Pencil (by openclipart.org - public domain)
The german Linux Magazin put the article about Linux on mobile devices online.
I’ve ranted about writing the article back in November and October. If you didn’t read the printed issue, the online article is another occasion.
Another interesting article is Wirbelstürmer which reports about the usage of OSM and openrouteservice.org to cope with the remains of the hurricane »Ike«. Thanks for putting those articles online, guys!
Wallraff Lecture at the JuBez, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2009-11-10
I just attended a a lecture of Günter Wallraff at the Jubez. He’s a master of investigative journalism, which surprisingly is not very common in germany.
He has played several roles during the last decades: as a turkish worker, as a journalist for an infamous german tabloid, as a black guy in germany or as a call center agent. Meanwhile, he’s kind of an institution.
I read some of his reports, books and saw some of his films. Visiting a lecture is like meeting a bigfoot: »Wow, I never believed it really exists!« :)
Update:
Gebabbel Logo
The current issue 12/2009 of the german »Linux Magazin« features several GPS related articles. On page 40 there’s one about Openstreetmap on mobile devices, especially the N810.
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Pencil (by openclipart.org - public domain)
After writing several papers for various conferences, I had the occasion to write an article for a magazine (I’ll post more details as soon the issue is out). I mainly did it to collect some experience with that kind of work. Fortunately the topic was about things I’m savvy about, so I just needed to collect the details and write it down. I needed several evenings anyway, as it required to check out current versions of some software and to cope with some glitches in it.
I’m not 100% content, but it’s now a good compromise of what was desired by the client and what I would have written if I was solely responsible for the content. What I’ve heard so far, the client is content as well. Great.
All in all an excellent occasion, and I learned a lot. If you are in the situation to write an article, don’t deny it just because you are too busy or lazy right now. Writing does not only improve your writing skills, but also is a nice training to nail down things effectively. Being an information worker at some software company, it is essential to let others precisely know what I’m intending. Otherwise I either was not able to achieve my goals, or at least it would cost me (and my colleagues) much more time.
I just finished reading the latest book of Helmut Schmidt, “Ausser Dienst”. It’s an autobiography, and due to his age and (political) experience, he has a lot of things to tell about domestic and foreign policy, about economies and the challenges we will face in the near future.
Jochen Topf and Frederik Ramm just announced the update of their (german) book »OpenStreetMap – Die freie Weltkarte nutzen und mitgestalten«.
You can find more information about it on www.openstreetmap.info.
Yes, it’s true, the MAD magazine still exists! According to Slashdot, they are about to release their 500th issue. From april on, they will switch to quarterly releases. To be honest, I haven’t read one of them since my youth. But nevertheless, it reminds me of Alfred E. Neuman, Dave Berg and Don Martin. Will order some of the latter one’s comics instantly :) .
Admittedly, the german language neither is an easy to learn nor an elegant language. During my stay in Kaufungen, I found this »Berliner« ad in front of a bakery. The writer obviously was not a native speaker (instead of »verschiedene Fühlungen« he meant »verschiedenen Füllungen«, »various fillings«):
Not that my english was perfect (actually, it’s lousy :) ), but it reminds me of a column of Bastian Sick called »Zwiebelfisch«. (more…)
The second book I just read about the mass extermination of jews during the second world war is called »We wept without tears« (»Wir weinten tränenlos…«) by Gideon Greif. It’s a compilation of various interviews he held with some survivors of the Sonderkommando of the extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.
If you remember a little latin, you might know what »Anus Mundi« means (a vulgar german translation would read as »Arsch der Welt«). Still under the impression of my recent visit to Oświęcim, Poland, I wanted to get a bit of a clue what life was like in those infamous german concentration camps.
Helmut Schmidt, an elderly german Statesman, today reaches the age of 90 years. Helmut Schmidt still is a restless worker, being a publisher and the issuer of »Die Zeit«.
(Picture shamelessly stolen from Wikipedia Commons)
I’m currently reading his latest book »Ausser Dienst«. I have no clue if there are any plans to translate it into english language. If so, I’d like to recommend it. Regardless of ones political provenience, it should be a must read for any german, and a should read for our european neighbours. Both will learn to better understand each other.
Wish you health and hope to see just more of your publications!
