. A friend from the UK wrote me a coupleContinue reading “3G, or not 3G, that is the question”

Private Data meets General Stupidity

Data privacy is a big thing in Germany. Really big. For instance, Germans guard their PIN numbers with utmost ferocity, hunching over the keypad to such a degree that it’s a wonder that there’s even enough light to see which keys they’re actually pressing. However, in addition to being a repetitive redundancy, PIN numbers areContinue reading “Private Data meets General Stupidity”

BCD 05.11.2021

With admin continuing to lay low—which is really only a bad thing in the context of this blog—it’s become necessary to find other admin analogous activities to take cheap potshots at. So, welcome to the first, irregularly scheduled edition of the Bonehead Comment of the Day (BCD), where I pay “tribute” to some statement madeContinue reading “BCD 05.11.2021”

When labels meet fables

A painfully short time ago, I wrote about how the IT Department here at the University of Not-Bielefeld spent the better part of a coffee break designing a foolproof system to save its employees from themselves. Spam and phishing e-mails were multiplying exponentially to pandemic proportions so something desperate and drastic had to be done.Continue reading “When labels meet fables”

Flying in the face of the pandemic

After a long, corona-induced abstinence, I recently had the necessity to take to the skies again. Which also meant that after a good six months of pretty much avoiding all forms of public transit, I also had to take a taxi, a streetcar, a train, and a bus all in short order. The last timeContinue reading “Flying in the face of the pandemic”