I had planned a lengthy piece on laicism in Austria, because when watching the parliamental debate on the ratification of the European constitution, I noticed a member of the biggest political party starting his speech with a quote from the Bible. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be able to sort out my thoughts in such a way that they’d make a good post. Thus, I also won’t be able to comment on the fact that Cardinal Schönborn, probably still high on the whole pope farce, has deemed it necessary to intervene in the discussion on the reform of the Austrian school-system. My inability to find a red thread guiding you and me through this planned post also hinders me from wondering out loud why the hell the representatives of the major political parties then actually invited him to take part in the discussion. It’s a real shame I won’t be able to do this post, because I’m sure some of you would be able to explain what the hell happened to laicism in Austria. Oh well, in the meantime, check out those lunatics.
Monthly Archive for May, 2005
Alert: I’m noticing an increased interest lately in this posting from various sources. Since I’ve seen stuff like that before, I guess someone’s using this one as a front for some comment spamming. So, if you’ve been deceived into coming here by a spammer, please note that I’m not the spammer! And since you’re here, would you be so kind and leave a comment and tell me where you came from, please? I’m starting to freak out because of all the creepy traffic!
You can say a lot about BoingBoing, but you can’t say it doesn’t shell out a wealth of useful unnecessary stuff every day. My latest favourite link I found on there is Overheard in New York. It’s a blog which posts stuff people on the street…well, the title speaks for itself, I’d say. In times when more and more people walk around with earphones plugged in, a site like this is really quite essential. From now on you’ll be able to read all those conversations you missed on the tram because you were listening to your favourite album for the umpteenth time. I’m in the process of reading their entire archive, which is actually quite big, considering that they’ve been posting since…let me check…July 2003. So, if you’re ever bored and want to laugh out loud at one-liners from ten-year old boys to drunken hobos, then go there.
How I wish that fucking Star Wars thing was over. Out of ten visitors to this site, seven are people who punched in “stormtrooper helmet” or something like that into Google Images, only to be directed to this post, which in fact has barely anything to do with Star Wars, except the “stormtrooper helmet”. Can you imagine the disappointment when I’m checking my logs and have to realize that the hundreds of people who just streamed to my site only came to see a helmet? Nobody’s interested in what I actually WROTE about that damn helmet (not that it was that spectacular, really)! It’s like being a baker who produces the most succulent of baked goods, only to have people coming into the store to buy flour. Well, sort of. May the force direct those people to some other sites, messing up their beautiful visitor statistics.
Has your video-rental ever given you a cake? For free? For no apparent reason? Well, thought so. I on the other hand, after renting a couple of DVDs for tonight’s entertainment, was the recipient of a delicious Austrian made cake. On my enquiry what exactly warranted that display of genuine affection, the clerk herself didn’t have an answer. She just mentioned that she’d been told to hand out cakes today. Well, that’s how I got a cake from my video-rental. Since you know that I’ve got more than enough time on my hands, and as I have a newly implemented gallery function, I decided to give you a glimpse of what pure Austrian-made cake heaven looks like. Click the image below to be amazed:
PS: It was raining while I carried home that cake. So those drops visible on the cake are raindrops, not saliva.
Surfing the Google labs, I noticed a new app called “Google Web Accelerator. It’s supposed to speed up the loading of websites, even providing a little counter, showing you how much time you’ve already saved. Well, I’d love to check it out, but system requirements demand a Windows OS. Pshh, who needs a damn web accelerator. They never work anyways.
Another thing launched this week, 37signals’ organizing tool Backpack. Ever so early adopter Christoph from engadgeted.net is already giving it a run for its money (okay, it’s got a free plan as well). Too bad I’m not really big into organizing things. If I were, I’d maybe use it. But considering the fact that I use my planner mainly to store the hundreds of copy-cards I’ve accumulated over the years, it would be a waste of resources on both ends.
PS: Christoph is also handing out some well deserved praise for Backpack.
Update: Google’s Accelerator seems to crash and burn quite quickly. Read this from Inside Google. Oh well, obviously there’s nothing special about the accelerator, it’s simple prefetching of the pages, which may save time but is about as accurate as my cat’s handwriting (well, my parents’ cat).
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