http://serendipita.org formerly known as Andrea's Weblog Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:40:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en André and I just watched Stephen Fry and the Gutenberg Press, parts one, two, three, four, five and six on YouTube. I don't know where André read about it, but the hour-long BBC documentary turned out to be very interesting. They actually build a book press like the one that ... http://serendipita.org/2008/04/18/gutenberg/ Die Zeit 15/2008 Schulzeitverkürzung: Mehr Mut zu G8. "Die Verkürzung des Gymnasiums auf acht Jahre führt in Bayern zu Unmut bei Eltern, Lehrern und Schülern. In Thüringen ist man mit dem 'G8' rundum zufrieden. Warum ist das so? Ein Ländervergleich." Schulzeitverkürzung: Vom Osten lernen. "Das 'Turbo-Abitur' gibt es in Sachsen und Thüringen ... http://serendipita.org/2008/04/10/letzte-woche-in-der-zeit/ I think I'll have to bake fractal cookies sometime. Yes, I'm easily amused. And I like the Evil Mad Scientist. http://serendipita.org/2008/04/09/fractal-food/ I love a good mango lassi. André and I have tried to make some several times at home, but we rarely get close to what Indian restaurants serve. So this AskMe thread comes in handy: Help me make the best mango lassi in the world. Bonus: recipe for a no-bake ... http://serendipita.org/2008/04/06/mango/ Ask MetaFilter: Liquid Bounce. "At the University of Texas, researchers have produced some amazing videos and photos of liquid bouncing on liquid. This was one of nature.com's Images of the Year for 2007 (picture number 6, in the upper-right corner). The project report, along with pictures and videos, is found on ... http://serendipita.org/2008/04/06/rheological-fluids-again/ Genauer gesagt geht es um unseren Waschtrockner, d. h. eine Waschmaschine und ein Kondenstrockner in einem Gerät. Angeschafft habe ich das Maschinchen, als ich 1997 nach Bonn gezogen bin und meiner kleinen Studentenwohnung nur wenig Platz hatte. Mittlerweile ist der Waschtrockner von Siemens zehneinhalb Jahre alt und hat schon einiges mitgemacht: ... http://serendipita.org/2008/04/05/es-war-einmal-eine-waschmaschine/ I know, I'm a bit late, but at least here in Germany it's still Easter. After having visitors for a couple of days before Easter, we spent yesterday and today quite unspectacularly. We went for long walks on both days, in spite of the almost constant snow showers we've had ... http://serendipita.org/2008/03/24/happy-easter-2/ After posting about the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain a while ago, I happened upon them again today on MetaFilter. There are some great pieces of them on Youtube. My favourites: Fly me of the Händel, Wuthering Heights (Heathcliff!) and, of course, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It's ... http://serendipita.org/2008/03/04/the-ukulele-orchestra-of-great-britain/ When we moved to the Hunsrück a year and a half ago I expected a lot of snow in winter. It rarely snows in Northern Germany (where I grew up) or in Bonn (where I lived while attending university), so I was looking forward to white winters. Alas, we had ... http://serendipita.org/2008/03/04/snow/ Non-Newtonian fluids are fluids whose visosity changes according to the force which is applied to them. Stick your finger in slowly, and it behaves like a liquid, but bang it with a fist, and it behaves like it's solid. Like in this film: Non-Newtonian fluid (Youtube link). Or, more spectacularly, you ... http://serendipita.org/2008/02/17/non-newtonian-fluids/