A company, the name of which I withhold because of the ongoing innovative product development, is currently testing their new product “corundum rapid abrasion paper” (c.r.a.p.) at our university. This paper has several special properties: The fabric can be produced to be equivalent to sand paper grit sizes of >120, but is considerably thinner. Thus, […]
In this whole gruesome affair about our beloved impostor, opposition leader Sigmar Gabriel made a interesting observation in his speech about the impending army reform (at 11'50" in this YouTube video; German of course): There was no call to order by the president [of the Bundestag], not even all too loud uproar or protest on […]
In November 2008, I wrote my stratigraphy stylesheet, which contained colour codes for all units from the International Stratigraphic Chart (ISC) down to the period/system level. Later I added some Cenozoic and Mesozoic units of lower rank. When I was ill during the last weekend and therefore sometimes rather bored, I completed the colour codes. […]
I've bought a “Bavaria Ticket Single” online. Afterwards, I was asked to take part in a little survey. Having time and being in a friendly mood, I agreed. But then, this rather weird questions pops up: Translation: Are you traveling with the Bavaria Ticket Single alone or with several people? alone group of two group […]
Being just a ordinary person, I sadly don't look deep into the legal foundations of life. Thus, I've only recently found out from a blog post on Astrodicticum simplex that Article 131, paragraph 2 of the Bavarian Constitution contains these paramount educational goals: The paramount educational goals are reverence for God, respect for religious persuasion […]
…has now been solved: (By Bizarro; found at Pharyngula the other day.) I'm quite happy that I didn't yet have to discuss with students the creationst crap the cartoon makes fun of.
Sometimes, leafing through old books yields little gems. The hydraulic processes of groundwater in nature cause great difficulties for calculations. To date, the geologist usually tends to rely on imagination [impression? understanding? concept? How the hell do you translate „Anschauung“?] only, and to disregard calculations completely. The mathematically trained engineer, on the other hand, often […]
When working on the local geology, I'm constantly reminded that in the former German Democratic Republic, topographic and geological maps were classified material. Most of the Lithofacies Map of the Quaternary 1:50000 (LKQ50) and the Hydrogeological Map 1:50000 (HK50) were ranked confidental („VD – Vertrauliche Dienstsache“, literally “confidential offical matter”), the rest was even secret […]
