Comment Re:"Inventing New Swear Words"? (Score 1) 708
I've chosen the wrong option
Vandalism is pretty much part of the tradition.
Frankly, I object to "traditions" that allow anyone to wreck my front door. Also, "vandalism" is not my tradition.
You have to keep watch and throw rocks at them if they try to rape your doorknob or smash your pumpkins. Never aim at the head though.
I also refuse to hurt children, even if they "smash my pumpkins". There are better ways to deal with that.
So, if I'm caught by costumed kids at home, I'll share some of my sweets (no, I am not a pinhead
There is a simple signal used here in the states: leave your porch lights on if you are giving out candy. Turn them off if you are not.
Trouble is, the "continental European version" of Halloween, as I exeperienced it so far, has been stripped of everything but ringing at everybody's home to gather sweets while wearing costumes. I am nearly 100% sure, that not any kid will know that rule around here. Still, what they know is that on Halloween, people who do not open their door, get their knobs or doorbells coated with toothpaste.
Participation in the Halloween extortion scheme is not mandatory.
Right. That's exactly my point. Most kids around here don't care for that one. Globalization would be so fine, if imported customs would not be that distorted
In that case, I guess it would come down to the quality and availability of your home internet connection.
ADSL, 16MBit/s downstream, 1MBit/s upstream. Should be sufficient for any streaming purposes
Other than that, yeah, I can't think of why the university does it.
OK, to be more precise, I am not a professor, but a post-graduate giving lectures. The professor holding the chair I am working for is responsible for this strange situation. Nevertheless, he is quite representative for a decent number of other professors when it comes to working from home. D'oh.
If you worked from home, wouldn't every professor have to have the internet line and video equipment that the campus has?
You suppose that we do our lectures using video streams. Actually, the largest group of our students is working full-time (either because they can't afford a full-time university or because they want to get a further diploma to qualify for a different position in their firm) and therefore is quite happy with our printed materials. Only very few professors actually use video streaming (and this only on few occasions), so that our campus only requires one TV studio.
So, a computer, a phone, a decent internet connection (ADSL/cable) and some space on your desk would be all to manage your tasks from home. Needless to say that nearly all of us have a university-sponsored laptop and handheld computer. But actually, most of us ask ourselves why as a remote working place is not favored
East (&technically West) Germany
Yes, I know, I am doing the smart ass thing right now, but the Federal Republic of Germany we know right now has technically existed since 1949. There have several occasions where the (you say West) German state has significantly changed. For example in 1957, a small independent country joined the German Federation. Furthermore, my home country integrated numerous smaller areas from its western neighbours (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) as well as some North Sea islands between 1949 and the 1970s. So if you say, that we have a different state every time some minor areal changes took place, then counting them all will become a rather difficult task
Neither Japan, nor Germany wanted WWII.
What both wanted was a whole bunch more territory and the benefits of having it.
This is not true. In 1936 Hitler set up a "vierjahresplan" (plan for the four years to come) which contained the requirement that the German army and economy had to prepared for war within 4 years. Google for the Munich conferece of 1938, especially for Hitler's comments on the outcome. He was really pissed that he gained Czech territory so peacefully.
Regards,
stirz
He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion