Can you spell "backfire"?

Can you spell "backfire"?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/world/asia/china-maoists-xi-protests.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/world/asia/china-maoists-xi-protests.html

Hmm, why are there two paws on my bed...?

Hmm, why are there two paws on my bed...?

I received a delivery today (which should have happened yesterday...), but before I could take possession of the...

I received a delivery today (which should have happened yesterday...), but before I could take possession of the contents, someone else took possession of the box...

Hey 台灣宅配通 ，

Hey 台灣宅配通 ，

請問貴公司是“快”遞嗎？台北到嘉義只要34小時，是不是？好快！也許，如果你們取件後不會先把它放24小時，是不是還可以更快一點？這好像也不是意外，因為不是第一次發生…
#宅配通

Please vote whether you a) want to leave or b) want to leave.

Please vote whether you a) want to leave or b) want to leave.

I need a humour collection, the British government alone would fill it...
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/24/mcdonnell-new-brexit-referendum-should-not-include-remain-option

Fulfilling clichés

Fulfilling clichés

"Hey, don't you Germans hold a pretzel in one hand and a sausage in the other when you eat?"
"Why, yes, of course! Must have forgotten that, sorry."

The department is preparing for the October Fest and I found out that I was assigned as supporting teacher for the pretzel team. I find this quite entertaining, considering these things come from Germany's South and I seem to be the only person at the department who did not study at a southern university.

Anyway, I had to do something to avoid disappointing my student team, so I practiced. I found that you can indeed use baking soda as an adequate replacement for the original lye. I still need to tune the process a little and my swing needs improvement too, but: October Fest, here I come!

😉

Describe the German language.

Describe the German language... Let's test the non-native speakers: What do you think this beautiful example sentence is trying to express?😎

Via Neesee M Clément

Originally shared by ****

😉

Don't live in the past!

Don't live in the past!

Via The Dude

Originally shared by Dirk “Watergypsy” Weimer

Regenerative Energien zum Wäschetrocknen

Ahem, so the PRC does regard Taiwan as a foreign country? Interesting...

Ahem, so the PRC does regard Taiwan as a foreign country? Interesting...
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3535813

I'm envious...

I'm envious...

Seen yesterday near my home.

This happens easily when your native language doesn't know declination, so pronouns (actually all nouns) are always...

This happens easily when your native language doesn't know declination, so pronouns (actually all nouns) are always the same, whether used as subject or object.

Spotted in the department kitchen.

Aus aktuellem Anlass

Aus aktuellem Anlass
Bodo Wartke zum Hambacher Wald
https://youtu.be/tTKcnlp0x_Y

Ahem, remind me please: Who wants a deal? I guess polite asking is something they never even thought of...

Ahem, remind me please: Who wants a deal? I guess polite asking is something they never even thought of...
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-grayling/uk-warns-there-will-be-no-brexit-deal-unless-eu-softens-on-irish-border-idUSKCN1M10H6

Another Wednesday, another baking activity with students.

Another Wednesday, another baking activity with students. Today I had quite a few first-timers from the second year. Not sure if they came for the apple crumb cake or to practice German. (I only speak German during those activities...)

Our student council was there again, to calculate costs and evaluate possible popularity and selling prices, because we want to do these for our October Fest celebration in a month.

There was even an exchange student from Germany, Berlin even, studying at another campus. Next week we'll do all this one more time, for training. I really like that the current student council wants to do it right, they are pretty passionate about this.

#nkust #ifad #高科大 #應德系

Students? Seriously? Are too many coming to Taiwan and enjoying their stay?

Students? Seriously? Are too many coming to Taiwan and enjoying their stay?
To quote one comment:
I am confused. So he was blackmailed and was forced to take money from her?

FYI, this is 2018, not the 1950s or 60s...
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2164383/beijing-accuses-taiwan-blackmailing-students-spying-self-ruled#comments

Herr Fischer trifft wieder einmal den Nagel auf den Kopf.

Herr Fischer trifft wieder einmal den Nagel auf den Kopf.

Originally shared by Jürgen Christoffel

Fischer im Spiegel

Der Leiter einer Bundesbehörde, dem erst einfällt, die Bundeskanzlerin solle das Ausmaß rechtsradikaler Gewalt nicht übertreiben, und in der Folge dann nur die Beteuerung seiner eigenen Großartigkeit, ist offenkundig außer Kontrolle. Die Sprachkenntnisse und die Garderobe und die Examensnote von Herrn M. sind an dieser Stelle gleichgültig. Wichtig ist allein, dass er objektiv das Geschäft der Verfassungs- und Menschenfeinde betreibt und den über alle Maßen schwachen Minister, der sein Dienstvorgesetzter ist, durch die Manege führen darf zur Belustigung von Höcke und Gauland.

http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/hetzjagd-migration-und-maassen-offenkundig-ausser-kontrolle-kolumne-a-1228154.html

Na bitte, geht doch! Man muss nur wollen...

Na bitte, geht doch! Man muss nur wollen...

Originally shared by Bruno Kassel

Attacke!

Song of the Forest, Chiayi city

Song of the Forest, Chiayi city

Inside the dome of a "sculpture" named "song of the forest" in a park in Chiayi city.

Inside the dome of a "sculpture" named "song of the forest" in a park in Chiayi city.

The new semester started and the new student council at our department (always third-year students) is very...

The new semester started and the new student council at our department (always third-year students) is very interested in making this year's October Fest a success.

This time we made both German-style toast bread and bread rolls. The toast needs some improvement, but already got thumps up around, so we're looking forward to next week.

Thanks to the LED strip I installed I can finally take somehow reasonable photos in the kitchen...

#nkust #ifad #高科大 #應德系

Is Edge really that bad, Microsoft?

Is Edge really that bad, Microsoft? Why do you think people install other browsers? One reason is redundancy, yes, in case one of them fails, but the other, more important one: Because they are better.

Don't want people to use other browsers? Be better than them! You should by now know that exclusion of other browsers doesn't work...
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/12/microsoft_windows_10_app_suggestions/

Well, they are off to a good start...

Well, they are off to a good start...

“We are not seeking confrontation, we are heading to the east coast of the United States to conduct trials.”

That memo apparently didn't reach the crew...
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/hms-queen-elizabeth-drunk-british-sailors-arrested-after-3billion-aircraft-carriers-arrival-in-us-a3930991.html

There may be a thing or two the US could learn from Taiwan - if they were willing to...

There may be a thing or two the US could learn from Taiwan - if they were willing to...

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/single-payer-medicare-taiwan_us_5b9295ede4b0511db3e1d45a?ncid=NEWSSTAND0001
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/single-payer-medicare-taiwan_us_5b9295ede4b0511db3e1d45a?ncid=NEWSSTAND0001

A good, calm write-up of what could and what rather could not be

A good, calm write-up of what could and what rather could not be
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/salisbury-attack-truth-facts-skripal-novichok-poisoning-a8527711.html

Thank you, YouTube!

Thank you, YouTube!

These sorts of accusations suddenly seemed to be everywhere. But none were true. They had come, Mr. Uhle and others suspected, from social media — particularly YouTube.

Mr. Serrato scraped YouTube databases for information on every Chemnitz-related video published this year. He found that the platform’s recommendation system consistently directed people toward extremist videos on the riots — then on to far-right videos on other subjects.


https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/world/europe/youtube-far-right-extremism.html

On the left is the Renyi lake freshwater reservoir. Does that make the dogs on the right "Reservoir Dogs"?

On the left is the Renyi lake freshwater reservoir. Does that make the dogs on the right "Reservoir Dogs"?

Sigh...

Sigh...

Via Nic K. Mowe

Originally shared by Tim Schermerhorn

To commemorate today's rain, let's have some flood protection.

To commemorate today's rain, let's have some flood protection. While Europe was suffering a drought this year combined with heat, we here in Taiwan had more than enough rain. (Did I say "had"? It's not over yet.) The rain got our temperatures down, leading to the funny phenomenon that Germany had often slightly higher temperatures than (sub) tropical Taiwan. The rain was partially so bad that for the first time this year I saw the government announce work and school free days due to rain. (It wasn't just the rain, it was the flooding.)

Having experience with annual rainy seasons and typhoons (except this year, not a single typhoon so far), Taiwan has taken a number of precautions: Almost all buildings on our campus are for example "elevated", meaning I need to get up a number of stairs to get into the building, even if I want to go to the basement. There is one building where this is not completely the case, the student activity centre with the cafeterias.

In such cases, we have metal walls that can be installed between slots on both sides of an entrance, here seen at the entrance to the cafeterias. The third photo was taken on the fourth floor of the foreign language building. For natural cooling, most buildings are open for the wind to blow through. But to keep the rain out, we had to step over this little barrier, even up high...

So isses...

So isses...

Via Hartmut Noack

Originally shared by Thomas Mertens

Danke Xtra3

Hmm, should I change my name to "Doolittle" now?

Hmm, should I change my name to "Doolittle" now? While I was eating, on a night market in the middle of a city, a dragonfly suddenly landed on my right hand - and stayed there while I was eating.

When you eat with chopsticks, you need to move your hand a little more than when using a fork. Nevertheless, this fellow was unimpressed and stayed, from time to time grooming its head.

This is the first time this happened to me, especially in an area where I wouldn't even have expected any dragonflies. I had to shake the fellow off when I was finished, otherwise I couldn't even have paid...

Hahaha!

Hahaha! During summer vacation I cleaned and reorganized the department kitchen. During that process I encountered numerous items nobody thought were still there, among others a few bottles of alcohol (wine etc), which I all put into one place. I also wrote the new content of a space on a post it, in German.

Later students created official labels in German and Chinese - except for two places, the one holding alcohol being one. Unfortunately, our students don't have the custom of asking when they don't understand, only few do. I hadn't written "Alcohol" on the note, I wrote what you see in the photo, which translates to "Paramedic in the emergency (parachute, lifeboat)".

Weird, isn't it? Germans may by now understand what I did: These are lines from the song "Alkohol" by Herbert Groenemeyer. "Alcohol is your paramedic in the emergency, alcohol is your parachute and your lifeboat". (Yes, it's about alcoholism.)

At least the department secretary asked what that means, I wonder how long it will take students...

https://youtu.be/0KO-EOD7tT8

Oh Microsoft, El Reg sends you on a highway to hell...

Oh Microsoft, El Reg sends you on a highway to hell...
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/09/04/thunderstruck_azure_backout/

You spin me right round baby, right round

You spin me right round baby, right round
Like a record, baby, right round, round, round...

National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Kenting

Feeding time

Feeding time

The diver is feeding, not being fed. Just saying.

National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Kenting

Hengchun nightmarket

Hengchun nightmarket

Hengchun nightmarket

Hengchun nightmarket

I think I am using the wrong equipment.

I think I am using the wrong equipment. ISN is my network, the others are my neighbor on the right and across. I'm glad my neighbor on the left has no WiFi, although they have a son who should be about highschool age.

Anyway, you can see their signals are way wider than mine. That means they need more power to achieve the same signal strength. The neighbor across can even jam my network when he goes to the same channel. (Happens sometimes...)

I guess that shows again how "efficient" our NCC (equivalent to FCC in the US) is, when equipment like that is freely available...

Got some decorations for the tin can...

Got some decorations for the tin can...

Wie man Nazis erkennt.

Wie man Nazis erkennt. If you like to know how to recognize Nazis, but don't understand German, Translate may be able to help you:
https://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spiegel.de%2Fwissenschaft%2Fmensch%2Fchemnitz-krawalle-wie-man-nazis-erkennt-a-1225712.html&hl=en-GB

Via Jürgen Christoffel

Originally shared by Hans Franke

Fakt: Demonstrationen mit Nazis sind Nazi-Demonstrationen.
http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/chemnitz-krawalle-wie-man-nazis-erkennt-a-1225712.html

I do not agree with everything in this article, but it is a good short overview of how it came that Neo Nazis and...

I do not agree with everything in this article, but it is a good short overview of how it came that Neo Nazis and sympathizers are rallying in the eastern Highlands of Germany.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/02/germanys-far-right-never-went-away-but-festered-in-its-eastern-stronghold

Das werden die meisten Sympathisanten aber wie in den USA erst dann merken, wenn es zu spät ist.

Das werden die meisten Sympathisanten aber wie in den USA erst dann merken, wenn es zu spät ist. Und eventuell nicht mal dann...

Via Kristian Köhntopp

Originally shared by Bruno Kassel

Dem ist nichts hinzuzufügen.

Here are all your data.

Here are all your data.

Via Kristian Köhntopp

Originally shared by Jan Wildeboer

In case you ever wondered. The #Cloud is at 46°04'39.5"N 2°00'37.9"E ;) (Sources: Google Maps and https://9gag.com/gag/aq7Pw77)