Happiness

Ingredients:

* appreciation for being alive
* rehearsing with the quartett


To me, the first one is what keeps me going in good and bad times, because in the end, if I would not exist, I could never experience anything. It gives me the feeling that life is good.

The second one is the one that frees my soul, that lets me breathe and feel my emotions with an intensity that hits me ever again. Something in communicating with the others creates an energy which sweeps me with its flow and for this time the world is perfect.

In this spirit, this post is dedicated to Simone, Laura, and Ildiko, for all these hours of wonderful music. Probably they will never read it, but somehow it doesnt matter to me :)

(For your planning, we will play in concert on the 30th of May, in Auditorio Haydn, Via Dante. I very cordially invite you, would be really glad to see you there!)
(and, sorry for my enthusiasm, tomorrow I will be back to normal ;)

Size matters?

There is always some new things in life to surprise you.. In fact, I have heard a lot of funny comments about my computer, starting from pocket calculator, to 'whohoo, you and your sexy compter'. But the nicest one I observed yesterday, when someone looked it and went

"Ooh, this is so sweet! How do you open it? Does it also work properly?"

So now you know what you would need in order for some people to chat you up (even though I must admit it worked better before the new McBook was released ;)

mad world... in bags

when in doubt, part 2

dedicated to all people that have to suffer under the data structures and algorithms course this semester... keep in mind the ultimate wisdom:

"When in doubt - SORT!" [M.Böhlen]

Have fun :)

Expectations on mobile style...

Meditation party

Maybe sounds controversial? It kinda is.. In fact at some moment the thought entered my mind. I mean, how likely is it that about 10 people having a noisy, entertaining cooking party end up sitting meditating around some candle? Somehow this was quite weird and funny at the same time and the best of it: it actually happened :) (Maybe because Valderama (;)) cut his hair?? who knows) Either way, I was really amazed how seriously everybody participated and I must say it does add another dimension to my picture of the people I usually meet for going out.
Apart from that we had some not acceptable experimental food (I just cant cook according to recipes... partially because I dont really remember them, sorry) and some nice cake and a lot of joking whilst cooking. (Listen to the boss!! :) Have a nice evening!

Me and Mister Jones...

.. and Olga. This is how the evening ended, filling our gaps in common movie knowledge ;) So, prove how good you are and tell me what I do have in common with Indiana Jones!

However, before watching the movie, we went to the theater where we had the privilege to see an italianwide premier of the Stephen Petronio Company. It was an evening full of absolutely amazing modern dance to very fascinating music and I'm still in awe :) Escpecially Stephen's adaption of 'Le Sacre du Printemps' was awesome, it banned the audience so much that they even forgot to clap after each scene (which I really enjoyed, they kept bugging me with clapping things to pieces ;)
On the company's website I found some pictures. They can't really replace the show but they are still giving a nice impression. enjoy!

Bud Suite (2006)

Lareigne (1995)

The Rite Part (1992)

A winter film

you are allowed to smirk at me, but i just love it! :)

Freestyle jumping

Tetris fever - Japanese interpretation

About the gender of computers

Somewhere on the internet the following reasoning about the issue was discovered:

A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that
in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as
either masculine or feminine.

'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.'
'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.'

A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the
class into two groups, male and female, and asked
them to decide for themselves whether "computer"
should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each
group was asked to give four reasons for its
recommendation.

The men's group decided that 'computer' should
definitely be of the feminine gender ('la
computadora'), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their
internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with
other computers is incomprehensible to everyone
else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long
term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you
find yourself spending half your paycheck on
accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers
should be Masculine ('el computador'), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to
turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for
themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems,
but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if
you had waited a little longer, you could have
gotten a better model.

Who has not been there.... :)

Dedicated to all the tetris addicts :) Poor me, at that time I didnt have a gameboy. However, my time has come - there is tetris on facebook...!!!

Application fun, part 2

Sometimes life rewards your work in rather obscure ways. To me hours of desperate internet browsing for the perfect masters degree did not lead to the desired succes, however they treated me with the following pearl: 'please do not include leaves with double print!' ...

Hmm.. but if I have leaves with single print, do I have to send the tree as well?? Sometimes these application requirements really leave you 'nothing to hope for'.

Ironically, the beautiful phrase could be found on the application page of a so-called bavarian 'elite graduate program' where some 5 lines afterwards very good english knowledge was a crucial feature of the successful applicant... (maybe for correcting the web pages? sometimes I'm tempted to write an email but then - I still make enough mistakes myself :)

closing with Bastian Sick commenting on the bavarian homepage www.bayern-international.de, (spoken bayern minus international): what will remain of bavaria if you subtract international?

Skype phrases

There are some very nice ones on occasions.. these i saw today:

"Cheese - milk's leap to immortality!"

"I have no tv, so I eat mushrooms and watch the carpet"

I'm sure there is a lot more curiosity out there so feel free to add :)

Cut off from the world

that is how I feel today...

Imagine looking out of the window, it is perfect sun outside, blue sky...

Imagine, how perfect this weather would be for going on the mountains, racing down the slopes, feeling the crisp air in your face, getting adrenalin shocks from jumping little hurdles...

and NOW imagine having a bloody horrible cold and having to stay at home all day when everybody enjoys what you have been wishing for the whole week when tied to the office!!!!!
It kinda sucks.. and then, apart from that, I'm about to loose faith in my mobile phone provider.. Because either my messages are not delivered, or in the last 2 days people silently agreed to not reply to me anymore :S or there are all out having a very busy and very good time whilst for me time passes veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery slooooooooooooooooooooooooooowly... ok, I'm done with complaining :P will go for another hot water bottle, tea, and then my bed again.

Despite the Risk

that someone will find me geeky.. but this comic is just too nice... maybe try focussing on the body language :)

Love has many forms...

... but some things are universal! Happy Valentine's Day! Sending big hugs to you all :)

of COURSE computers can do magic!

if you believe it already, then don't bother.. otherwise you can find the proof here!
(or maybe it is just a cunning algorithm? who knows...)
either way, I think I found the solution..
have fun and tell me if you found it too!

SILENCE!!!!! my all-time favourite...

ok, you probably all know this already, but it is just too good to not watch it again! this time even with german subtitles ;)

Kisskisskiss

A friend of mine often sends me entertaining stuff by mail and I decided to share some with you. The label will be mailbox.

out of season

but i found it and i think its nice :)
enjoy!



you just have to imagine the tasty smell yourself ;)

facebook for dummies

i did not believe my eyes... however, this 'little' book fills 360 pages telling you:

Find out how to maximize your Facebook experience

Create a Facebook profile that enhances your real-world relationships

Whether you want to connect with friends already on Facebook or be the first on your block to join, this is the book you need. Written by a pair of Facebook insiders, Facebook For Dummies shows how to create a profile, communicate with friends, play with Facebook applications, and explore the unique ways Facebook can improve your business.

Discover how to:

• Create a profile to your liking

• Share photos and messages with friends

• Join networks for your city, school, or work

• Manage the amount of information you share

• Use Facebook for business

and there seems to be a lot more of this 'literature'... I'm waiting for the first PhD proposal on researching facebook... or maybe it's just me finding this weird and strange...

neulich im postfach...

ein j0bangebot:

für unseren Kunden, ein renommiertes Internet-Automobilportal suchen wir ab sofort eine/n WerkstudentIn Product Management Schmittstellen (m/w).

was das wohl ist?

Insider...

sometimes life gives you nice surprises. some are also mysterious. like this invitation i got today:

Come to the party. We have cookies.

G.

Somehow this sounds familiar...
Have a nice day :)

Application fairy tales

Once upon a time, a little girl decided to study. The world was nice and shiny and the application procedure was very easy. Also the studies went well, so she managed to finish and get a shiny new Bachelors degree (-- hang on, it is actually called Laurea--- why? it is written Bsc on the homepage.. -- Oh, that is just for marketing reasons--).
After her graduation, the day came when she should make up her mind about how and where to continue with her studies, because she felt it was time for some Master plan. So our little girl dived into the world of electronic communication and browsed for weeks and months to find some suitable program. It was a long, hard task, especially as most of the requirements where written in a very demanding way so that even superwoman could hardly fulfil them. In the end she decided to still give it a try and this was when the bureocratical monster woke up and left its cave.
'You want an English version of the diploma? We dont have such a thing! Just take this certificate.' 'But.. there is not the same stuff written on it.. and it is different from the diploma supplement as well.' 'Does that matter?'... So our poor little girl fought her way through the wilderness of certificates, language proofs, course transcripts, reference letters, and curriculum vitaes until the last big hurdle came up on the horizon: the game called 'collect the signatures you need'. Currently she is stuck there, and if you have any idea of how to solve this task, please let post them so her chances of letting destiny rule over her applications will be better...

About Computer Scientists...

it is worrying, but on occasions I realise that in fact I do start to identify myself with this term.. But at the same time, I am developing a slight allergy towards certain small brained people broadcasting in complete obliviousness some very nice rumors about 'us'...
Recent conversation:

'Dont worry about leaving your girlfriend alone with a computer scientist, he wouldnt know what to do with her!' - 'Of course they would!! They would take her to the museum to admire the van Neumann machine!'

(ok, kidding, I didnt reply this...) what I said was:

'How can you be so sure?' - 'I KNOW these guys.....(nodding very satisfied..)'
'Really?? I know some of them too..' - 'No, come on... everybody knows this is the truth..'
'But... I've studied with them for 3 years (and I think I could find counter examples)' - 'eh? WHAT?'
'I just finished studies in Computer Science.'

- 'YOU?!?! (slightly shrill voice) But - you're a WOMAN?!?!? (this is soo scandalous, how could you possibly do SUCH a thing... )'

Carneval...

so... now i have the honor to officially contradict myself.. in fact, computer scientists are probably the people that can party best.. the trick is just to get them out of the office first.... ;) then they even will come to carneval dressed as fencing pro, mafioso, gigolo, red light customer, star trek commander (who could have guessed :) , or even as really prudish geek.. to summarize, we had a looot of fun and fotos can be found on olga's picasa, or you can ask me for them :D

i just have to say, i enjoyed the evening very very much and i'm happy to have such friends to go out with! hugs to all of you :)