June 2006

Toys

28 June 2006

The white one is mine, the black one is MamaMaus’. Christopher went empty today. For all the complaining I did, the MacBook arrived on the exact day Apple estimated delivery. It doesn’t whine, it doesn’t moo, and it’s not too hot. MamaMaus’ employer is rolling out Blackberries throughout Europe. She’s been used to replicating Lotus [...]

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Holiday on Ice

26 June 2006

Spreeblick asks if the World Cup fiasco last night between Portugal and Holland was perhaps ice hockey instead of a soccer match. I doubt it. I’ve never seen an ice hockey game as dirty as that, or with such poor officiating.

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Web Design Explained

23 June 2006

This pie chart explains in terms even a pointy-haired manager can understand why web design takes so much longer than is planned. It also explains why the designers are sometimes so surly to the sys admins. (via 2020 Hindsight)

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Wave If You See Us

22 June 2006

This afternoon at 4 pm we’ll be at the Czech Republic – Italy match in Hamburg, this time with real tickets, no FIFA buffet but with Christopher. We’re lucky that both teams have something to gain, so we won’t have a yawner like Argentina – Holland last night. We’ll be sitting in the “north curve” [...]

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MacBook Shanghaied

21 June 2006

My MacBook, ordered on 31 May from the German Apple Store, hasn’t been delivered yet. But thanks to the Apple Tracking site at apecode, where one can track European Apple Store orders, I know my MacBook is out of the factory and waiting for a flight out of Shanghai. Expected delivery date: 29 June. Four [...]

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VIP for a day at the World Cup

20 June 2006

Sometimes good things do come to those who wait. Last week MamaMaus was offered comp VIP tickets for the World Cup match Saudi Arabia – Ukraine in Hamburg. We got free food and drink, the weather was comfortable (after a thunderstorm cooled things off just before kick-off), there were a lot of goals, and we [...]

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Heroes and Villains

16 June 2006

The thing that’s so cool about the World Cup, and soccer in general, is that it’s so blatantly emotional and subjective. Take the past couple of days. There have been 3 games (Germany – Poland, England – Trinidad and Tobago, Sweden – Paraguay) where the plot line has been basically the same. The favorite struggles [...]

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USA – Czech Republic

12 June 2006

So, the real World Cup started at 6 pm today, but the USA is being outclassed by the Czech Republic. The US can control the ball, but it looks like they’ve made the mistake of bringing stiletto knives to an axe fight. They’re trailing 2:0 at halftime. At least they’ve mastered the offside trap, which [...]

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From the World Cup Front

8 June 2006

MamaMaus reports from Munich. She’s at a 2 star hotel with 5 star World Cup rates this week for business meetings before the World Cup opener on Friday. The hotel was apparently was last redecorated for the previous big sports event in Munich, the 1972 Olympics. Her meeting for Thursday was cancelled, she booked a [...]

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Never Talk to Tele2

6 June 2006

A couple of weeks ago I got a sale call from Tele2 offering some sort of pre-select phone package for local and long-distance calls. I politely said I wasn’t interested and hung up. I never buy anything on the phone. The telemarketer from Tele2 apparently disagreed, and submitted an order in my name anyway. A [...]

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Stormy Weather

5 June 2006

We just returned from camping. The weather was perfect: mostly sunny, slightly breezy, dry, and warm enough for short sleeves. Unfortunately, it was only perfect for one hour as we were packing to leave. Otherwise, the weather was mostly miserable. Rain on Saturday, wind on Sunday, and mostly cold for June (low was 5°C this [...]

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MB 13/1.83 CTO WHITE

2 June 2006

MB 13/1.83 CTO WHITE is the secret code for “I’ve ordered myself a present”, namely a new MacBook, with 0% financing so the Finance Minister won’t notice. The battery on my 500 MHz PowerBook no longer charge, so it was time to do something. I work mostly at the kitchen table, but it’s handy to [...]

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Camping

2 June 2006

We’re taking Christopher for his first camping trip this weekend. We’re heading to Ratzeburg and meeting up with his uncles and cousins for the Pentecost (or is it Whitsun) holiday weekend. We haven’t been camping for a few years, so we’ve been hectically gathering supplies and wondering what we’re missing. I’m sure we’ll realize we’ve [...]

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