.tax me! [de]

Wer hätte gedacht, dass in der Finanzverwaltung jemand mit einem Fünkchen Witz sitzt? Ich habe mich gerade für Elster-Online registriert, und habe mich doch einigermaßen über die Datei-Endungen gefreut, die sie dort durchgehend in Ihren URL-Pfaden verwenden. Hier z.B.:

https://www.elsteronline.de/eportal/eop/auth/Registrierung.tax

Und, dass die Leute dort überhaupt genug Englisch beherrschen? Das ist schon mal einen Oettinger wert! Da zahl doch fast gerne meine Steuern – bzw. hole mir welche zurück.

Aber mal ernsthaft: auf den ersten Blick macht diese Seite, und deren Sicherheitskonzept, einen durchaus ausgereiften Eindruck. Nicht mal externe Tracking-Codes oder sonstige Skripte sind drin. Bin mal gespannt was mich noch so erwartet…

Allvais wis ze Görmaans: Edward Snowden Edition [en]

So the NDR (a branch of Germany’s public broadcasting service ARD) got to interview Edward Snowden — exclusive stuff apparently. And whom do they send to talk to him? Some nitwit called Hubert Seipel, whose English sounds like a combination of the Simpsons’ Rainier Wolfcastle and Bond-villain Maximilian Largo.

I don’t know much about that man’s eligibility otherwise, but just trying to listen to the first 3 minutes of the interview made me grind my teeth. Harsh stuff. Seriously.

Would I do better myself? Hell no! But neither would I dare to take upon me such a task. Doesn’t the ARD have any qualified staff at all? What am I paying my mandatory fees for, anyway?

Ranting about superficial bullshit aside, I hear the actual contents of the interview are rather disappointing themselves. Well, I guess I’ll have to bite the bullet and watch the whole interview, if I want to find out for myself…

Savage [en]

I’m more and more becoming a fan of Dan Savage. He’s one of these guys, who constantly manage to point out the nuisance of religion, without being a total dick about it.

That may be, because instead of just weighing in on abstract, philosophical questions, he actually does something good for society. He’s an LGBT activist and initiator of the It Gets Better Project, an organization that helps prevent suicide among young people with “non-traditional” sexuality. Also, he is the guy who brought us Santorum.

Last night, Dan Savage was on Bill Maher’s show, and the two were talking about the recent legalization of gay marriage in Hawaii:

Maher:
Their catholic bishop there […] says something about how children who are […] adopted by gay parents have a greater chance of committing suicide. That must be bullshit, right?

Savage:
That’s total bullshit. He’s confusing children with gay parents, with children who where raped by catholic priests.

Maher:
Uuuuuh!

Savage:
Sorry, I’m just done being lectured about children and their safety by catholic fucking bishops, priests, cardinals, …

[…]

Savage:
I hate to always go there, but they don’t have moral high-ground when they talk about the welfare and safety of children. They just don’t! They have squandered that on the tips of their dicks.

Here comes Gentrification [en]

Just stumbled upon an old NY-Times article about good old Glockenbachviertel in Munich. The article is from 2006, and I must say that the foreign autor grasped the essence of this quarter quite well.

Of course, things have changed since back then. Cool places have moved away (X-cess) or even shut down completely (KuK). Others, like Trachtenvogel or Netzer, have been mutilated by bourgeois neighbors and consecutive municipal restrictions.

Moreover, the Glockenbachviertel has been over-run by hoards of zombie hipsters – and rich IT-folks like myself have been taking over the residential properties. There goes the neighborhood!