Saaga

Sometimes I wonder if I am the only one that notices that the AI revolution is already here and we are soon to be used as batteries in some kind of Geigeresque cross between a powerstation and a grape vine. So many computer problems seem to occur for no apparent reason and are often fixed as the person that is there to repair them arrives. Possibly the technology has already subverted the wills of people that work in IT; which is born out by the number of techy people that want to tell me it is my fault.

Today I was a victim of an ‘ID ten T problem’. The beamer attached to one of our schools interactive whiteboards was not working. The teacher and teacher’s aide in the computer lab could not get it to work, so naturally they came over to interupt my child wrangling to ask if I could fix it. I was happy to press the on button for them (which is usually the ID ten T problem) but that didn’t work. I didn’t give up though because I am good buddies with all of the IT department (which is why it will hurt to fight against them during the AI revolution) and would still probably be there when one of them dragged their surly, machine infested carcasses in to fix it.

I was patient and tried all the tricks I knew, but to no avail, so the teacher called IT and before I could hustle my strange ducklings out the door, in swans Darth Chan. She gives me the look that means: “Why did IT get a call when you are here, you lazy bastard.” I had nothing to say and simply watched as she pressed the on button and saw the thing work.
Maybe it was the way she pressed the button that made it work. I may never know, because I fled with my class to avoid her scornful laugh

I didn’t miss the ‘ID ten T’ comment though and I know it was directed at me. The question that was asked was, “what was wrong with the beamer?”
Darth Chan’s response was that it was an ID ten T problem.
Many wondered what that meant, so she said, “write it down and all will become clear.”

ID10T

If you liked the Pig Rifle: Coming soon…the Mouse Carbine.

Many have asked about the proper use of the pig gun. So here is a quick run down of the basics.

1. Attain pig ammuntion

2. Load pig into the rear of the gun

3. Aim and fire at your wife

We saw Spiderman 3 yesterday and although the movie was kind of lame, I loved the fact that we were at the movies. We hardly ever go these days, because unless I want to see a movie in German, I have to watch the one movie the theatre is showing in English or hire a car and drive across the Dutch border.

Green Goblin: Ja Shpidermann das ist good. Aber mein boomerang ist da bomb.
Spiderman: Ach Zo Goblin! Dein Boomerang is da bomb.

We also saw 28 weeks later which I really enjoyed. I suppose that comes as no surprise because I love zombie movies, but this is a really good example of how the genre can produce some quality.

We just had a visit from Tancred and Evelyn. Two visits if you count their trip to the low lands as a leaving and their return as an arrival. It was good to have them here, although it made going to work seem like a real chore.

We took them out to see Barbarosa’s castle on the Rhein in Kaiserwerth, which is about a 10 minute walk from my school. Here we are on top of what is really a ruin, rather than a castle.

Here is a better view of the decrepitude

We also took trips to Bonn

and Koblenz. I found this awesome gate, covered with spring growth on the Rhein Ufer.

One thing Tancred was particularly interested in was the local football. So we took him to a Fortuna game, which I am ashamed to say was only my sixth of the whole season. It is third league football and this is sometimes reflected in the quality of the game, but it is better than anything I remember from Northern Spirit and also the one Sydney FC game I saw.
Having said that all that, there are enough moments of genius to keep me and coming back and the crowd on its feet.
This shot is of the Ultras in the bay next to us. There are roughly 1500 of them at every game and they really love to sing rude crap at the other team’ s fans. However, because we weren’t Ultras, we were not to know that after the 75th minute, they had decided to punish the team’s poor form this season by not singing aymore. So after a minute or so of silence from our end, Tancred and I decided to warm the place up with a spot of football singing in English. It wasn’t well received due to the fact that it made no sence to anyone else and we were all supposed to be silent.

My obsession with barges is about to be documented on this blog. Here is the first pic. This one was taken near the confluence of the Rhein and the Mosel.

And just to round it off, here is a shot of Koblenz’s man on a horse.

This last addition is of our school playground. You can see why I may never be able to leave the school.

Yee haw! Just how I like ‘em.

It seems that everything revolves around one of us being pregnant.