Die Narren

February 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Die Narren sind los! Die Narren is a name given to someone who entertains other people, much like a jester.

There are several versions as to where the word comes from. Some believe that it comes from the Latin word nario for turning one’s nose up at something, others claim it comes from narrare – to narrate or tell a story.

At carnival time the Narren refers to the people who dress up for processions and Sitzungen, and is also used as an adjective: närrisch.

There is also a saying in German “macht mich nicht närrisch” – don’t drive me mad!

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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Filed Under: Carnival, German Words Explained, Podcasts Tagged With: , , , ,

Finding the nearest public toilet using SMS

February 26, 2008 By 1 Comment

I guess it had to come – I’ve tried out SMS systems for locating hotels, petrol stations and hotspots.  Now, one of the London Boroughs has started a system to help mobile phone users to locate the nearest public toilet.

Actually the area covered would appear to be still rather small, but if the rest of the capital joins in then it could be a useful resource.

But will it be any good in rural areas, where public toilets are often locked – the key being kept in local shops?

I’d like to suggest extending the system – to allow such toilets to be unlocked using the same SMS system.  Any vandalism would be easily traced back to the mobile phone owner that unlocked the toilet.

Does anyone else think that this is a good idea?

Filed Under: Cymeradwyo, Mobile phones Tagged With: , , ,

Why Global Warming may be good for us

February 26, 2008 By 4 Comments

I couldn’t believe this piece of news when I read it – Global Warming?  Good for us???   There’s me trying to do my bit to save the planet, and then a government department goes and writes a report saying that it’s not all that bad.

Any why?  Because warmer winters are less of a threat to us, ie. less people die.  It even considers that the increases in the summer temperatures (did I miss something last year?) are not so serious because less people suffer from things such as skin cancer than those that suffer in colder winters.

Am I the only person that thinks that this is the wrong way to tackle the problem?  We should be trying to find ways to stop the Global Warming, not trying to find arguments for keeping it.

Filed Under: Bio-Ethanol, Temp Tagged With:

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