First, The Name

Finally -
I found a name for my incredibly irresponsible way of working. Whatever it is, *first* I do nothing. Then I do a little, then nothing again, then slowly, then a bit more Tempo, then very quickly and finally completely frenzied in the end.

The name for this strategy came to me from one of the last Zeit issues... is the same as the Greeks' 2004 Olympic preparation strategy:

It's called

Sirtaki!

External Memories

Yesterday, something strange happened.
Talking with FW, she told me about her last trip by train, just the very same day, and then about train tickets bought online, and then
*zzzzzzip fizzle crackle*
about this girl with her little child who had one of those fancy print-them-yourself tickets bought by her bf and sent to her via email or something. Of course, the result was some confusion over BahnCard numbers, credit card numbers, and such, which didn't match, and finally she had to pay the fare dodger fee...

So, what I want to get at is that I have experienced *this very same story* some three or four months ago! The very same! A girl, her child, and her bf who f***ed something up with the online ticket.
Well, this is very strange, of course. So strange I had to mention this coincidence, and guess what happened.

This wasn't my story.
I haven't experienced it.
No, instead I have been told this story before, because during the *zzzzzzip fizzle crackle* FW explained that this event had taken place some months ago. Meaning, she already related this story to me once before, and somehow I internalized it so completely that I could have sworn my leg off that it had happened to me. I could almost describe the seat I was sitting on during the debate between this girl and the train conductor.

Actually, I found this somewhat scary. If you don't even know what has happened to you and what not, what else slips your attention? It seems to be very easy to foist fake memories onto people... Scary.

Plat du jour

People can be divided into two classes - Those Who Immediately Do Their Dishwashing and, on the other hand, Those Who Lay It Off Until The Last Spoon Has Been Used Up.

I definitely belong into the second class. Yesterday, there was an enormous heap of dishes in my sink again. In order for the dishes not to have a dry crust which boldly refuses to be washed away, I tend to rinse them before washing them. Somehow, I did this rinsing already a few days ago and then forgot to continue with the actual washing. So yesterday, FW compared this very succinctly to her own approach:

"When you rinsed your dishes, mine weren't even dirty!"
("Als Du Dein Geschirr eingeweicht hast, war meines noch nicht mal schmutzig!")

Agitprop

Beijing sends Olympic gold medalists to Hong Kong to inspire patriotic feelings before the elections, sends the first Chinese taikonaut to Hong Kong to inspire patriotic feelings before the elections, and surely many more.

Well - would this propaganda really be different in the USA?

Yes. Those respective national heroes would be sent around as well, but not on behalf of the central government, but supposedly rather on request of local high school heads, mayors etc.

So, according to AC:

It is a dictatorship when agitprop is done top-down,
it is democracy when agitprop happens bottom-up.

Leftovers

First of all, something very strange happened today: MW sneezed, but not in his usual brain-damaging way that leaves you half expecting to find his brains splattered all over the office rear wall. No, he sneezed in a muffled way. I won't talk about this any more, since maybe you could find a description of this incident in his online diary someday, so let it suffice that I was very much pleased to find him so considerate.

But, coming to today's topic...
What is it that you think that you are here, in this world, for?
I had answered this question for myself some time ago - I wanted to leave something. Meaning something like a kind of achievement... it could be, for example, art. But it could just as well be some kind of, say, scientific idea or whatever. But the former seemed more probably to me, for me. I mused over this from time to time, and now - I'm not quite so sure.
Still, I would very much like to create a lasting work of art. The main ideal would be something like a bronze-cast statue. Built to last :-).
But then, I came to think that you live for others. I know what some of you might think now, but I suspect this idea will stick with me. Somehow, you are here to make others happy. This should be your primary goal here. There are times when the pursuit of your own happiness has to stand back behind the others'.

I am quite sure that I have no idea what I'm talking about, although I believe that I do...

The PJS Traindump

Next weekend... or no... the weekend after next it going to be...

LEGOLAND^TM!

We go to LEGOLAND! We go to LEGOLAND Germany!
I've been to the Billund, Denmark LEGOLAND once before - when I was nine years old. One traumatic memory remained of this:

Imagine little LEGO Basic cars, something like bumper cars, only LEGO-like, large enough for little monsters to drive around. The little PJS mounted one, and unfortunately, it already carried the seed of tragedy. Only I did not know it then.
There was a course in a city-like fashion, i.e. streets, houses, junctions, and a railway all around LEGOLAND which also crossed this said car course. This railway was used by a big LEGO train which ferried those visitors all around the LEGOLAND who were too lazy to go on their own. The streets met the railway at an unmanned crossing, and guess what, the PJS's car broke down right on this crossing. Right at the moment when a train was approaching, that is.
So, the PJS sat there, on the crossing, in his broken-down car, with the train approaching, and couldn't move.
Can you imagine the psychological damage a situation like this delivers to a little monster?

Maybe it's because of this incident that I prefer cars much longer and much wider than I am myself... like Smørebrød, and rather unlike a Japanese Be-1.

Folkman!!

I found a great new widget: The Mormoniser!

My Mormon name is Kaiden Chipper Folkman!
What's yours?

Have yourself mormonised, too!

Donation.Donutella... Donuteller... Doughnuttalla...

I bet you expect an explanation of the Assuan Cover in this place now.
Sooo...

No.
Not yet.

Somehow, the last days have been a donation to the world. To put this a bit more clearly, I have had the impression that I get called only and exclusively for help. Whenever my phone rings, I could place my bets - it's a call for help, in some fashion.
I'm not complaining, it's just that you have to wait for the Orbital Power Shovel a bit longer. Be patient... at least my ethernet still works. In contrast to some other people's...