Another lesson in admin logic that my father reminded me about, this time a transcontinental one … Although I always claim to be Canadian, that’s really only true culturally, if it can be said that there really is such a thing as a cultural Canadian. (Molsons, hockey, and poutine does not a culture make. JustContinue reading “Taxing patience”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Hours are not to reason why
If you’ve ever wanted a good example of the old saying that time is relative, you need look no further than the admin behind teaching in Germany. It all seems so simple going in. When I arrived at the University here in Not-Bielefeld, I was told that my teaching load was nine hours a weekContinue reading “Hours are not to reason why”
An open-and-shut case
For our “protection”, the IT Department here at the University of Not-Bielefeld recently restricted the types of attachments that could be received via e-mail. Most affected by this were the older Microsoft Office documents (e.g., .doc or .xls files), which could be compromised with vicious macros and other similarly evil stuff. Instead, for the pastContinue reading “An open-and-shut case”
Born to marry
I recently got married and this was, of course, by no means as straightforward as you think it ought to be. (My fiancé, BTW, is both the original inspiration and subsequent motivation for this blog. So, kudos or blame to her depending on which side you’re on. And for those thinking of gifts, we’ve registeredContinue reading “Born to marry”
Doctoring a passport
A long time ago in a part of Germany far, far away … … comes this little gem. But, as usual, some background first … The first bit is that many Germans are awfully impressed by academic titles and Germany offers an impressive number of academic titles to be awfully impressed by. You see, aContinue reading “Doctoring a passport”
Paperback griper
In a stunning bid to catch up with the 20th century, my University here in Not-Bielefeld mandated that from last Autumn onwards all examination administration was to be done online only. Paper-free exam administration as the name proudly proclaims. As an amateur technoweenie, I found the idea great. Nothing like a bit of superfluous technologyContinue reading “Paperback griper”
Bureaucracy goes to (well, after) the dogs
This entry probably deals more with bureaucracy (a system) than admin (the people and institutions indentured to that system) per se, but I’m hoping that only admin types (together with their lawyers, both of whom I’m also hoping aren’t reading this blog) would take me to task for this. (More to the point: my blog,Continue reading “Bureaucracy goes to (well, after) the dogs”
Printing in the pandemic
My university here in Not-Bielefeld, on the whole, has taken a careful, considered, and thoughtful approach to the whole coronavirus pandemic. (And to those people who are already screaming that I should be writing “COVID-19”, don’t ever let me hear you refer to “the flu” or “influenza”, ok?) One could only wish that most governmentsContinue reading “Printing in the pandemic”
The Blog About Fog 