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”

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”

Oh Canada, the sequel

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”

Debugging biodiversity

Listen. Can we just make up our minds here? I heard on the radio yesterday afternoon that experts are predicting that this summer will see an insect plague in Germany, especially when it comes to ticks and tiger mosquitoes. Now, I can’t find any real support for this statement on the internet apart from allContinue reading “Debugging biodiversity”

Un-vital signs 22.05.2025

Sometimes, you just gotta ask yourself, what the hell? During a recent trip to more southerly German climes (Bonn), I noticed a lot of the following signs while taking a stroll one evening: Despite their different wordings, shapes, styles, and colours, the basic message in all the signs was identical: don’t block the driveway. MyContinue reading “Un-vital signs 22.05.2025”

Can’t see the wood for the needs

Another week, another example of environmental pseudo-do-goodery on the part of the University of Not-Bielefeld. This time around, the plan is to enlist volunteers from the university community to plant a Tiny Forest (their capitalization, not mine) on the grounds of the university according to the Miyawaki method. Through this action, the hope is toContinue reading “Can’t see the wood for the needs”

Un-vital signs 14.11.2024

Over the past few weeks, any number of the following signs have been sprouting up on the grounds of the University of Not-Bielefeld. The literal, word-for-word translation of the sign is: I am an insect-friendly flower and wild meadow! This all is, of course, complete nonsense in oh-so-many ways. First, it’s a sign and notContinue reading “Un-vital signs 14.11.2024”

Un-vital signs 02.09.0224

A little something new that I want to try out here. The topic isn’t directly connected with admin but has many of the hallmarks of it insofar as it all might not be that necessary and just that little bit of thinking might have revealed the otherwise obvious problem. These new things are signs. NotContinue reading “Un-vital signs 02.09.0224”