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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”

Dog wine tastings

The admin types have been awfully quiet this summer, leaving me with a dearth of material for my posts lately. Some, including some of my readers, might see this as a positive thing. I see it merely as the eye of the hurricane and fearfully await what new adventures they might be dreaming up. InContinue reading “Dog wine tastings”

The letters of the law

Whenever German admin wants to let you know that the substance of one of their communiques is non-negotiable, or to simply to add a little gravitas to lighten up their workday, they typically quote chapter and verse of the relevant law. In many ways, the quote is a language unto itself, filled with all sortsContinue reading “The letters of the law”

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”

Belabelling a point

Every time that I start to worry that I’m running out of material for this blog, admin comes through for me. I suppose that means that I should be grateful somehow … … but definitely not in this case. We all know the drill. Once we set up an e-mail account, the very first andContinue reading “Belabelling a point”

COST cutting

Right. If this blog is going to be about the absurdities of admin, might as well finally go after the granddaddy of them all: the European Union. You know, the entity of which the choking bureaucracy was part of the reason that an entire country decided to leave Europe? (Speaking of absurdities, let’s talk aboutContinue reading “COST cutting”

A question of form

Forms are synonymous with admin. And forms are simply awful. Period. (Although most people would agree with each of these sentiments, I strongly suspect that they have never contemplated the logical consequence of linking them together.) There is, of course, the pain inherent to any form in and of itself. However, there’s whole bunches ofContinue reading “A question of form”

Working the chain gang

Remember the good ol’ days of the internet? The days before endless numbers of spam e-mails about penis enlargements or from Nigerian princes? (Or about penis enlargements for Nigerian princes? I mean, they have to invest those millions somewhere, right?) When life was simpler and people were so unsavvy that you actually had to explainContinue reading “Working the chain gang”