Dave's Blog

au KDDI: Bureaucracy FAIL

a.k.a. “We really have no idea how we still are in business, but it shouldn’t last much longer…” When it comes to services and subscriptions (cellphone, ISP, banks, heroin dealer…), I am a company’s wet dream customer: one that never leaves for a competitor. Not that I develop any particularly fuzzy feeling for whatever nameless corporation [...]

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au KDDI: Bureaucracy FAIL

More Random Comments and Appreciation: a Berlin Wrap-Up

The end keeps nearing. Last weekend in Berlin. Feeling ever so slightly gloomy, for all sorts of reasons. Luckily I have the thought of warm Spring days ahead, plus many exciting plans for the months to come, to keep me from thinking about it too much. Also: it is about time that I resume working [...]

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

More Random Comments and Appreciation: a Berlin Wrap-Up

Back from the Clubs…

Berlin, 7am. I have more ink on my wrist than… a… erm… Too soon? Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)Back from the Clubs…

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Back from the Clubs…

Electrostatic Research

You know it’s time to visit a hairdresser when: You get shocked, touching your own desk. You get shocked, touching the metal doorknob to your office. You get shocked, washing your hands (not touching the faucet, mind you). All of the above. All of the above, over a 20 minute timespan. Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments [...]

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Electrostatic Research

The end is near…

Still here for another week, but feeling a bit nostalgic already. Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)The end is near…

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

The end is near…

More random sights of Berlin life…

In order: a (poorly rendered) view of the city from some club, another night at the Opera and some much-awaited blue skies on an afternoon walk. Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)More random sights of Berlin life…

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

More random sights of Berlin life…

You know you are in a Bioinformatics lab when…

Lab sysadmin recently announced that, due to excessive use and lack of server space, individual user directories were now capped… … at 4 terabytes… … per user. Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)You know you are in a Bioinformatics lab when…

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

You know you are in a Bioinformatics lab when…

A Night at the Museum

The Pergamon in Berlin: throwback to simpler times, when bringing back a couple postcards or a “Love From Athens” t-shirt from your archeological expedition just didn’t seem enough. Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)A Night at the Museum

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

A Night at the Museum

Random Comments and Appreciation

Since it is doubtful I will ever get around to write a proper recount of this month’s cultural outings, here are a couple random thoughts instead: Despite my impression of the past few years that Japanese cinema was losing ground to more daring, less formulaic Korean filmmakers such as Park Chan-wook, Japanese movies were particularly well [...]

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Random Comments and Appreciation

Busy Week…

International première of Kyoto Uzumasa Monogatari in Alexanderplatz, La Traviata at Deutsche Oper Berlin and Berlinale screening of Otouto at the Berlinale Palast…Definitely staying home tonight. Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)Busy Week…

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Busy Week…

This month’s ticket purchases…

On the program for this month, we have so far: two operas, three official Berlinale screenings, two music recitals and a couple exhibits. Sometimes I do work too. Now you know why updates are scarce around here… Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)This month’s ticket purchases…

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

This month’s ticket purchases…

Deutsch Chroniken, Teil 1

Thanks to some exceptionally warm weather day this week (where temperatures nearly went over zero for one hour, around noon), a frozen hand sticking out of the snow on the side of a street, holding what looked like a note, was sighted by passer-by. Although the thawing did not last long enough to consider excavating [...]

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Deutsch Chroniken, Teil 1

Walking on Thin Ice

Back from a walk around the neighbourhood, on the river.Due to current temperature, sandals and robe will unfortunately have to wait. But I can work on the beard in the meantime. Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)Walking on Thin Ice

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Walking on Thin Ice

How cold, you ask?

This cold.Yes: these are boats. Yes: these are people. Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)How cold, you ask?

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

How cold, you ask?

The Youth of Today…

It eventually happened. It took a while, but I think I finally know how it feels to be the ancient one, sitting helplessly while the younger ones try to operate antiquated machinery from another era… say, a turntable. Picture if you will: a standard Berlin bar, two cheerful yet terminally hopeless barmaids, a pair of standard-issue decks, [...]

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The Youth of Today…

Stronger or Strongest?

At the local store, trying to pick hair styling wax and looking for the lightest one. Two strengths are available: “mega starker” and “ultra starker”… The only question is: does either go up to 11? Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)Stronger or Strongest?

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Stronger or Strongest?

Max Planck in Berlin

My new home for the next 3 months… Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)Max Planck in Berlin

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Max Planck in Berlin

New Year’s Eve in Paris

Celebrating the coming 2010s, swinging 20s style… Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)New Year’s Eve in Paris

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

New Year’s Eve in Paris

Snowy Winter Break

Sorry for the abrupt end of communication, earlier this month: past two weeks were spent far from civilisation and internet access. But snowy mountains, skiing and delicious local food more than made up for it. In Paris for New Year’s Eve (and a few more days after that), before going back to Berlin until the end [...]

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Snowy Winter Break

Bioinformatics Conference Pro Tip

Can we all agree already to skip the “Why research on cancer is useful” introduction slide from now on? If your talk lasts 25 minutes and goes into the minutiae of protein-protein interactions with regard to oncogenic pathways, maybe spending half of it convincing an audience of biologists and bioinformaticians that cancer is a bad thing [...]

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Bioinformatics Conference Pro Tip

The Cove: Japan’s Delicious Dolphin Burger Industry

The Cove is not gonna make Japan many friends among the world’s dolphin and whale lovers, but it is definitely worth a watch. Although it could probably go lighter on the whole Mission: Impossible antics (unfortunately, it seems you just can’t sell a documentary nowadays if it doesn’t feature endless gratuitous action montages), the scenes it [...]

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

The Cove: Japan’s Delicious Dolphin Burger Industry

Think you know Japanese music?

End-of-year Japanese Music Quiz, over at KanjiBox’s dev blog: 10 tracks, 10 artists, many genres… Guess them all and win a bunch of iTunes coupons for free installs of KanjiBox for iPhone (along with my undying respect for your extensive musical culture). Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)Think you know Japanese [...]

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Think you know Japanese music?

So many zeros…

Today, the entire 3-month research stipend covering the cost of my stay in Berlin (living expenses, plane ticket etc), was deposited on my bank account. All at once. Am I a bad person for even wondering how many years I could live off that, were I to accidentally end up on some remote beach island instead [...]

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

So many zeros…

Kidney Stones: A Beginner’s Guide…

Personal Health Update I wasn’t exactly handed a winning ticket at the Genetic Lottery. As a kid, it would have taken less time to list the parts that did work as they should have. But things got under control and I am generally fine these days (beside that violent twitching on the left side of [...]

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

Kidney Stones: A Beginner’s Guide…

The Art of Subtle Rephrasing

Japanese girl at local bar: Do your prefer Japanese girls or foreign girls? Dave: Err… huh… dunno… Country doesn’t have much to do with it… Japanese girl: Aaah, of course… It does not matter… Dave: Indeed. [...] Japanese girl: Ok, so… Which type of girl do you prefer: long straight black hair or blonde with blue eyes? Post originally published [...]

Post originally published on: Dave's Blog (please leave your comments over there)

The Art of Subtle Rephrasing