For some time now, CNN has been my go-to source for general news. Unfortunately, they’ve shown an increasingly annoying tendency to clickbait their headlines. It all started out innocently enough with the fluff pieces that no one is really interested in. You know, “Two strangers met on a flight to Paris. Find out what happenedContinue reading “BCD 15.07.2024”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
More human than human?
I’ve written more than a few times now about AI on this blog, AI in this case being artificial intelligence and not admin intelligence, which is something completely different. Although not among my list of followers, ChatGPT must’ve perused my blog from time-to-time in its pursuit of subjugating the human species, so I thought itContinue reading “More human than human?”
The gangrene wave
Late last year, a long stretch of sidewalk along the main campus of the University of Not-Bielefeld was cordoned off and replaced. And, like any other roadworks project in Germany, the entire section to be replaced was shut down from day one to provide all the non-existent construction workers with the maximal amount of safetyContinue reading “The gangrene wave”
Handicapping handicapping
For just over a year now, I’ve been unofficially officially severely handicapped. This will come as a surprise to many, especially those closest to me who have accused me of being handicapped for decades now. (Family. Sigh …) But, whereas chronic depression got me close, a little bit of prostate cancer will do the trickContinue reading “Handicapping handicapping”
BCD 10.05.2024
The University of Not-Bielefeld, like many other institutions these days, has hopped on the environmental bandwagon (electric powered, of course) and, among other things, designed an Action Plan to guide it along its path towards becoming CO2 neutral. (Me? I’ve always been CO2 neutral, except when there’s too much of it in a room tryingContinue reading “BCD 10.05.2024”
ISO don’t understand
I have another confession to make. Like countless other individuals, I have been flying under a false name for literally decades now. (Probably another good reason for keeping this blog anonymous.) Airline reservation systems (if not many computer systems generally), you see, have a problem with hyphenated last names and, as I recently read, problemsContinue reading “ISO don’t understand”
Water boarding
It’s hardly an original observation on my part, but boarding an airplane does not rank among life’s most pleasant experiences: endless queues of aggressive people with elbows flying all jockeying for the best position. And all that before they’ve even announced that the gate is open for boarding. (The obvious exception here, of course, areContinue reading “Water boarding”
BCD 29.02.2024
Together with nearly 10 000 other people, the comedian Richard Lewis died the other day in the US. The media, of course, was gushing. About his talent. About him being a comic’s comic. About his legacy. Like him or hate him (or even wonder who he was), this piece really has nothing directly to do withContinue reading “BCD 29.02.2024”
Degenerative admin
Working right up until the last second, the admin elves at the University of Not-Bielefeld published a set of 11 recommendations shortly before the Christmas break to advise its teaching staff in how to deal with generative AI in the classroom. And then took a well deserved seven-week break before facing the even more arduousContinue reading “Degenerative admin”
Silent theocracy
Most Germans will deny it, if only because they cannot pronounce the voiceless dental fricative (/θ/, one of the two “th” sounds), but they actually live in a theocracy, making it currently only the third western country together with the Vatican and the US to do so. There are more than a few obvious signs pointing toContinue reading “Silent theocracy”
The Blog About Fog 