With Northern Germany’s annual attempt at winter being upon us again (dark, drizzly, not really cold, definitely not snowy), my thoughts at this time of year always turn not to Christmas (which to this Canadian requires snow), but to how the chain of responsibility inevitably seems to be tied to the ankle of the averageContinue reading “Passing the b*ck”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Excusez moi?
Ever wonder why so many semi-official signs on cars and trucks, at least in Europe, are in French? Ok. Not really that many, but still. CD (corps diplomatique) for embassy cars, convoi exceptionnel or the misspélled vehicule long for long vehicles, and, most recently, the rather macabre angles mort for vehicles with a large blind spot.Continue reading “Excusez moi?”
Oh Canada …
Although I spend a good amount of time in this blog taking potshots at German admin, admin remains a universal constant like death or taxes. (Just more painful and permanent than either. That being said, German admin has found a way to bureaucratize death too …) And a recent trip to Canada proved just thatContinue reading “Oh Canada …”
BCD 15.09.2022
Another mercifully slow summer as admin seems to be serially estivating until the autumn. However, there is always the watchful eye of the Office of Dataprotection and Informationsafetymanagement here at the University of Not-Bielefeld, ready to leap selflessly into the void … … only to fill it with a vacuum. Their latest missive warns usContinue reading “BCD 15.09.2022”
BCD 01.09.2022
The latest bonehead comment of the day comes to you from Ryanair, with whom I flew with a couple times in the past few weeks. For those fortunate few not familiar with Ryanair, it’s basically an infomercial at 30.000 feet. The tickets tend to be dirt cheap, but then you have to pay for everythingContinue reading “BCD 01.09.2022”
Return to sender
I learned a new word in German the other day … In and of itself, that’s probably not too surprising. After all, I’ve only been learning German for about half my life and, like any language, there are lots of words to learn. Even when you get past the swear words. And, depending on whoContinue reading “Return to sender”
Masking disappointment
Has anyone else noticed this? Although the corona pandemic actually remains in full swing (and, thanks to omicron, swinging higher in terms of numbers than ever before), most countries including Germany are quickly shedding most of their corona-related restrictions. For instance, the train station here in Not-Bielfeld recently removed the signs indicating which side ofContinue reading “Masking disappointment”
BCD 13.06.2022
Like most Canadians, I’ve long wondered why the US has stubbornly refused to adopt the metric system. (Which is apparently a myth: they have, but they just don’t use it. So, like Canada, except that we use it a lot more even if not always all of the time.) In a society obsessed with convenience,Continue reading “BCD 13.06.2022”
Killing time
I’ve mentioned before how time in Academia doesn’t really flow the way it does in the rest of the world. And not just for students in the middle of a death-defyingly boring lecture either. It gets worse … At a recent meeting of the profs in my department, it was revealed to us that, onContinue reading “Killing time”
BCD 09.05.2022
Part of the University of Not-Bielefeld’s justification in opening up fully for teaching this semester was that the incidence of corona among students earlier this year was far lower than in Not Bielefeld generally, meaning that the University was neither a corona hotspot nor a spreader event. And, as part of its meticulously thought outContinue reading “BCD 09.05.2022”
The Blog About Fog 