Tobsy says

My hard drive has passed away

Tobsy — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 01:57:46 +0000

Dear friends and visitors,

We have gathered here today to mourn the loss of a truly reliable friend. Not even two years of age, my loyal companion Matrox, nickname 250 GB Disk, passed away two days ago. Without any previous symptoms he lost his life under rather mysterious circumstances.

Let us all remember him, and my precious MP3 collection that he took with him, as the literally hot piece of storage device that he was. I hope that he is now watching me, if not my friends’ and ex-girlfriends’ pictures, that also died with him, from hard disk heaven above.

Okay, long story short: If you asked yourselves where I have been the last days – I had computer trouble and lost a lot of data. Well, just wanted to let you know.

If you have added me to your viral tags, don’t worry. I’ll add every newcomer tomorrow :-).

Worldview 2.0 - The evolution of the binary mind

Tobsy — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 17:33:55 +0000

When I went to elementary school, we discussed things like children do. We said what we liked, what we didn’t care about or what we flat out hated.

Then I went to secondary school (at least I think that’s what Americans would call it). There the teachers wanted to teach us to discuss issues like grown-ups do. Collect arguments, sort them in a pro/contra scheme, then debate on them. My problem: Never was one side a clear winner. It might work for the arguments, but the whole topics are not that easy.

I hated it. I won these debates, but till this day I don’t like the pro/con idea.

Nowadays, when I turn on the news, I get the same feeling I got in the classrooms. There doesn’t seem to be room for interpretation, analysis or a variety of different opinions. Everything has become pro/con.

While people see and report things as black or white, I enjoy the different shades of grey.

Have you ever felt stuck in a corner, when a topic came up and all of a sudden people asked you: “What do you say? Yes or no?”, but you haven’t really thought about it? Or maybe you have thought about it, but found reasonable arguments on both sides?

Welcome to the world of grey tones. The German comedian Dieter Nuhr once said:

I think there is a big misunderstanding. You can have an opinion in a Democracy - you don’t have to.

“In this war, you’re either with us or with the terrorists!” Uhm, what if I’m with you, but not with the war?

“Are you for globalization or against it?” I don’t know, I’ve never seen it done in a fair way. All I see are corporations looking for cheap labor.

“What are you? Liberal or conservative?” Actually, I’m both. People are complicated.

“If you’re against the war, you are against the troops.” Wow, this is stupid.

The list could go on and on. Republican or Democrat? Left or right? Pro-choice or pro-life? You get my point.

As long as people tell me to chose between two extremes, I mostly stand in the middle, smiling.

Next time when you hear politicians talking on the news, babbling about their color, think about it and ask yourself where you stand - black or white? Or do you join me in grey?

What’s happened to blogcatalog?

Tobsy — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:11:13 +0000

Could anyone please tell me where blogcatalog.com went?

Yesterday it was up, then down, then up before it went down completely. Now www.blogcatalog.com forwards you to siteproplus.com.

Not that I can’t live without it, but I grew rather fond of it, especially after they introduced their forums.

Does anyone know what happened there? Any announcements I missed? A not renewed domain? Too much load because of the forum?

In case you are also wondering or know what’s up, please leave a comment.

Hey, I’m over 30. Sudden changes are bad for my health *g*.

Update: Okay, it’s back.

We are Google. Resistance is futile. You will be data mined.

Tobsy — Thu, 24 May 2007 20:43:06 +0000

I just read an article about Google on the Financial Times Website.

What peaked my interests were these quotes from Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt:

We are very early in the total information we have within Google. The algorithms will get better and we will get better at personalisation.

The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as ‘What shall I do tomorrow?’ and ‘What job shall I take?’

We cannot even answer the most basic questions because we don’t know enough about you. That is the most important aspect of Google’s expansion.

Recapitulating, I’d say it this way:

We are Google. Resistance is futile. You will be data mined. We will add your informational distinctiveness to our database. Your culture will adapt to be serviced by us.

Is it just me being paranoid, or does anyone else also think that Google is overdoing it?

Just think about it for a moment.

Do you use Google.com as your main search engine?
Do you surf the web with the Google Toolbar?
Do you use Gmail to store your emails?
Do you read feeds via Google Reader?
Do you stay in contact with friends by Google Talk?
Do you watch videos at youtube?
Do you use Google Earth to look at places?
Do you blog at blogger.com?
Do you display ads from Google Adsense? Hey, I do.
Do you Check your stats with Google Analytics?

There are a lot more things you can do with Google. And everything you do leaves data for Google to analyze.

Is it used to enhance their service? Maybe.

Can it be used in a bad way? Yes.

Do I want one single company do know that much about me? Heck, no!

American TV-shows are the best

Tobsy — Sat, 19 May 2007 12:54:55 +0000

Yesterday I watched the last episode of “Gilmore Girls”. One of my favorite TV-series - over.

Then a friend sent me a link to a site that said that there will be no 4th season of “Veronica Mars”. That kinda pissed me off.

After that - to follow the theme of the day - I read that “Jericho” is also over.

When I was young, I watched stuff like “The A-Team”. When I got older, I watched “Picket Fences” and “Profit”, which is still my favorite TV-series. Then came “Buffy” & “Angel”.

Today there are at least 15 shows I watch - Yes, I’m an addict and I love it.

Do you notice something in this list? Keep in mind the fact that I’m German.

Exactly - I didn’t mention one German TV-show. Why? Because German TV-series in general suck! There are probably one or two pearls in this pile of dirt, but that’s it.

What is your secret? It can’t be the gigantic budget. Shows like “24″ or “Rome” might cost a lot to produce, but something like “How I met your mother”?

The Abundance of great actors? I don’t think so. There are a lot of them, no doubt about that, but I wouldn’t bet on a David Schwimmer block buster anytime soon.

So what makes your shows so much better than ours? The screen writers? Technology? The way they’re produced?

I’ve got no idea. But I hope you will continue to make them. I’m an addict, remember?

35 facts about Germany

Tobsy — Tue, 15 May 2007 15:12:14 +0000

The country

Germany’s territory covers about 137,850 sqm (slightly bigger than Montana).
The biggest city is the capital Berlin with 3.4 mill inhabitants (Hamburg: 1.74 mill, Munich: 1.26 mill).
Germany consists of 16 states, 3 of which are city states (Hamburg, Berlin, Bremen).
Germany shares borders with Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland.
One of the world’s top exporters, with the main exports being cars, machines and chemical products.
18 is the universal age of consent.
There are 9 to 13 holidays (varies from state to state).
Employees get 20 to 30 days paid vacation per year.
The population growth rate is -0.033 - more of a decline rate.
34% of the population are Protestants and also 34% are Catholics.

Innovations

Johannes Gutenberg developed a technique to print with movable type around 1450.
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit developed precise thermometers and the scale still used in the US.
Robert Koch discovered the anthrax bacillus (1877) and the tuberculosis bacillus (1882) for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize.
Karl Benz built the first automobile in 1886.
Emil Berliner’s patent for a gramophone was granted in 1887.
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered X-rays in 1895 and was awarded the very first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.
Karl Ferdinand Braun developed the cathode-ray tube in 1897.
Rudolf Diesel built the first diesel engine in 1897.
Melitta Bentz didn’t enjoy coffee grounds in her cup. So in 1908 she develops the coffee filter.
Konrad Zuse invented the first programmable computer (the Z3) in 1941.

Oddities

The state Hesse has a death penalty in its constitution, but Federal Law prevents its use.
The biggest festival is called Oktoberfest, but starts in September.
The price for a liter beer at the Oktoberfest 2007 will be 7.70 to 8.00 Euros.
There are about 300 sorts of bread and over 1500 sorts of sausage in Germany - but not one decent barbeque sauce.
Everyone who owns a tv has to pay 17.03 Euros per month for public tv.
Prices of books are set by the publisher, not the retailer.
Germans are the World Heavyweight Champions of recycling.
Why heavyweight? Because they have the fattest asses in all of Europe.
Germans are known for their “Bratwurst”. But their favorite fast food is the Doener Kebap.
During WWII the Germans couldn’t get Coca Cola syrup. So, the threw together everything juicy they could find and called it Fanta.

The Autobahn

(since you’re always asking)

Germany has an autobahn network of more than 7600 miles.
65% of the autobahn has no speed limit.
Autobahns may only be used by powered vehicles that have a maximum speed exceeding 60 km/h.
If you get caught running out of gas on an autobahn, you get fined.
No, the Autobahn wasn’t Hitler’s idea.

“To the English I say this: be grateful for the Germans. Were it not for them, you would be the most hated people in Europe.”
(Simon Munnery, Attention Scum)

I just received an email from a reader, who informed me that the “Germans are the fattest Europeans” study has used the wrong data. I read it up and, although my ass backs the story up, it indeed might be wrong.

Revised fact: Germans are one of the fattest nations in Europe. Another title I didn’t win. I feel so inadequate. (Thanks to Johta for the tip ;-))

No Social Media for the troops

Tobsy — Mon, 14 May 2007 15:39:33 +0000

A couple of days ago the Pentagon started it’s own YouTube channel. As it says there:

“Multi-National Force - Iraq established this YouTube channel to give viewers around the world a “boots on the ground” perspective of Operation Iraqi Freedom from those who are fighting it.”

“Those who are fighting it” can’t watch it, though. Along with MySpace and other Social Media sites, YouTube is now blocked for the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan “to save bandwidth and network resources”.

They can probably live with the inability to watch

- Combat action
- Interesting, eye-catching footage
- Interaction between Coalition troops and the Iraqi populace.
- Teamwork between Coalition and Iraqi troops in the fight against terror.

But the soldiers have used sites like MySpace to keep in touch with their loved ones at home. With no proper alternative this move doesn’t really make the Pentagon look good.

Let’s hope they find another way to enable the soldiers to keep in contact with their families and friends.

Why bother with Second life, when you’ve got a first one to finish?

Tobsy — Fri, 11 May 2007 22:57:27 +0000

Disclaimer: I’ve never “played” Second Life and I don’t intend to do so. Ever. This rant is not born out of dissatisfaction with the product.

No, I’m overcome with extreme annoyance whenever I hear someone mentioning Second Life. Especially if it is referred to as a game.

Second Life is not a game. It’s a giant 3D chat room with some scripting capabilities. Making money of noobs is not a game concept.

And why do I get the impression that the only residents of Second Life are 40-ish perverts who gladly shell out a couple of bucks to dress up their teenage girlie avatar nicely and the people who spend their time making these clothes?

Oh, and then there is the bottom of the marketing barrel. Guys who’ve read that Second Life is the next big thing and who now try to convince everyone to be part of it. And for a small fee they might even help them.

But what do you expect? The noobs start their SL-career to make money. They don’t, they stop, they still turn up as a resident in the statistics.

Do you think the big companies would waste their resources for this marketing frenzy if Linden said “Oh, we’ve got about 200,000 players”?

I don’t think so. But 2,000,000 and rapidly growing? Hey, the others are doing it, so there must be something to it.

So, go on. Be a part of the ugly, buggy online community that is Second Life. And if you get pwned by a bunch of flying penises: It’s not weird - It’s your life now.

Okay, I feel better now. I hope I haven’t insulted you too much. If I have - I didn’t mean to. Don’t take it too seriously. That was just me ranting.

ViralTags - Viralink reloaded

Tobsy — Thu, 10 May 2007 01:42:42 +0000

If you have enjoyed the ViraLink, I bet you will love this. Think of it as Viralink with anchor Text.

========= Copy and Paste below this line ==========

Instructions:

1.) Copy and paste the matrix of “ViralTags” below courtesy of Founders Cafe (to support Jimmy’s quest of launching his own Internet Startup with a shoestring budget, please consider subscribing to his Full RSS Feed to see his triumps and struggles in real time).

2.) Substitute the Host Tag and one of the “Viral Tags” in the matrix with your anchor text of choice with your blog’s URL. Please keep anchor text to a max of 3 words to keep the matrix size manageable.

3.) When you get a ping back from someone that has your link in one of their “Viral Tags”, practice good karma by copying his/her Host Tag’s anchor text (automatically the associated link will also be copied) and paste it over one of your “Viral Tags” below.

4.) Encourage and invite your readers to do the same and soon this can grow virally.

Host Tag: Germany - USA

Important: Once I get a ping back from you (I promise to do the best I can), I will add your anchor text and the associated link you designate as “Host Tag” here, replacing one of the “ViralTags” from the matrix above. As more and more bloggers copy and paste this matrix, the more backlinks you will have with your anchor text. If everybody who copy and paste from your blog does the same, pretty soon this will spread and go viral. So, the sooner you participate, the more links with anchor text you will receive.

======== Copy and Paste from Above this line ========

Why do so many people think Americans are stupid?

Tobsy — Tue, 08 May 2007 19:10:49 +0000

I’ll tell you why: They see videos like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAAjdfIMwDY

Edit: Or this one, apparently from the same show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGlXfCZTeQI

10 clear signs that you’re a workaholic

Tobsy — Mon, 07 May 2007 21:53:34 +0000

Your company hired a new accountant just to keep track of your expense account.

Five years ago you had a lot of friends in the company. Today you have the same friends, but they are all unemployed.

You’re wife is worried that you’re working too much, but relaxes after you tell her that you just had some java with your colleagues.

You’re on first name base with your boss, but lately your kid calls you Mister.

The management thought about moving your company to China, but didn’t because Chinese workers would not be as cost-efficient as you.

You took two extra jobs to fund your hobbies. Now you’re wealthy but don’t have a hobby anymore.

You are Paris Hilton’s PR agent.

The sign on the dialysis machine that pumps caffeine in your veins says “sleep is for the weak”.

You are sure that you’re married, you just can’t remember to whom.

You are a single working mother of three children.

Viralink - 10 days after

Tobsy — Mon, 07 May 2007 02:03:34 +0000

I received a couple of mails with questions about the results of the Viralink.

After 10 days I think it might be the right time to have a look at the results so far.

Before:

Technorati Ranking: ~ 136,000

Authority: 35

After:

Technorati Ranking: 38,518

Authority: 121

iWebtool is predicting a Pagerank of 5 (4,5) now, up from a 3 (3,3) two weeks ago. I have to say that I give Google a lot more credit, so I guess that number should be taken with a grain of salt.

If you’re thinking about joining - don’t worry, it’s not over yet. There are still free stars. Once they are all links, there’s always the possibility to just add another row.

So, take all the time you need and think about it.

To answer the mails: Yes, I think it’s worth the effort.

Improve your English - TV ad

Tobsy — Sun, 06 May 2007 20:07:38 +0000

A lot of Germans pronounce the English “th” as an “s”.

I love this ad *g*.

How to appear to be German in 10 steps

Tobsy — Sun, 06 May 2007 13:50:09 +0000

1. Don’t smile. You don’t want to make a sale, you want to look German.

2. Fake a creepy accent. If you don’t know what a German accent sounds like, do an Arnold Schwarzenegger personation.

3. Don’t say “hi” or “hello”. Use “hallo” or “guten tag” instead (the a is pronounced like the u in “us” for “hallo” and like the a in “army” for “tag”).

4. Every American knows a couple of German words (e.g. Gesundheit). Use them whenever it’s possible.

5. Try to sound formally. Only use first names when it’s really rude not to.

6. When you visit a restaurant order a Jaegerschnitzel (DON’T order an Eisbein - you would have to eat it).

7. Whenever you have to throw something away, ask if there’s a special garbage can for plastic, metal, paper,…

8. No one will take you for a real German if you drive a non German car. Get a Mercedes star and super glue it to your car. If someone asks, tell them it’s a special model you’ve imported from Germany.

9. Houses are made of stone. Tell people that wooden houses are for dolls.

10. This is the hard part - Keep doing steps 1 to 9 while drinking lots of beer. If it’s not German beer, tell people how awful it tastes.

Well done, fellow countryman.

Since when are the USA a free democracy?

Tobsy — Fri, 04 May 2007 13:07:39 +0000

Preface: This post is in no way intended to insult anyone, hurt anyone’s feeling or put anyone down. I’m just asking a question out of curiosity. I’d like you to take it as it is meant - a simple, factual question for a historical date.

I was talking to a friend of mine about the election in 2008, when he asked me “Since when are the USA a democracy?”. I guess he was talking about the election in 2000, when the majority of the people elected one person and the other one was the winner.

Although I don’t quite understand that myself, I’m not gonna talk about it now. No, what came to my mind was something else.

The USA are always portrayed as a kind of “guardian of freedom and democracy in the world”. I’m German, so I tend to agree. I don’t even want to imagine what Germany would be like, without the support of the USA after WWII. Thanks to your country, I can say that ours is a free democracy. In fact I can say that we are since 1949.

Which brings me to the point of this post: What would you say - Since when are the USA a free democracy? Do you have a certain date in mind, or has it been a continuous process, that cannot be nailed down to a specific point in time?

“Free and democratic” to me means that every citizen is allowed to vote (with certain exceptions of course), and that the state does not discriminate people because of race, gender,…

1838 - The Governor of Missouri signed a military order that the Mormons be driven from the state or exterminated. It’s legal invalidity was officially recognized and the State of Missouri formally apologized - in 1976.
Go or die? Not really free, right?

1890 - 300 men, women and children of the Lakota Sioux are slaughtered at the Wounded Knee Massacre.
Uhm, no. Not free.

1920 - The 19th amendment to the US Constitution became law and women were allowed to vote throughout the USA.
Okay, no democracy without voting rights for women.

1964 - The Civil Rights Act made it illegal to force black people to use separate schools, theaters, restaurants, buses, rest rooms, and trains.

Could that really be it? 1964? That would mean that you have made us a free democracy without being one yourself. That sounds weird, and maybe I’m missing something.

What do you think? What do your textbooks say? Can you name a date?

Again - No offense meant.

New hoster for this blog

Tobsy — Wed, 02 May 2007 21:19:45 +0000

As announced on monday, “Tobsy says” is now hosted on a new server. I hope you didn’t experience any problems and it stays that way. If you come across any bugs, please let me know. Thank you

A site that gets me daydreaming

Tobsy — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 12:35:56 +0000

Do you have a website that, as soon as you open it, jump starts your imagination and gets you daydreaming? I do.

Mine is Vladi Private Islands . As you can tell from the name it is a real estate broker, whose specialty are islands.

I’m kind of a loner and have a sentimental attachment to our coastal region. So, having my own little island might be a logical thing to dream about. Especially if you have a thing for Canada (although I’ve never been there *g*). That’s where a lot of the islands are.

If you’ve got some time to kill and share some of my preferences, have a look at the website and dream about the island next to mine. Hey, you could hop on your boat and come over for a cup of coffee :-).

Oh, and this is not a paid post, just in case you’re wondering.

It’s moving week for “Tobsy says”

Tobsy — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:47:07 +0000

Someday this week “Tobsy says” will move to another host. I hope you will not notice it, but just in case - sorry in advance.

After the move this site should be faster and able to withstand a digg effect. The new host also provides enough resources for me to implement some other ideas, so I’m pretty excited.

Anyway, I hope you won’t notice, so until then, I’ll just keep on blogging as usual.

Google Pagerank - Blog PR2, Post PR5 - Weird

Tobsy — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 19:14:27 +0000

Google updated the public Pagerank - nice. As expected “Tobsy says” got a PR2, which isn’t bad, considering it’s not even 2 months old and it’s not about blogging.

I had a look at the different datacenters over at oy-oy. I entered www.tobsy.de, saw the PR2 and then, just for fun, I entered http://www.tobsy.de/?p=22. It got quite a few links, including two from mozilla.org. Surprisingly I saw a PR5. Okay, maybe it’s of no big use, but it’s still nice to see.

So, if you’re like me and this was your first PR-update, why don’t you test the PR of your most linked posts?

Viralink - nice viral linkbuilding idea

Tobsy — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 00:08:34 +0000

Linkbuilding can be a really cumbersome task. When I read on linkrambler that Andy Coates came up with an interesting concept for viral linkbuilding, I couldn’t resist. The System is pretty easy: Copy & paste the grid and instructions in a new post, add a link onto the star of your choice and publish it. Then tell others to do the same. When I notice your link, I will link back accordingly.

———copy and paste the Viralink and instructions below this line———

Below is a matrix of 140 stars, I have already added a link to my blog onto one of the stars, all you need to do is copy and paste the grid into your blog and add your own link to one of the other spare stars, and tell others to do the same!

Viralink

********************
********************
********************
********************
********************
********************
********************

When I receive a ping back once you have added the Viralink to your site I will add your link to this grid, and each person who copies the grid from here will also link to your site!

———copy and paste the Viralink and instructions above this line———

Now, let’s see where it takes us.