Category: Miscellaneous

  • One Right Way to do Things in Education

    I just found out from the local newspaper this morning that Bielefeld University had a “gala” celebration of its 50-year anniversary on Saturday evening, with a concert by the Bielefeld Philharmonic and a few speeches and refreshments in the local concert hall, the Oetkerhalle. Well, how nice. I worked there for 22 years. Obviously not…

  • A Dylan Encomium

    So they have him. The bard who has spent a lifetime one step away, out of step, keeping us guessing, not playing the game, any of them, finally tripped up. Fated to turn up in Stockholm in white tie with the world’s press? Assimilated in grand style? Maybe the shortest Nobel acceptance speech ever? (“I’d…

  • Thoughts on Sustainable Electric Home Heating

    I own a largish building of about 360 sq.m., of divided use, some of which is my home. It was built about 110 years ago. Heating it is an issue. Heating and hot water cost me about 40,000 kWh per annum, about 110 kWh per day. I use a hyperefficient gas heater and pay the…