Autobahn 1 "Artificial resin-sealed"
It's just absolutely perfect timing
At tagesschau.de - Die Nachrichten der ARD you can find the original article.
Archive 25.3.2004 - 2.4.2004
Federal Council rejects TKG bill
Remember at the next elections: the Union wants to collect your data, sell it, force you to eat genetically modified food and increase your working hours, but cut all social benefits in return.
Unfortunately, we're in Germany and so such nonsense is actually likely to be a promising election platform ...
At heise online news you can find the original article.
A Little Spring
Since posting about spring seems to be all the rage at the moment, here are some pictures from my last extended lunch break ...
Kabel Deutschland pays 2.6 billion for takeover of competitor
And what was the reason again for why cable networks were supposed to be privatized? Wasn't it supposed to be to lower prices through competition? Could someone please shove the entire collection of cable network operators up the ass of these market economy fetishists who are always banging on about the power of the private market?
What a mess. Now we have a genially gigantic selection of one cable network operator. And specifically a private one that's hardly controllable at all. Really great stuff.
At heise online news there's the original article.
Debian GNU/Linux -- apt-build
Debian's Answer to Gentoo Linux
(and if you use Xine or Ogle for example, you should definitely consider it - with those, optimized compilation makes quite a bit of difference in performance)
Lego and Customer Friendliness
After weeks of waiting, I finally got an answer to a simple question. I wanted a Lego Mindstorms infrared tower for USB connection. The answer? Parts from sets are not available from Lego. So there are no replacement parts. If something gets lost or broken from a set, buy a new set. What a load of rubbish.
Oetker is allowed to brew even more beer
Beer pudding?
At tagesschau.de - Die Nachrichten der ARD you can find the original article.
PyOXIDE - pythonmac.org wiki - Mac OS X IDE for Python - still in development
ThinkGraph: Introduction - Concept Map Editor that uses SVG directly as storage format - for Windows
Various bits of software
Those who enjoy programming with OCaml will find some very interesting and especially practical programs under the link above. I particularly like spamoracle, a very useful filter for statistical spam analysis. I'm now using it on my new server. The original article can be found here.
Since we're talking about inquiries to companies ...
Unfortunately, Apple was unable to process your order XXXXXXXXX because your file contained a transmission error. Large parts of your images were not visible, so the entire quality of your prints suffered. Therefore, we have cancelled your entire order and would like to recommend that you place a new order. Right. I'm putting together a data package for a book order with iPhoto - the foolproof software for image management. Apple makes everything idiot-proof to use, but omits a checksum during data transmission? And only realizes weeks after the order that the data is corrupted?
Right. And pigs can fly.
EU Parliament protests against flight data transfer
Bolkestein is wheeling and dealing with the US government, and then this unwashed EU Parliament comes along and complains. Of all things. Damn parliamentary democracy.
At tagesschau im Internet you can find the original article.
Garzweiler II: New Dispute over Fruit Meadow
Apfelix and BUNDelix against Garzweiler ...
At WDR.de you can find the original article.
MacWarriors TrailBlazer - Cool graphical browser history - unfortunately only from Panther onwards
SCO vs. Linux: IBM Sees Copyright Infringements at Work
And the IBM lawyers are having more fun: now they're turning the tables and attacking SCO.
At heise online news you can find the original article.
Teen Arrested for Sexually Abusing Herself
A 15-year-old girl took naked pictures of herself and published them. That's stupid and certainly the girl didn't understand what that really meant at the time. But the fact that this girl was now convicted of sexual abuse of a minor and possession and distribution of child pornography is really absurd.
At lies.com you can find the original article.
TP: Wind energy has a future
Almost overlooked: a response to the unspeakable Spiegel article.
Translucent Inter-Process Service Migration - Migration of services from one server to another for planned downtime purposes
Worm 'Witty': Security patch only for money
But commercial firewall solutions are so much better than open source solutions. And of course a personal firewall on a Windows machine is equivalent to a dedicated firewall host based on Linux...
At NETZEITUNG.DE Internet you can find the original article.
Bill Gates: In 10 years, many important IT problems will be solved
Because in 9 years Microsoft will close its doors, after still no alpha of Longhorn is available?
At heise online news you can find the original article.
Cycling
Münster the most bicycle-friendly city? The ADFC has lost their minds. Sorry, but anyone who's ever cycled in Münster knows how mediocre the bike paths are - with a road bike you get your rims destroyed. Sure, as a cyclist you don't have to follow any traffic rules in Münster (at least most cyclists in Münster believe that - as a pedestrian you can often only choose whether you'd rather be run over by a car or a bicycle), but the city really isn't that bicycle-friendly. The entire city center is designed with large patches of cobblestones aimed at rim destruction, proper bike racks (ones that don't bend your rims) only exist in a few places, and you rarely see usable poles to chain bikes to. And if we hadn't accidentally had a red-green council once in a while, we wouldn't even have the bicycle parking garage (and probably not the park-and-ride area with bike boxes either).
At Fundsachen there's the original article.
Music Industry Sues File-Sharing Users
The only concept in the music industry: waves of lawsuits.
At tagesschau im Internet you can find the original article.
PyWX: Python for AOLserver - Embed Python in AOL Server as an alternative to TCL
Arbitrariness of the Justice Senator in Hamburg
How a CDU Senator shows himself unimpressed by court decisions and bends the law.
I found the original article at .::: [unsinnfälliges].
Rüttgers demands mandatory private pension for all
Let me summarize once more: the existing pension fund is designed according to the principle of cost minimization - a public administration, control apparatus and essentially legal protection (except when a chancellor dips into the pension fund for reunification, but that's a different story). The advantage of such a public institution: it is controllable (at least if politicians and federal government institutions do their job) and the government can exert direct influence (which brings us back to the chancellor with his blooming imagination, sorry, blooming landscapes).
On the other hand, we have large insurance companies whose orientation has a single goal: profit maximization. Makes the shareholders happy - customers are only of secondary interest. Besides, of course the employees of the insurance companies need to be paid. And the boss needs his million-dollar severance. And a new company car for the procurator is also due, just like the beautiful ostentatious buildings in the insurance districts of major German cities. And government influence? No influence, except through legislation. Securing pensions? No special provisions (of course, the legislator could ensure that - but that would then be an impermissible intervention in the economy, huge fuss about the business location, massive protests about competitive disadvantage...).
Rüttgers now wants to force all citizens to put money into a second pot to balance the money he wants to take from them from the first pot. Money should flow out of controllable and state-run pots into uncontrollable pots subject to economic arbitrariness. Because it's guaranteed to become cheaper for consumers when a structure oriented toward cost minimization is replaced by one oriented toward profit maximization.
In the Ruhr Valley, workers take to the streets against the state and for their business bosses - because they want to protest against emissions trading regulations. No one there seems to care about their pension...
The original article is available at tagesschau im Internet.
Bütikofer: Clement questions coalition
Clement is just doing what he already did in North Rhine-Westphalia: testing how much strain he can put on the administration, checking whether he can push through without compromise. Without regard for the consequences. He already tried this in North Rhine-Westphalia but ultimately failed against Bärbel Höhn. Though "failed" is relative—he got through much more than the Greens liked. This whole game will probably be easier against Trittin. Or even harder—Trittin seems to have genuine staying power (or he's just too dull to notice what he has to take). What's it all supposed to accomplish? No idea, they're politicians, you probably only understand them if you're a trained psychologist.
At tagesschau im Internet you can find the original article.
Duden-Homepage - Change in capitalization for personal address forms with the new spelling rules
Capitalist's Servant
Well, when it comes to one's own money, the radical communist shows their true colors
At Industrial Technology & Witchcraft you can find the original article.
Research Against the Warning Letter Craze
Reason Against Warning Letter Mania? Forget About It.
The original article can be found at Telepolis News (27.03.2004).
Google Search: - Prototype based programming as metaclass hack for Python
Prothon - Interesting mix of Python and Self
dp-now.com - News - Epson reveals digital rangefinder secrets
3000 euros - not exactly a bargain. Still, the must-have factor keeps growing
I like Debian ...
One takes: the Netinstall XFS Image, a new server (Mini-ITX board with Via Eden chip, if you're interested) and simply enters xfs at the boot prompt. After that, you let the hardware be detected, partition the disk as one huge XFS partition and a spacious swap space, then just enter the basic network configuration and simply wait until the computer is finished. As if Debian were complicated to install. Ridiculous.
Python Package Index Tutorial - Explanation of how to build PyPI entries in setup.py
Daylight Saving Time
I hate daylight saving time. Not because it's a changeover - that doesn't bother me much. But this silly clock adjustment is just annoying. And ultimately the whole thing is highly absurd - pure self-deception. As if reality changes because you adjust the clocks. Absurd.
At Die wunderbare Welt von Isotopp you can find the original article.
On April 22nd ...
... Santa Claus doesn't come, but something almost as good, namely Uma Thurman. And finally kills Bill.
Industry association Bitkom wants to abolish private copying
The Bitcom zombie twitches again ...
I found the original article at netbib weblog.
Index of /~vorlon/d-i/xfs - Debian Sarge Netinst CD with XFS support
Life Out of Control
A documentary series on arte about the century-spanning issue of genetic research. The extent of the lies, corruption, and human stupidity in their belief in current miracle healers is alarming. Iceland sells the medical records of all Iceland's residents to a private corporation by legislative decree—a decree drafted by the company's lawyers. The Human Genome Diversity Project collects genetic samples from isolated, endangered peoples and peddies them to private corporations that profit from them. Like the Swedish corporation that sells a yogurt containing a lactobacillus from a Peruvian woman. Of course, the woman receives nothing for it—she doesn't even know that part of her is being sold as a patented product on the Swedish market.
Schröder satisfied with reform course
I'm sick of this self-aggrandizement. Just as much as the — predictable — idiotic response from the Union leader. This is such silly nonsense — do adults really have nothing better to do than strut around Berlin and pretend they have something important to say? I don't even dare compare this behavior to small children anymore, because they come up with ten times more intelligent things than these politicians. The government is patting itself on the back and praising itself for work done — sure, nobody else would praise the garbage they've spouted. The Union, of course, doesn't engage with substantive questions, but pats itself on the back and takes swipes at the government because it wants to form the next government. Just to then deliver equally meaningless speeches and break a bit more stuff.
And what does reality get out of it? Nothing. Stupid babble, peacocking, and half-baked concepts driven only by party political power interests but having nothing to do with real problems.
At WDR.de you can find the original article.
Static Type Inference (for Python) with Starkiller
A quite interesting document about a static type checker for Python. It would be nice if something like that would make its way into Python - the possibilities for optimizations by the compiler would be significantly better.
I found the original article at Lambda the Ultimate.
Telekom board member Josef Brauner steps down over toll fiasco
Sony 2 pisses off ...
At heise online news there is the original article.
The Guardian hammers RSS
Rogers Cadenhead summarizes what bothers me most about Atom: the silly hype from some proponents who feel compelled to badmouth RSS in an embarrassing way - but ultimately only prove that they simply have no idea what they're talking about. Or if they do have knowledge, they deliberately make false statements, just to promote Atom - a specification that isn't even a draft yet - as the greatest invention since sliced bread.
It's somehow ridiculous how adult people can get so worked up over a stupid file format...
You can find the original article at Workbench.