Uncategorized – The Blog About Fog

Alphabet soup

In “researching” my last blog post, I came across two of the worst acronyms that I have perhaps ever seen. (And, remember, I’ve seen TdLL.) Unsurprisingly perhaps, they both derive from the same organization, namely the Netzwerk Nachhaltigkeit Niedersächsischer Hochschulen (Network Sustainability Lower-Saxony Universities; and, yes, the German name is similarly devoid of prepositions andContinue reading “Alphabet soup”

Disdainability

Finally created using ChatGPT from an initial prompt of "I need a photorealistic image of a furniture flea market in a European university setting. The furniture on offer should be ugly office furniture from the 1970s. Above the market, there should be a banner with the words "Sustainability market" on it. However, it should be clear that these words have been quickly added to the banner and are covering up the original words of "Cheap junk". The whole picture should be in widescreen format." In the public domain.

As I’ve mentioned more than too many times in this blog, the University of Not-Bielefeld has taken to increasingly bludgeoning us with its new-found environmental conscience. The latest foray here is in promoting the existence of numerous “sustainability markets” on campus. Now to those of us lacking spin doctorates, these markets are nothing more thanContinue reading “Disdainability”

Un-vital signs 09.01.2026

It’s finally happened! After literally years of being promised that the appropriate signs would be coming “very soon” or told that such signs were not necessary in the first place, the University of Not-Bielefeld finally put up signs on my campus late last year indicating that all dogs must be on a leash. Ok, signsContinue reading “Un-vital signs 09.01.2026”

The Emperor’s unused clothes

Created using ChatGPT based on the picture found at https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Louis_XIV_of_France.jpg using the prompt "Please make a parody of this uploaded picture. Everything should stay exactly the same except for the following. First, the final image should be in widescreen format. Second, Louis XIV should be dressed in large paper shopping bags." In the public domain (like the original it is based upon).

I did a bit of clothes shopping the other day and it was only after I got home that I discovered that one store had cynically charged me an extra 15 cents for the paper bag that they had put my clothes in. But wait. Why is the store the cynical one here? Shouldn’t IContinue reading “The Emperor’s unused clothes”

Un-vital signs 02.10.2025

A few weeks ago, the following sign popped up on the garbage bin on campus that I pop my dog’s poop down every morning forbidding this practice in the future. Someone in Not-Bielefeld must be very proud of themselves. They need to work on their punctuation a little but did manage to use the genitiveContinue reading “Un-vital signs 02.10.2025”

Orna-mental health

Created by ChatGPT using the prompt " Create a photorealistic picture of a group-therapy session. The room should be large and featureless. The participants should be sitting in a circle and making flowery ornaments." In the public domain.

World Mental Health Day is on the horizon (October 10th), something that, quite frankly, is stressing me out a little. Not the day itself, of course, just the attempts of the University of Not-Bielefeld to capitalize on it. The background to this is a survey that the University recently conducted asking how its employees evaluatedContinue reading “Orna-mental health”

BCD 10.09.2025

As happens every couple of weeks or so, I got barked at again today for letting my dog walk off-leash at the University. The person complaining was new, but much of the conversation wasn’t. What was new, however, is that he volunteered the reason why all dogs on campus should be on a leash withoutContinue reading “BCD 10.09.2025”

Un-vital signs 05.09.2025

A hallmark of the University of Not-Bielefeld is how invested it is in teaching. Not in real teaching, of course, because that costs real money and if you want to build 1.4 million Euros worth of bike racks, something’s got to give, right? Instead, the University’s emphasis here lies much more on promoting its commitmentContinue reading “Un-vital signs 05.09.2025”

BCD 31.08.2025

I’ve been living in the internet Stone Age for some time now, having never gotten around to upgrading my 16 MBits/s DSL hookup. (If you want to know how slow that is, put it this way: I can type these blogs faster than I can upload them to the web.) A lot of people todayContinue reading “BCD 31.08.2025”

Oh Canada, the sequel

Created using ChatGPT using the prompt " Could you make my a high-resolution image of the Canadian flag please? However, the maple leaf in the center should be replaced by the face-palm emoji. The emoji should be in red and also look as much like the original maple leaf as possible both in shape and in colour.". In the public domain.

I’ve recently returned from a trip to Canada to visit family and wanted to take a few seconds to share a few of the new absurdities that my home and native land has come up with while I’ve been away. As most people know, Canada is officially bilingual, with English and something vaguely resembling FrenchContinue reading “Oh Canada, the sequel”