Changes, changes…

André stopped working for UserLand yesterday in order to go back to university. I guess some people are really glad to hear that, yes, he’s finally going to finish his physics diploma…

Argh! More Lego!

I don’t think Zannah reads my blog, but she had this link to Lego Watches. Coincidence?!

(Yeah, I had quite a few Lego links yesterday.)

Shockwave

Grrr! Yesterday I was finally sick of these that told me I needed the Shockwave plugin for my browser. I went and downloaded the plugin, then installed it and visited a few sites to finally look at their cool animated graphics or whatever they did with Flash.

But what happened? The Internet Explorer has crashed at least five times (since yesterday evening) without any reason. And I didn’t even load any sites with Flash! That hasn’t happened before.

So what do I do about it? Yes, I deleted the Shockwave plugin. Since then, everything is working smoothly again.

I’m sorry for the sites that use Flash – I’m not going there any more. I haven’t seen a useful application of Flash anyway.

It’s all okay

Martin gives us the latest news on his family.

It’s good to hear his son and wife are well!

Amsterdam

I’ve added a few photos on my Amsterdam pages.

Yes, they were on the PictureCD along with the Expo and Rainforest House photos. That film lasted a long time…

Autumn – or is it fall?

It’s the first day of September… the summer is almost over. It’s raining in Bonn today.

A fable about dogs and the internet

Brent introduces us to Frank.

Even more Lego

The International Lego Users Group Network.

Of course there had to be some crazy guys out there who built a whole computer case from Lego. Here’s their website: The Woo Lego Project.

Leo Dorst presents his Life in Lego. For example, he built his Amsterdam Canal House from Lego bricks. Wow! By the way, his Lego clock inspired Eric Harshbarger to build his.

And the Rec.Toys.Lego Frequently Asked Questions.

Cool in allen Lebenslagen

Wer kennt nicht Ernst Eiswürfl? Diese Version von Familie Wischnewski ist nett illustriert.

Gratulation!

Oho, unser Schockwellenreiter ist berühmt! Es scheinen also doch andere Wege zu funktionieren als ein entsprechender Untertitel im Weblog…

Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Jörg!

Und hier ist das Interview mit dem gekürten Blogger.

Lego

What did you built from Lego bricks as a kid? Houses, cars, trains? And all pretty small? Well, Eric Harshbarger builds larger things, like desks and grandfather clocks – in real size! See also the Linux penguin on the left. Amazing.

Link via Schockwellenreiter, who found it at xblog.

By the way, of course Lego will be the only company who sells Harry Potter construction toys: The LEGO Company Is Granted Global Harry Potter License

“The LEGO Company, makers of the world’s best-selling construction toys, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to market Harry Potter construction toys worldwide. […]

The first sets in the new LEGO® line will allow kids ages six to 12 to bring to life the Harry Potter storyline and its characters. The 2001 toy line, which will include nine sets based on the “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone“ movie, is slated to be on store shelves prior to the film’s release.”

Congratulations!!!

Martin: “My son Raphael Nicolaj Spernau was born exactly 0 days, 4 hours, 0 minutes ago. ”

Herzlichen Glüchwunsch, Sandra und Martin! Und alles Gute!

New Email address

The days of my old and cryptic email address are over. My new address is:

Where have all the kids gone?

Kids are too infused with digital technology, by Pamela Kruger.

Link via array and Curmudgeon.

German ISPs

The Standard: ISPs Liable for Hate Sites, by Rick Perera.

A district president says Internet service providers are responsible for removing sites that break German law.

BERLIN – Internet servicee providers in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia could face fines of up to $231,000 for carrying Web sites with neo-Nazi propaganda.

Yes, North Rhine-Westphalia is the state we live in.

Link via Garret.

What is important?

Martin – beste Wünsche für Sandra und Raphael! Alles Gute!

Expo pictures yesterday – and more today

I only discovered today that my JPEGs from yesterday were pretty large files because I used a too weak compression. I posted smaller picture files today, so my site should be faster than yesterday. Sorry for that.

By the way, thanks for linking to my photos, Sheila, Garret and Craig (Hey look! He’s got a new picture of himself on his home page! ).

I’ve also got some (really few this time) photos from my parents and my visit at the Rainforest House in Hanover. (I mentioned this on August 11.) It’s an Expo Project in Hanover’s botanical garden.

Für Leser, die auch deutsch können: Das Regenwaldhaus hat natürlich auch eine Website.

Ostankino TV tower

The fire in the TV tower in Moscow is under control, says CNN: Russia tower fire ‘under control’

The article says that three people are trapped in the tower. The German news site Seite 1 says two people, a fire fighter and an elevator operator, have been found dead. They didn’t know whether there was a third person in the tower.

Hier sind die Artikel von Seite 1 zum Brand im Ostankino Fernsehturm:

Brennpunkt, Sammlung von Meldungen zum Thema.

Letzte Meldung: Zwei Tote bei Brand in Moskauer Fernsehturm

Update: The SWR 3 radio news just said that four people died in the tower. The fire has been extinguished, but the tower probably has to be torn down because some steel ropes inside the tower have been destroyed by the fire. The ropes hold the tower in place, but were not heat-resistant and thus torn by the fire.

Finally! The photos are here. Do you remember that André and I met Craig in Koblenz on June 14? Well, I took some photos then, and I finally got them developed! I also had a Picture CD made, and here are a few shots of us in Koblenz. Notice that Craig wore his UserLand Frontier T shirt so we could recognize him when we met in his hotel’s lobby. (You can see the UserLand sign best in the last picture.)

A closer look at Craig’s and my thumbs

Kaiser Wilhelm Denkmal (monument) Deutsches Eck, Koblenz	The Thumb, a sculpture in front of the Deutschherrenhaus (Museum Ludwig)

Craig and André on top of the monument

Sponsors wanted for college

Don’t tell me these guys are being serious…

Link via /usr/bin/girl.

Rankings und LinkBack

Der Schockwellenreiter beschäftigt sich mit diesen Rankings:
“Kann mir mal jemand sagen, warum, obwohl ich hier über 20 Einträge habe, ich dort nicht auftauche? Habe ich wieder irgend eine Registrierung übersehen?”

Keine Ahnung. Normalerweise müßte die Registrierung bei Weblogs.com ausreichen. Und da bist Du ja registriert. Falls es Dich interessiert: Zufällig habe ich da gestern geguckt, und ich war auf Platz 75. So wie ich das Ding verstehe, kann es da aber täglich recht große Änderungen geben.

“Apropos Ranking: Andrea, ist irgendetwas mit Linkback nicht in Ordnung? Da läuft bei mir schon seit Tagen nichts mehr.”

Ist bei mir auch so, seit dem 9. August. Unten auf der Seite steht ja immer, wann sie erstellt wurde. Keine Ahnung, was da los ist. Kleine Aussetzer gab es schon ab und zu mal, aber ich hatte jetzt nicht die Muße, mich darum zu kümmern, d.h. Jeremy eine Mail zu schreiben.