19
April
2006
April
2006
Mac Tools
Added a new page with a list of tools I use on my iBook. Some good stuff there, all tried and used by me - and most of it is free! 
16
March
2006
March
2006
Scam warning
Thought it might be a good idea to share this here, to make sure as many people as possible know about it…
On Tuesday I received a call from someone claiming to be ‘Ben Bradford’, a promotions agent from a travel agent called Best USA Vacations, and that I had won a trip to Florida and the Bahamas as part of a promotion for people who used their credit cards to pay for traveling.
I was very suspicious, but a part of me kept hoping that maybe, just maybe it might be true - and after I checked out their very real looking website and was assured multiple times that, after all, one could cancel any illegal payments made with a credit card, I let my hope overrule my better judgement and gave him my credit card number. Then ‘Ben’ described my ‘price’ in many details, before turning me over to his ’supervisor’ Michael, who congratulated me before transferring me to their ’security department’. After being kept on hold for several minutes, my brain finally managed to overrule that stubborn bit of hope and I hung up and immediately called MasterCard.
And voilà - someone had just tried to get a payment of $500 approved! Luckily the request had been recognized by MasterCard’s early warning system and had been rejected - because, as I was told now, since October 05, MasterCard refuses liability for payments made after giving up one’s credit card number over the phone. I was told to cut my credit card in half and that I’d be sent a replacement for free.
So all in all I was left feeling foolish but without any real damage done. I mean, the website looked so real - and even the US phone number they give you is answered by a ‘travel agent’, as I found out when I called it to give them a piece of my mind - I needed the catharsis, so it was worth the overseas call…
A friend sent me the link to this blog post, which shows that apparently that sort of scam has been going on for a long time, under different names, first in the US and now (since probably Americans have been put on their guard) in Europe. So be careful - those guys are very good at what they do!
5
November
2005
November
2005
Chocolate cake
Tomorrow my second cousin with his wife and daughter are coming for a visit. Our two families get along very well, so I’m looking forward to seeing them again. For the occasion my mom made me bake - a very messy activity when done by me *g* - and since I translated the recipe for a friend anyway, I thought I’d share:
My Grandmother’s Chocolate Cake:
200g butter
250g sugar (we actually take less)
8 eggs - separate white and yolk, whip the white
240g chocolate (mix of cooking and milk chocolate) - grind it
150g ground almonds
100g zwieback (rusk?) - grind it
Whisk the butter until it’s foamy, add egg yolk and sugar and stir for five minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, egg snow last by moving it gently under the rest. Pour it into the buttered baking-tin.
Pre-heat oven 10 minutes to 200°C.
Bake for 45 minutes on 180°C, then test it.
When the cake’s cooled off, add chocolate glazing.
I do hope the cooking talk translates… especially seeing that I’m definitely not an expert, even in German. *g*
3
September
2005
September
2005
Charity links
In case anyone does not yet know about these sites: With one simple click a day you support all sorts of good causes. Also, they all offer these bracelets that are so fashionable these days.
19
August
2005
August
2005
Discovering Podcasts2
Currently I’m procrastinating badly on my paper. Not because I don’t want to write it — it’s definitely the most interesting (and close-to-my-heart) topic — but because I’m overwhelmed at how much information I want to include, which doesn’t get along with the 25 page limit I have. I mean, I’m already over 1/4 done, although I’ve not even started the main chapters. That just kind of paralysis me, I’m afraid.
But while I’m letting myself be distracted, I discovered a new fun plaything - podcasts. I came across it because of my love for the short-lived sci-fi show Firefly (created by Buffy’s Joss Whedon), which has now been turned into a movie called Serenity. Some fans created a podcast for it, called The Signal, and out of curiosity I downloaded it using iTunes and started listening to it while working on my paper.
In the meantime I have discovered that there are podcasts about all sorts of things. Basically it’s like radio shows — although I rarely listen to music podcasts (seeing that I already have several thousands mp3s on my external harddrive) — but you can simply download and listen to them at your own leisure, on your iPod (which is where the name comes from) or your computer. And by subscribing to a podcast you’ll automatically get the new episodes as they are published. Now I have to be careful not to get hooked on too many podcasts, because they just please my geeky little heart… *g*
Anyway, some links I’m using:
Resources
- iTunes Music Store: Podcast Directory
- PodcastPickle
- Podcast Alley
Podcasts
- The Signal (by Firefly fans, with interviews, etc.)
- Doctor Who: Podshock (by Dr. Who fans)
- Battlestar Galactica: DVD commentary (by Ron Moore, producer of BSG)
- Bored-Again Christian (Christian indie music)
- Lord of the Rings Radio (by LotR fans)
And just because I’m being so geeky, I feel I have to mention that we now have wireless internet access in our flat. That led to me sitting on the balcony working on my paper and looking up words in my favorite German-English dictionary. Geek heaven, indeed!
15
August
2005
August
2005
AdSense1
As an experiment I signed up for Google AdSense. Not that I want to annoy you with ads, but it might help me with my webhosting bills if people click interesting text links provided by Google. Well, we’ll see how it goes, I guess…
13
June
2005
June
2005
A new project1
While sitting in class today, bored out of my skull, my mind started to meld thoughts of writing for Zündstoff and my love for travel. And suddenly, on a whim, I decided to start a little travel writing project, called Fernweh (’longing for travel’), for which I’m looking for more participants. So if you’ve ever dreamed about traveling or have some good experiences to share, in the form of fiction, essays or artwork, please do consider signing up!
I set the deadline to October 31, mostly so that when winter comes, we will have a beautiful collection of ‘Fernweh’ inducing texts and art… Really hoping that people will participate, because this could be something really nice, I feel!
28
March
2005
March
2005
Makes me wish I was in the UK :)
Curtesy of my brother who obviously knows my interests quite well… 
& national tour highlights go UK-wide: April - September 2005
24 February 2005
The British Film Institute is delighted to present the 19th London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival which will open on 30th March with a gala opening screening of Prey for Rock & Roll, a delicious biopic starring Gina Gershon (courtesy of Parasol Peccadillo). Our Closing Night gala on 13th April will be Gregg Araki’s Mysterious Skin (courtesy of Tartan Films), a bold and beautiful adaptation of Scott Heim’s novel of childhood trauma. Both screenings take place at the Odeon West End. The rest of the festival will take place at the National Film Theatre and for the first time we will be collaborating on a series of gay artists’ films at Tate Modern.
The London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival is presented by the British Film Institute and programmed by Jonathan Keane, Selina Robertson, Inge Blackman and Brian Robinson. The Festival enjoys the support of a wide range of sponsors including Mayfair Cellars, Renault UK, media partners Time Out, AXM, G3 and Impact distribution. We are also grateful for the support of Soho House, Heaven, Southopia, the Candy Bar, Midnite Express, Konditor & Cook, The Berners Hotel, Canada House, the Goethe Institute, and the Finnish Institute.
This year the LLGFF Patrons’ Scheme includes a highly distinguished group: Clare Balding, Stephen Fry, David Furnish, Paul Gambaccini, Sir Elton John, Isaac Julien, Byrony Lavery, Sir Ian McKellen, Phyllis Nagy, Pratibha Parmar, Patricia Rozema and Sarah Waters.
Source: www.image.net newsletter
Website: LLGFF 2005
26
March
2005
March
2005
WP 1.5 themes2
Since I am nowhere near being able to create my own WP theme from scratch, I am currently amusing myself by browsing some of the finished themes people have been making. Here are some of the nifty things I found in the process:
- How To Blog: comprehensive list (over 200 themes)
- Alex King: WP 1.5 theme competition
- Alex King: Theme Browser (surf the competition themes)
- Owen Winkler: Kubrickr (replace the blue blob in the default theme with something else)
- Ryan Boren: Theme Switcher (plugin)
16
February
2005
February
2005
Button Maker1
For a while I’ve been wanting to add some of those small buttons that you see on most blogs - and finally I found an easy way to make some of my own:
Very addictive!