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Electronic Diary

January 28, 2008 We have a new year! Tiger Woods won the buick invitational in an impressive style. Young Magnus also did well in the Netherlands. We have some hot days here at the cape. Gardner Eric came some time ago, when it was raining hard. No work, but he was sick after that. I was skiing in Tyrol. Retcliffe's Biarritz is now on the web (first 4 volumes). Visit at the dentist, dog training, papers with Guy Louchard, problems with my old Fostex, you name it. Journey has a filippino as a new lead singer. Some fans opted for Hugo instead. I got a new modem, and now the internet works much better. Bruno is growing quickly. He is handsome, but a bit clumsy. I just listen to Trevor Nasser, not a well known musician in Europe. Load shedding is the new word in South Africa. It affects us all. And often now low water pressure. Conrado Martinez will visit soon! Pollen season. Not much new otherwise.

November 7, 2007 Sorry again for the delay. The driveway has been done, and Bruno has arrived. He is nice, and friendly with Tony. Stupid Sheila does not like him. She is an asocial dog. I saw Manon in Cape town. Svidler was tremendous! What a star! How he destroyed Topalov's helper! The installation of the bidet is delayed; to next monday. People whom I knew some 30 years ago sent me email! Shadows from the past! But I never attend any such meetings, from old schoolmates, etc. And since I am so far away, I have a good excuse. I will post some pictures in about a week. Stay tuned! Gardner Eric reappeared; he comes now often, to catch up. Many plastic bags filled with rubbish. Bruno has a little collar with a bell, so that I hear where he is. He grows quickly.

October 11, 2007 My nerves! New pavement should come soon, as well as new puppy. I painted the gate, to some extent. Must do a bit more, but I have no patience, and bad luck with gardeners.

October 2, 2007 Pollen season! In Capetown, the opera Manon will be performed. I try to get tickets. Jules Massenet shares his birth and death years with ... Kardl May! This book by Hesekiel can be read as a social novel. He had the term "weisze Sclaven" earlier than Ernst A Willkomm. I made myself wise about german producer Jack White.

October 1, 2007 There are good chances for a puppy! I have seen the bitch with her 10 (!) puppies already. I will go forward now for a new driveway. Prestigious paving ... Svidler won his last game, so his result looks now a little bit better. The US boys won the presidents cup, but I did not watch it. Problems with my gardner! I bought a record player. They are not easy to find anymore. It is from Denon. It has a preamp built in that I cannot switch off, and boosts the bass. I would prefer a more neutral setting. For my handyman carreer, I like my electric powerscrewer. To be recommended! R Tichy's birthday was yesterday. Finally, I found a book by George Hesekiel on the internet: Faust und Don Juan. I moved my piano to another room. Sheila and Tony were in the beauty parlour, and my car was washed for R70. The Flajolet-Sedgewick book is almost ready; I got it printed and bound in a prestigous red hardcover. I can compute sums that previously only Sigma could. Dinner in an indian restaurant.

August 10, 2007 I am interested in Tromsoe, after reading the impressive Afraja, by Theodor Muegge. There is a chess tournament going on at the moment. Tiger played +1 yesterday. My favourite guitar player at the moment is Theodore Ziras. Check him out at youtube! Yesterday was a holiday here, and also a fire in a students dormatory. Very windy here!

July 27, 2007 Weather is absolutely horrible. I wanted to book at a dentist, but had to learn that he is in hospital, at least for another week. A sick doctor is not a good recommendation! Dinner at the waterfront last monday. Terrible traffic in Capetown, plus rain. Tiger did not play well, but an austrian golfer, having the same result, was praised as a golf-sensation. Well, different standards. Only 4 libraries in the US subscribe to the famous CUBO journal!

July 20, 2007 This page was a bit neglected recently. Professor Grabner will drive soon to Italy. Graz hosted a summerschool that many were attending. I visited Barcelona and then Antibes(Juan-les-Pins). It is difficult to buy a dog! I tried many breeders, but no success! Not many news here. I got two quotations for a new pavement. Weather is not good; and I suffer a lot when it is cold. I discovered a "new" writer: Theodor Muegge. Ratzinger is on vacation. Georg Danzer passed away. Sattolo's algorithm becomes popular. Ward's parameter as well. I met Ward's mother! (Mrs. Ward; I don't know her first name, probably Sheila, Heather, Jenny, Abigail or something like that.) She teached children in school. British open has started yesterday. Stellenbosch has a public library, and one can take out books, CDs, videos for free! The magic flute will be given in Cape Town. My gardner Eric disappeared for a month, since his mother (this time I won't guess her name!) is very sick. People in this country die earlier than in Germany, say. Just look at the statistics. A huge Mr. Price has opened, near the german supermarket. Must referee a paper for Ars Combinatoria.

April 27, 2007 Ratzinger had his 80th birthday and 2year jubilee in his new position. Congratulations! Hopefully, I will get my new refrigerator this week. Visitor Heuberger has left us again. He obtained many strong results. Sheila got stuck with a bone. I had to help her to get it out of her mouth. I might have found somebody who can provide dog Bruno in june. My CD-shelves are basically finished, and almost all the CDs are in place. Elections in France yesterday. When I hear the name of one candidate, I always think "Hungary", not "France". Twice during last months, I had guests. Now it is enough for some time.

March 30, 2007 Svidler ended up as the fourth winner. I bought 15 meters of moulding, which must be painted and fixed to the construction. Never ending story. Beautiful day! A researcher from UCT visited us. Revisions, revisions ... Now I have gardner Eric. Many ants and spiders in the house! Even small lizards (geckos). Problems with my tape recorder.

March 26, 2007 Sorry, I have very little time these days for a new bulletin. Tiger won, but had some distance control problems yesterday. Svidler won 2 games yesterday. I am busy with doing a carpenters job at home. That is OK, but I hate the varnishing. Visitor Heuberger has arrived. Just finished reading Cooper's Waterwitch (in german).

February 27, 2007 Svidler played only remis, 7 times. Tiger lost, after 2 extra holes. Gardner Dallas did not come. Hands down. I treated the department to cake and snacks.

February 22, 2007 Svidler played 4 times remis so far. Gardner Dallas did not show up twice, but I got him on the phone and he promised to come again. The grass is very high; I tried to cut it, but did not complete the job. Patience, as Horaz advised it to Delius, that would be required. Bulwer cites Horaz all the time.

February 12, 2007 Some rain over the weekend: welcome! Table-tennis: now in my house! Sheila: suffers from parasites! Aircondition in the car: leaking. Rindler appeared in my dream: not rewarding. A well-known Professor has been hospitalized this week, for a minor operation. (Nose? sinuses?)

February 8, 2007 No petrol in the scooter, but a very nice man on a motorbike helped me. One should not trust the indicator! Problems: delivery guys did not come, and aircondition in the car is leaking. Somebody bought the puppy that I might have liked.

February 7, 2007 I learnt about the death of Peter Hammer. Charlie Parker and Jaco Pastorius combined reached about his age.
In Vienna, I performed a few songs from Robert Franz. Thanks to "Wollsteiner" who allowed me to copy them and briefed me a bit.

February 6, 2007 On popular demand, I will write a few lines. It is quite hot. Well, the sun is strong, the air is OK. I spent one month in Austria (Oestreich). That is the country well known for Groer, Leopold-Oestreich-ist-frei-Figl, Adolf Winter, Karl Luetgendorf, Mozart, Stifter, Grillparzer and a few others (Liszt was hungarian, although my school teacher claimed him for Austria). I taught a course for 8 people (6 male, 2 female). And 2 seminars. Rigoletto in Graz, and Franz Schmidt (4. Symphonie), Tschaikowsky Pathetique, but Thomas Quasthoff cancelled his gig. A heat wave in January made some of my plants suffer or even die. A new dog will probably arrive soon: Bruno! Professor Grabner provided dinner: juicy beef, in the oven at low temperature. Teaching has started here. I teach in a very steep auditorium, similar to the ones that Billroth and Semmelweis used for their surgeries. In our street, there are basically no kids, which is nice, only 2, and that is 2 too many. They get horribly noisy toys from their parents, only to terrorise the neighbourhood. Next time they use this car (about 50 cm long, terribly fast and loud) on the road (!), I will call the police. Even during the day not everything is allowed, especially on a public road, which isn't a playground. Table-tennis: balls are now larger than in my youth, and the boards are blue, not green. Graz has benefitted a lot from immigrants from neighbouring countries: Fresh young blood, friendly and energetic people! And then I was in Vienna. I saw a guy injecting some stuff into his arm on a park bench on the "ring": nobody watched, no police, in the middle of the day! Congratulations! A "viby" city! I met some relatives on a sunday, but only briefly. I talked to a friend on the phone, several times. The conversation could never be finished normally, because of his child! I am happy to have none! (to be continued...)

December 11, 2006 Yesterday was Kaefer's birthday! Svidler won a game! It was very windy in Somerset West. Schnitzel and Sauerkraut from the new german supermarket! Drilled holes for a box with flowers. Booked Tony for wednesday in the dog's parlor.

November 30, 2006 A colloquium today, by a german ring theorist. Jacobson radicals, Lie commutator, nil (null) ring,... Watched a Jeff Healey concert on video. Problems with the pool.

November 29, 2006 A late exam today, and I must stay here until 21.00. I saw the Borat movie.

November 28, 2006 Kramnik made an incredible blunder after some nice play. The homepages are now on a new server. I got more bourgonvillas. I read Ernst Willkomm's Weisze Sclaven. Great stuff! Garage door has been fixed, but for R1300! Laurent Lafforgue was here, gave a talk last friday. Remember Ingrid and Brigitte Lafforgue? Pope has landed in Turkey.

November 16, 2006 Super Svidler the only one who won a game yesterday! Today last round. Mister Winterbach fixed the problem with the car, but now new trouble: the garage door! Resubmission... ward-parameter-draft printed...soon a colloquium...

November 15, 2006 Tired Svidler lost again! I brought my car to Dani Winterbach, to check the starter.

November 14, 2006 Poor Svidler lost. Experts believe, that it is a problem with his physical fitness. Let us hope that he will do better today. Visitor Wagner flew this morning to Johannesburg, to visit the university led by Cameron etc.
This evening, students write the exam, and I must stay here until 21.00! My car is not so good; I am worried.

November 10, 2006 Visitor S. Wagner gave a talk. Then lunch in the botanical garden. No bobotie available. Svidler and Carlsen just agreed to a draw. The starter of my car gives me trouble. Yesterday evening a bit cooler, now a nice day, just flawless.

November 9, 2006 Discrete Mathematics in Vienna. At the University of Vienna, they have Christian Krattenthaler, who gathered an energetic team around him. And retired professor ("emeritus") J. Cigler is very active, doing things that I like very much. Probably R. Winkler would say that it is "too computational", but people have different tastes, fortunately.
At the Technical University, they recently got M. Drmota. Well, he isn't really new, but got a promotion. Although he is basically an analyst, he and his young team are quite successful in (analytic) combinatorics. This is fortunate, since for about 30 years, this area was "owned" by a geometer (!) who hardly published, and one got the impression that this beautiful and important mathematical domain was somehow neglected. So: things are now going well in Vienna.
Svidler won against Aronian. A should shave. Armenians get always bashed by Karl May. There is literature about this. A, a player with 2700+, made a horrible blunder!

November 8, 2006 A hot day again! HP is nice, but PH is horrible! Last saturday, I got 2 pairs of shoes. Ernst Willkomm, a friend of Gutzkow! Tanja Gernhard's diploma thesis sits now physically on my desk. J. Cigler posted a nice paper! Exciting chess today from Moskau!

November 7, 2006 Visitor Stephan Wagner is here. Svidler plays currently a tournament in Moskau. I bought a carpet. Against the snails in the garden, one kilo of chemicals has been used. I'll report about the success. The SAMS congress happens now in Bloomfontein -- without me! Peter Grabner attended a conference at the east coast, I believe. Edmund Hlawka = 90. That was even mentioned in the "Standard". Weather is now OK, but we had (unusual) rains. I used the scooter today. William Matteuzzi on Youtube: 2 times the high F.

October 24, 2006 Bulgar Topalov was beaten again, by a woman! Remember, he is the one with the manager Danailov. I like this. Sheila is now nice and clean. We had rain this morning, and I couldn't do some planting in the garden. On tuesday, the garbage boys come, around 10.30.

October 23, 2006 Hacklaender was not very careful: A guy named Erich reappeared as Eugen! Outside of my kitchen a powerful halogen spot will soon appear: a few holes need to be drilled. I drove Sheila to a dog parlor. While most journals have a huge backlog, some have problems to fill their pages. Topalov beaten by a young man from Azerbaidjan! Great!

October 18, 2006 Instead of watching soccer on TV, I read Hacklaender! Now I have the alarm company ADT linked to my system, and a lot of new locks. Revisions of 2 papers must be done, when my coauthor is back from his/her trip to Asia. I reviewed a book for the OeMG: John von Neumann, Selected Letters. And I read in the OeMG-Heftel: Goldstern on foundations. And a letter by R Taschner! Door of fridge not properly closed: gave some food quickly to the dogs.

October 16, 2006 Visitor Bernhard Gittenberger has left. Allergy! Tiger Woods performed well, but that is already old information. I am happy that Sylvio Danailov did not succeed with his "tactics". Peter Svidler played in the lovely Zillertal, but only draws. Sheila is sometimes limping; must see a doctor. Workers are outside of my window: They are ruthless and whistle and shout, etc. Parking is also sometimes difficult, because of the renovations. Today I took the scooter, however. I need grass seeds, because of empty spots.

October 3, 2006 Visitor Bernhard Gittenberger has arrived. I attended the MathInfo conference in Nancy. The train from Paris was delayed, since the driver had not shown up! Hotel Foch wasn't good; the lift practically drove through my tiny room! Guineafowl for dinner. Wireless connection worked much worse than in Liege. Congratulations, Michel Rigo, for an excellent organization! Nancy isn't so bad, after all; better than Paris! Air condition has been refilled.

September 5, 2006 Sorry for the long delay! I have no excuses, so I don't even try. Tiger won 5 tournaments in a row, and Svidler defeated young Magnus Carlsen. Still a few steps for him to reach the Elite. My poor Sony VCR cannot be repaired, since the (trivial) spare parts cannot be organized. I am heading off this afternoon to an NRF meeting in Pretoria. That does not breach any confidentiality, I just report that I am going. Weather is better, aircondition does not work too well in my car, maybe it needs a refill. A student bumped into my car: that costs my time & energy! Peter Grabner is currently in Nashville, TN. Joerg Thuswaldner and Wolfgang Steiner attended a conference in Rennes; the latter posted a joint paper with 2 czech women! Refereeing requests, as usual. A plumber was in my house, for a quotation. Walked around a little pond on saturday. Forgot my suitcase at home; must go there on my way to the airport.

I heat my house well when it is cold. The electricity bill is a bit higher, so this extravagancy costs me perhaps R300 per month. That is well spent money!

August 8, 2006 Strong rains; very cold!

August 7, 2006 Tiger's impressive win at Buick's. Peter Kostis interviewed him. Either PK is short, or Tiger is tall (or both).
Kramnik and Svidler tied at first place in Dortmund. Everybody talks about Kramnik, that is not fair to impressive Svidler. Leko often messes up his results in the last round. The overrated Aronian performed badly. Dallas planted new stuff for about R1000. And put the new glass in. Great man!

August 4, 2006 Strong rain yesterday night, but now it is nice again. This weather is apparently not too good for my health. Too much heating --> fuses dripped. 2 strong chess tournaments to watch. Young Magnus Carlsen is always exciting. Dear reader, please look at Cauchy numbers by Sprugnoli, Merlini, Verri: perhaps interesting?! The open day went open smoothly. They had a tent in front of the Neelsie. A bird flew into my garage and then through a window. The glass + putty cost me R50. Eikestadt Glass, close to the office furniture shop. On Your Tube are interesting videos: All kind of guitar shredders, but also competitive eating contests. And Deen Castronuovo, the drummer from Journey, doing some amazing lead vocals!

August 2, 2006 I just learnt the funny story about a certain researcher who used the microwave of his department to boil his milk, but instead of 40 seconds, he chose 40 minutes. He forgot about it, but eventually the smoke triggered the alarm, and the fire department came...
On saturday, Amanda (Awanda?) or Dallas will work in my garden. I let it to them to decide...
Cold an unfriendly weather. Today: open day! I must also sit through, for 1/2 hour, in the afternoon. Alois and I will edit a special issue in "Annals of combinatorics". If you want to contribute, contact me.

July 24, 2006 I cannot give a systematic account of my trip to Europe. Just a few impressions, scattered over the next few days.
The airplane was full, and a single man with a toddler squeezed himself next to me. He tried to tell me that I was sitting on the wrong place, but realized his error. I was shocked! A baby next to me, and another one not too far! But the airplane officials redirected him to the "jumping seat", somewhere else. And the other baby was not too loud, and I took sleeping pills.

On the fleamarket in Linz, I bought 3 novels by Wilkie Collins, the writer that Arno Schmidt recommended. Cell phones give wifes more control; they usually call all the time, and I can imagine that these conversations are not always fun.

I just saw an earlier entry: Walther Philipp=70. Now it must be replaced by Walter [note the spelling!] Philipp dead, age 69. What a shocker! Find more about it from the internet. Clemens Heuberger has a new collaborator in this project, a tall dutchman, who plays the piano. Muckenstruntz und Bamschabel...anybody remembers them? Many people at the workshop in Graz, Willy "the Legs", Steffi the soprano, Wolfgang "globetrotter" Steiner, the cousin of Stefan Gerhold. Stephan Wagner, with a carefully trimmed short beard. LLC went down to Schlecker, to buy chocolade, Roberto had many music scores on his laptop. A new lefthanded ph.D. from Marburg, now in Vienna. Hotel Stoiser: one of the noisest hotels in the history of mankind, but with nice carpets. Tiger won in Liverpool! TCS asks me to handle another paper. Ryan Air from Brussels to Salzburg was great, as was my hiking trip in Zillertal. I saw "Sang und Klang im Kinderland" on the fleamarket, for 15 Euros, but I did not want to carry it. Tanja Kinkels Goetterdaemmerung was given away in Graz. I got my copy of the Habilitationsschrift about Sir John Retcliffe. Volker Neuhaus, I believe. Way to Go has no office anymore at the airport. Retcliffe wrote a sequel to "Der Todesgrusz der Legionen" by Samarow! The fleamarket had Nena Sahib, Vol.2, but only the Barthel-Winkler version. Altenberg, near Linz, is nice, and hospitality there was great. As well in the house of Guy and Odile: thanks. Bruegge is pleasant, etc.

June 30, 2006 Just a quick note before a leave for Europe. The first half of 2006 is over, I am still alive! Walther Philipp=70.

June 26, 2006A lot of soccer these days! Read D Zeilberger's opinions, especially the passages where H Barcelo and M Bousquet-Melou are mentioned! Interesting! Who is J Erickson? I mean, in comparison with the great Zeilberger? Amanda and Dallas worked on saturday. I prefer Dallas to Breeze any day. Not much fuzz, but the work is done. He digs out roots as well, although he is not a big guy. Technique does the job! Ratzinger's article in wikipedia is now quite long! In europe at least, they are not as powerful as in the 19th century. Read Ganghofer about how influential the "Pfarr" was in bavaria! For 29 Rand, I got a new zip into a pair of trousers. No need to work myself! Great!

June 21, 2006 Guy Louchard left, and the rain came back. I bought sand, cement, bricks. Also grease, but it does not seem to help. Revisions! Proposals! Karl Sigmund will give a talk in Winkler's seminar (rwin). Eugene Sue, der ewige Jude: Die Englaender haben eine vollstaendige Version, die Deutschen haben gar nix. Nur Fu3ball im Schaedel!
Yesterday I replaced the batteries in the remote control of my car. There are 5 batteries stacked together! Small ones, like in a watch. Oh, my watch also works again. Need more petrol.

June 16, 2006 Public holiday today. Asia Carrera's husband died in a car crash.

June 14, 2006 Now very bad weather. June! June Pointer! Dead! John Tenta (Earthquake): dead, bladder cancer, age 43. Lots of soccer from germany on TV these days. Need new carpets. Bought a piece of glass+putty, 200x280, cost: R20 together. Revision (gaps):done. Amanda and Dallas were there on saturday, pavement redone (not finished). Sir John Retcliffe: I am impressed!

June 7, 2006 Still fantastic weather. Guy Louchard arrived. We visited AIMS, and had the presentation of Joel. Then filled up the car. Petrol became more expensive over night!

June 5, 2006 The weather is quite good these days. Yesterday I walked with the monsters! New intercom, new light in the dining room. The blocked drain fixed: Amanda took out a few bricks, and we replaced the "knee", and took out an awful lot of leaves. Visitor Louchard will arrive on wednesday, and then I must go to AIMS, for a presentation. It is interesting to know that Daniela Bertacchi studied the old Panny-Prodinger paper. Felix Lichnowksi: try Google! I downloaded the Algebra book by Cigler. The cheap watch that I bought in Belgium from arabic traders ceased to work after 3 weeks: battery. Friedrich Goetze (Bielefeld) is also editor of the mathematics and music discussions: Two persons converge to one! David Ragsdale is back in Kansas. The russian helper (Jurij) has an engineering degree, but works only as an electrician at the moment. Well, he only arrived here recently and needs to learn the language, etc.

May 29, 2006 Villafranca di Verona. Who knows it? Earl Woods is dead. The electrician recommended by a german professor proved to unreliable as well! In a light shop, by chance, I ran into an electrician, Godfrey, who promptly came this morning. He will fix the problems tomorrow, as he promised. His helper was a russian, with a "broken command of english". Eugenie di Montijo: Wikipedia reports a lesbian relationship with Pauline, the daughter in law of Metternich (Klemens, that is). I presented the Jacobi tripelproduct today, gave Andrews' proof. That one only uses simple ingredients, in a clever way. Many people here reported problems with a stomach virus. Now I might be one of them! Welcome to the club!

May 25, 2006 Pope Ratzinger travels around in Poland. Now the weather has improved. Winter, but nice. Health: not fantastic. The CANT summerschool was nice. The first week the weather in Belgium was suprisingly good. The university was quite far outside. I also travelled to Brussels, gave a talk, had dinner with Louchard and Bruss. Bruss is a german professor, working in Brussels. He can eat without regrets. Liege isn't the nicest of towns. Lots of italians and, more recently, moroccoans [spelling]. Prices: high, compared to Neerpelt, where I was in 1992. I read the Gregor Samarow book!

May 6, 2006 I must apologize for no entries here. Visitors Avanzi and Heuberger were here, and tomorrow I will fly to CANT in Belgium. I gave an inaugural lecture. Fortunately, only nice people should up. It went quite well, with my new laptop. A bit of flu... Lots of heavy storms in the area, with some damage. Bad weather, but we need the rain. Tiger takes some time off. Ratzinger had his birthday. Robert Kraft's Detektiv Nobody is now on the internet! Now I must collect everything for my trip. Reisemarschallin! Those were the days!

April 3, 2006 I waited the whole day for TELKOM, but they did not come! That is the downside of Africa: very poor service. And they probably think that is OK! Breeze worked saturday and sunday, Amanda only sunday. But they do not communicate well. Only by coincidence did I find out that the old cement isn't good anymore. And that we need more sand than Breeze said. The horrible guy in Johannesburg (Simon will remember his name, the one who let the guys in who stole my wine; Edmund? Emanuel? I think Emanuel!) also had such poor judgement. I should not listen, but rather do the estimate myself. A lot of people are not good at it; they say: 200 m, but it is 1 km. They say: 2 minutes, but it is 10 minutes, and so on.
What women do: In german it is called "eine Szene machen", even: "jemandem eine Szene machen"; they even announce it: "Ich mach Dir eine Szene". They become completely irrational, use the high-pitched voice that is so unpleasant, don't listen, scream, throw stuff around, and worse. They don't even need a reason, although often there is one. It is a strange thing. After that, nobody won, everybody lost, so why doing it?
On british TV, I saw one sequence of "Supernanny": ridiculously badly behaved children. Parents don't know what to do, so they call Supernanny, and she makes a plan. One rule is: stay cool, low voice! Not the KLC-voice! Don't bring yourself down to their level. Don't lose control. They must follow rules, but will also get rights in exchange. Personal time, eye-to-eye quality time. Reflection area. They had to go for 7 minutes (the age of Ann-Marie was 7) to the reflection area, and then apologize. Bed time. Low voice: Darling, it is bed time. Second time: Bed time! Third time: ignore! Nothing else! No negotiations! If one has an annoying voice, one must work on it! It can be done! Don't sound hysterical!
Oto Strauch launched a journal on uniform distribution! 50 years too late. Isn't that theory a bit off the main stream by now? Was the big hit in Vienna, of course, but now?

March 31, 2006 Soon: Ratzinger's birthday. He made Tdzivicz a Cardinal, the former secretary of the late pope Wojtyla. Sorry, if I pronounce the polish names incorrectly; they are not easy for me. I made all the deadlines, but next week I must give a talk. I want to use the new laptop, but I need the specialist to install the software!! Sheila ruined a few flowers; that makes me sick. Headache, caused by poor eyesight. Cake, because term finished. Gottlob in Oxford? Anybody has details? Edelsbrunner honorary doctor's degree from Graz. Well-done!

March 28, 2006 Deadline for CANT really approaching. Peanuts and stomach cramps. Strong winds during the night. Last time today the early lecture. Was here before 7. Would anybody today call Philipp "Lippl", or Charlotte "Lottel"? Well, read "der gro3e Schwabenzug". Please go to your magazines and find out whether you have books from Gregor Samarow or George Hesekiel. I would be interested.

March 26, 2006 Windy. We planted a lemon tree. This one was much cheaper than the other trees that Niels brought. But they grow faster and are less impressive. Deadline for CANT is approaching! And revision! And submission! Tiger's play isn't too great, but they say that his (dying?) father makes him feel uneasy. I just watched Svidler beating Ivanchuk. The left-handed young spanish player is quite good at blind chess. Aljechin was. They often write Alekhine here. Everything changes. We learned Peking, now Bejing. Peking-Ente, Zigeuner-Schnitzel, Mohr-im-Hemd, Indianer-Bohnen : politically incorrect? Before Neusatz, a beautiful german town, now Novi-Sad. Sue Saad and the News, well ... Lernen Sie Geschichte, Herr Redakteur ... Fever and swamps around Temeschwar when Klaus Florimund Mercy called the germans in. My new hero, who replaces Ganghofer: Adam Mueller-Guttenbrunn! I will soon post his "Der gro3e Schwabenzug". These books from the Gutenberg website are often full of errors, understandably from OCR, but not, if some people would do proper proofreading. The blind part of the Amber tournament is over for today; I will drive home soon and buy some bread on the way. My last week of the bio course starts tomorrow.

March 21, 2006 Today a holiday here. Gardening, with Breeze. Two big roots are out! A palm tree dead, wind? Or dead already. Now I want a lemon tree. Amber rapid and blind tournament! From Monaco, live!

March 19, 2006 Breeze did not come, but his friend Amanda, the painter, did. So I shifted the workload a bit. Varnish finished. I read the stunning book "Meister Jakob und seine Kinder" von Adam Mueller-Guttenbrunn. Tiger played just so-so. I made some progress with my documents, and thus feel a bit more relaxed. My new pressure-cooker is very useful. Unpleasant experiences, about my staff card. And it was no fun to run twice to Telkom. Still no telephone and ADSL.
True, I wasted a lot of time in my life, but was on the other hand also lucky, since I did not have to spend years in the army, and was never sick for an extended period.
Peter Hesslein was really a talented guitar player. What he could achieve, even with almost no distortion!

March 17, 2006 I survived another week! And my bio teaching will be over soon; sure, a lot or marking, and invigilation. A german professor would not do that. OK, but we are not in Germany. VCR in a repair shop, in St. James street. The new IMN-Heftel arrived. If you are young and eager, apply to CANT2006; they still have travel grants! But you must be fast. I will teach there, 4x75 minutes. Yesterday I watched some golf, but Tiger played already earlier. John v. Neumann was the Tiger Woods of the first half of the 20th century, in mathematics.

March 14, 2006 Gosh, 2 weeks without bulletin! What has happened? Writing text for the inaugural lecture, and the CANT summerschool, and preparing a (pre)proposal. Just talked to Trevor: my TV-chair has not yet been repaired after 4 months! (Not Trevor should repair it; he is just my contact person.) Great service! Breeze is planting lots of flowers and shrubbs. Car was at a service: R5500! Tiger won a tournament that I did not watch; Sheila was a bit sick; bad digestion. Walked a bit in the naturereserve; had some dinners. The private one was better than the one in the Volkskombuis. Read Sebastopol, and a few other books. During the night it is now cooler, and less daylight. Lots of horrible power failures, in Stellenbosch even worse than in Somerset West. Silvia Heubach, a german woman in the states, is now working with Mansour. Ordered a plane ticket to Brussels, via Frankfurt. Received a copy of Stephan Wagner's thesis. Arno Schmidt sometimes spelled SteppHahn. In Krumbach, they had "Brunnersteffel". A letter was just pushed underneath my door; that is the way they do it here. I find it unstylish, but Cardinal Schoenborn did this also to Magister Schueller. Ratzinger published some "reasons" why women cannot get into certain positions. I could not follow his arguments, but I don't know the axioms. kath.net., that is the address. Oh, and the chess tournament in Linares. Svidler started great, but then lost 3 Gruenfelds in a row. The games from the US championsship are also online. There are incredibly weak games by a certain Kelly.

February 28, 2006 Tiger lost against Campbell, and Svidler lost twice in a row. This morning: again no electricity, and no alarm clock. But I made it in time. Opening the garage door is a pain in the neck. Bumi Fian dead. I played in a band with him when he was very young. He concentrated on the trumpet at a very early age, never remembered that he mentioned that he was in a regular school. 7 siblings, the father "Baupolier", the mother "something better"; she drove him around in a Mercedes. They lived in Atzgersdorf (wo der Wuerfelzucker die Papp'n ritzt). Always a quiet young man. I once bought an old trumpet from him that is still in my garage (if it is not stolen). He told me a few things that might have caused his early death, when I met him in a concert. Ach, musicians often get a bit too much into a drinking habit. Long waiting periods, late night jobs, etc. By then, he was divorced and had 3 children. He grew also somewhat huge. But always very humble and friendly, almost too phlegmatic.
I brought some cake for the department; Grenadillas were provided by another staff member.

February 23, 2006 The weekend: Golf, with Tiger, but he gave up after 2 rounds (flu). Yesterday I was surprised to see him play again: Matchplay, and an unreal performance of 9/8. Meaning, the opponent has 8 chances left to win 9 holes, so it stops. Stellar! And Svidler in Mexico! Wow! This guy moved quietly to the top. My old speakers that I bought 25 years ago from Erwin Pichler: Probably just a condensator(?) blown, but I have no access, so I decided to throw them away, and I got a new pair. My glue gun did not work yesterday. Quite disappointing.
You want to hear about the power cuts in South Africa? Read the news! It is disappointing enough. It started on satyrday(!), and we have it every day since then.
I hope to finish "Sebastopol" soon; this Goedsche-guy was a real MAN, no softie. I wish I could find texts from George Hesekiel on the internet. If you have some, please send them. Every week, more plants in my garden. The cheap side-cutter broke after only a few months. I got a better one now. Like the cheap hair-clippers; now I have the trusty WAHL. My TV-chair (the old one) is still not back from the repair shop. No news from Ratzinger recently. Breeze is working OK, but I wish he would take a shower before he comes! His painter friend is also good. He lookes after himself: Clean and no smell, and changes clothes when he works. Trimmed moustache. Otherwise: Weierstrass' factor theorem, refereeing for TCS, INTEGERS, filling in an application form, waiting for laptop, telephone, DSL line. Must also replace the lights in the kitchen: it gave up. Neon lights work differently from lightbulbs. There is some sort of ignition involved.

February 6, 2006 They showed us Golf from the Arizona desert, but at the same time Tiger played (and won!) in the Dubai desert! Vijai, the star from 2004, is not too strong at the moment. A new kid (J.B.) won in Arizona by a margin! Teaching started.

February 5, 2006 A bicycle event on the R44; strong winds in Somerset West. Gardner Breeze did not show up yesterday. I think there is trouble with his baby. As a consequence, his friend the painter did not come either. Golf from Scottsdale, in the desert: without Tiger, not very interesting. I felt like being in a Kafka novel last week: the knight looking at the entry permit and always says "not accepted"...
The new shopping center close to Lourier street is great: almost empty at the moment. But they build some 1000 houses around it...
The Ablowitz book seems to be quite suitable for the complex analysis course. That makes life a bit easier. Student here had a lot of events last week. Must be nice to be young and healthy and a student in Stellenbosch! The ADSL line has been ordered; let's see how long it takes. Sheila "forgets" the bones in the house: millions of Ants come! Teaching starts tomorrow. Rodney Trudgeon seems to work in Cape Town now. In Johannesburg, he often came to the concerts (and pre-concert talks) in a very special jacket. Seeing it once means remembering it.
Great to read Sir John Retcliffe and learn a lot about the Balkan; even today an area of great trouble. Christians versus Muslims. Then and now again! Smyrna was a meeting place for european revolutionaries. Today? only known by the name of Izmir. England and Austria are not among Retcliffe's favourite countries!

January 31, 2006 The ceremony for first year students in the DF Malan center was very uplifting: All these good looking young people, eager to learn and to make progress! When I was a student, and I studied at 2 universities, nobody cared for us. I wasn't even sure whether they wanted us. At least, nobody said anything. Antoinette van der Merwe had produced a movie, which was well received. One guy made a stupid joke in his speech, nobody laughed, then he laughed alone, and he got a few polite followers. He needed that for the continuation of his preparation. He said something like "in the old days, if a woman committed adultery, the father was supposed to take her back." So what? The approach is different today. In german, it was customary to address an unmarried woman as "Jungfer Lucinde". Of course nobody does it today. I helped Arnold with a revision, wrote a few AIMS proposals and must go out now and get some super-glue. The one I had was not liquid anymore.

January 30, 2006 Wow, exciting to watch chess on the internet. Anand beat Gelfond in the last round. Qualitaetsopfer hei3t exchange. Lots of young students are running around now, promising young people. And then Tiger! With 2 extra holes, it was very late when I went to bed. His beard is not too impressive, but his golf is! Must go to the DF Malan convention center this evening. A spring in my computer-glasses broke. The guy in the shop recommended super-glue. Next week: heavy teaching starts, leaving me very little time for research; I must also prepare something for the summerschool CANT in Belgium. The dogs ran straight through the new trees. I tried to put the pots now into better positions.

January 29, 2006 Must attend a ceremony tomorrow, in a gown. Today I can watch Tiger again, probably at 10 p.m. Chess is currently very exciting. Anand versus Gelfand! Michi D organises another workshop in Maria Trost! The new painter whom Breeze brought, works OK. Varnishes all the wood I've got. Zauberer von Rom: sometimes a bit tough to read; I digest it in small portions.

January 17, 2006 Tanja showed up. She must now work until 4, provided I have time to drive her down to Somerset West. She was not happy about this, but other people must also work full hours. Some secretaries at TU Vienna also had the habit to go home early, but it is not right!
I swam in the pool yesterday evening. Must go to the vet soon, because of Tony's pannus.

January 13, 2006 Friday the 13th! Wojtek probably stays at home! The meter reader came this morning. I took the plexiglass off from my helmet.
I was very unhappy about the delivery guy who brought the stone benches and pots. He constantly told me that it is not his job to put the stuff where I want it, and that "it costs him his energy". Eventually I was fed up and told him to leave my property asap, without further talking and whining.
Tiger bought a new house, I will fill up my scooter's tank today for R25, and Clemens announced that he will visit us again soon. Great! Cleaner Tanja did not show up for some time. Monday is her last chance! Tomorrow, Breeze will bring another painter. One new tree is doing very badly. ...must call Niels.

January 8, 2006 Hacklaender travelled through Spain with Baumeister Leins. In a later edition, it was replaced by Oberbaurath Leins. Strange. Leins is even mentioned in Wikipedia, and was a renowned architect. The third traveller was painter Horschelt. He is not in Wikepedia. "sal andaluz" -- ever heared that? Hacklaender is very fond of Granada and Alhambra. Not so much about travelling in Spain in the 19th century.
From Wikipedia: Die groe3te Maultierpopulation in Deutschland befindet sich in Bad Reichenhall im Einsatz als Lasttiere fuer die dortigen Gebirgsjaeger der Bundeswehr.
Why? Well, the desaster, and Hacklaender riding in spain...

January 4, 2006 Oh, jammer! The beautiful "Bad ReichenHALL" is now known as "Bad EislaufHALLe"! All these promising bavarian children!
An idiot almost broke the right mirror of my scooter yesterday, while it was parked. I ordered the new geyser, for R2200, with the valves kit. Installation costs probably around R1200. Wish me luck! Two papers were accepted recently. Curtis Cooper hits the news!

January 1, 2006 Welcome everybody in 2006! If you are not one who is on my special list, then I wish you all the best and a prosperous new year! Very hot now during the days. I am wondering whether I should move my office at home to a cooler room. I need somebody to clean my house! Get your tonsils out if you have a chronical throat infection.

December 30, 2005 Something I wanted to do was done by 2 chinese, and other projects might also be "killed". That is sad, but that is the way it is. Not much is going on here; hot and quiet.

December 28, 2005 Scooter service at the Strand: The starter needs to be replaced! They don't have one, but he promised that it won't be more than R100 or so. During the service, I walked to the beach, which is much less impressive than Hermanus, say. I went to a place called "Bistro". Very bad service. The girls (all young and inexperienced) just could not cope, although it was only 30% full. I ate some breakfast there and read in Bernhard's Ausloeschung. The guy in the scooter shop is now from Bavaria (Traunstein), which he left some 30 years ago. Oh, I should have bought a different scooter. All those who married the wrong wife will understand me! Yesterday I watered the garden in the dark, and fell over the waterhose. Bruises...

December 25, 2005 This morning: Sheila got her shower! Tony looks great now, lots of dead hair gone. Yesterday: very windy in Somerset West. Not so much in Stellenbosch. Now, I'll leave here, to do some shopping. Hopefully, I'll find some food!

December 24, 2005 Drilled more holes, for my Yamaha speakers in the music room. A bottle of Campari broke. Not only is money lost, but also the sticky red stuff on the tiles (not carpet, fortunately). I gave Tony a nice warm shower. I only found 1 dog leash. New leather chair arrived. The driver asked for cold water. Later I realised that this could be a trick, to quickly steal something. But in this case, I don't think so. At least, there were no obvious valuables around, except for Deschner's "Kriminalgeschichte", but that is still here!

December 23, 2005 Weather is only so-so. Finally, all my 11 oil paintings found their places. Drilling holes and all that jazz. Trevor could not fix my TV chair. I should get another one today, and keep the old one in reserve. Enquired about a new geysir, down at the Strand. Replaced the electric grill, now only R200. In 1998, it cost R250. Replaced a neon light tube. Breeze planted 20 new (small) plants on saturday. I don't have the traditional green thumb. Perhaps I should shampoo the dogs soon?! That would be a good activity for the holidays! "Woods delays return to recharge batteries."

December 16, 2005 When I came to my office, I noticed that there is a holiday today! Conciliation day. A new pressure cooker by Tedelex. Bronchitis! Tomorrow: Breeze again.

December 14, 2005 Only a few days left until HIS birthday! I am still a bit sick. Flu symptoms and very tired. Rowan A told me that my chimney has a fan, but that it is not working. Now I need to improve my house!

December 13, 2005 We had a wonderful gathering yesterday at Le Pommier. More stylish than the staff club luncheons, n'est-ce pas?!
During my trip to Europe, the tragic story of Deon van der Walt's death hit me. I own a CD and admired his effortless high notes. I drove to the Strand, to inquire about a service for the scooter. A woman blocked the driveway and found that normal ("I am a customer and want to deposit a cheque!") Probably she estimated me to be the mechanic! John is no longer working there. A new guy talked to me in german. That business is undergoing heavy changes! I hope that the scooter won't have any new troubles...
David Bradley sent a reprint; thanks!
Caramba! Caracho! Baszom a lelkedet! K tschortu! Pesth! Pristi!
Surprised? I found these in Retcliffe's Villafranca!

December 12, 2005 Yours truly spent a month in Graz, living under roof of the Wukitsch house. Lots of early snow and tiring hiking. Visits of a sick family member, and visiting a newly born baby (Max). This boy has wonderful blue eyes, but he can never compare with Elisabeth "beetle" G.
A colloquium with 4 speakers: Drmota, HP, Fischer, Paule. Dinner with Peter Paule in "das Goldene Dach'l". Goose dinner at the Grabner's. Assistant cook was Guy (spell: "Gih") Barat.
Ledersprung at Leoben. I should have given a talk, but it was cancelled. Nevertheless, I attended the ceremony, at the table of the local Ratzinger fan club, hosted by the wonderful Joerg Thuswaldner.
In my house: one geysir burst, but it was the outside one! No waterdamage, just damage!
More about this trip later!

November 4, 2005 Last saturday, Tony ran over a garden fork and hurt his leg. After 2 days of limping and initial bleeding, it seems to be OK now. I saw Tiger yesterday on TV. Why does Phil Mickelson not play the event? Strange! I got new number plates. The car tax for a year is R308, in Johannesburg about R180. "Because life is more beautiful here". A relatively long queue, but a nice small, thin, enhanced woman who was much older than she wanted to appear, was very helpful! She even filled the form in for me! Thumbs up! Number plates are not provided, one must get them produced somewhere. Another R130. Gardner Niels planted some Bourgainvillas, outside, along the fence. Next week, there is a 3 day colloquium, in honour of Barry Green, and I will give the first talk. Preparation... I have some ideas, along the lines of Callan and Stanley, but no time. A team of strong young coauthors would be good. Trevor has finished the shelves; now the books must be moved and organized.

November 2, 2005 Very strong winds, and gardner Niels did not plant the new trees! Only after many phone calls he did it yesterday; they would not have survived this night, without strong iron sticks, supporting them. Trevor almost finished his job, a few details still to be done. The painter ruined my extension cable, by driving over it with the lawn mower. Plus, it was hanging through the swimming pool! With the electricity on! I sent him home; on saturday I was a bit nervous. A young plumber came, did a poor job and asked for R400. I gave him R200, but even that was too much. Visitor Kuba left, after a trip to Hermanus, where we ate at Annie's (buffet, R65), and saw whales, though not many.

October 26, 2005 Trevor's job not yet finished; he is in my house again today. Anybody of you, dear readers, knows Ludwig Ganghofer? What a writer! I read now 8 of his books, and I will go for more. Next one will be "Das Schweigen im Walde". But I should also read books of 19th century authors Julius Wolff and Georg Ebers, among others!

October 25, 2005 Trevor worked yesterday and will hopefully finish the job today!

October 24, 2005 Today, surprisingly: rain! I watched TV: Ljubicic losing, after he looked like the winner. Must be sad. Trevor promised to come today; but he mentioned the rain as a problem, since he must bring some wooden shelves. Oh, my god!

October 23, 2005 Tiger missed the cut! Carpenter Trevor came, with the corner unit, and expressed his regrets. He promised to come in monday. Let's see... He even volunteered to do some plumbing. Seeing is believing...
Root digger Breeze came, but so late that I had left already. Then Angela (his boss) drove him up. He was in serious pain (also after lots of friday night alcohol); I drove him, on his own wish, to the local hospital. I gave him R20. So I lost time and money, but acted as a "good person". Then I went to the new De La Rey shop. Impressive! Bought a few shrubbs for the spot outside near the gate. Since Breeze was out, my painter did the planting. I don't know his name, sorry. Same guy who last week asked me to go out and buy him chips, which I did not do, of course.
Manfred (and Lothar) de la Rey play a key role in some of Wilbur Smith's novels, as Centaine, the tough french woman, is the secrete mother of Manfred. Apparently, WS used some proper names for his novels, like "weltevreden".

October 21, 2005 Busy day today: Talk by J. Bourguignon, then lunch, then senate meeting. The Funai Classic is played on 2 golf courses: Palm & Magnolia. Tiger "only" -4.

October 20, 2005 I will have cleaner T. only once a week, on a regular basis. Extra days, OK, but not regularly. There will be a golf tournament this weekend, with Tiger W. participating. I feel guilty having watched some soccer. Yesterday, I spoke in Prof. Rewitzky's seminar about Quickselect, and then visitor Kuba spoke in the department's seminar about destroying trees. If people want something from _me_, why should _I_ then fax them a copy of my passport and fill in a form? Ridiculous, you would say ...
Now I finish reading Bleakhouse, something I started quite a while ago.

October 18, 2005 Yesterday, I drove the scooter through some rain. No problems, fortunately. This morning: serious gout attack!

October 17, 2005 Yesterday the first hot day of the season. Trevor should build the cupboards, but there are delays and problems. My office at home gets quite hot, so I am thinking about changing rooms...

October 12, 2005 The infallibility dogma. Modern people think it was always like that. It was not. When Ganghofer was a child, it was introduced. People could not believe it. Even followers of the catholic church were utterly confused by that move! Wikipedia has something on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_infallibility

October 11, 2005 Just came back from the lunch hour concert. Piano pieces. With a funny context. Nina Schumann, whom I remember from performing at the Linder auditorium, is probably a professor here. Tiger won, or, rather, John Dale lost. The trip to the peninsula was nice, the weather pleasant, good view, blue sky. No news from Ratzinger, but Angela Merkel is often in the news. I read now, among other stuff, the biography of Ludwig Ganghofer.

October 9, 2005 A sport reporter died (1978-2005). Can't remember his name; many people here die early! Tiger Woods has now sort of a beard, Topalov style. Gregor Mahr had such a beard in the seventies. John Daly leads: smokes, drinks, over-weight, but a top player! Will he last today? Carpenter Trevor postponed everything for 1 week, and, because of the rain, no root-digger Breeze yesterday! I will drive my visitor around today, if he arrives!

October 7, 2005 The name is more like Leis-Bendorff. Sorry, Flo, not intentional!

October 6, 2005 Florian Beiss-Leidorff, guitarist for the (Zillertaler) Schuerzenjaeger, took his way out of the world. Previously, Guenther Haag played. What will they do now? Patrick Cox could handle the guitar, and Alfred Eberharter junior move to the drums. Or, just a new guy... Who cares? After they dumped Fredi Pfister, I don't like them anymore.
Sunshine, but still not hot yet. Eric Mwambene speaks today. I believe, he studied with Herb(ert) Fleischner. The identities are tough!!
I cannot connect to the server to get the chess results from yesterday. Toppy (as NS calls him) wins always! The IMN-Heftel had "Ratzinger", but teacher "Wolfgang".
Tramontana (born February 27) died. Now tutorials, then seminar.

October 5, 2005 The water at home is OK again. Neighbour Anna brought huge bones (lamb) for my dogs, from a birthday party. Gardner Niels cancelled the appointment. Sometimes I can hardly understand him, especially on the phone. He has a special way of speaking.
Geometriegeerdie has retired! Not only geometry was his forte but also many other areas, most striking for me: calculus of variations and Schlie3planforschung (what would that be in english? not in the AMS list). His name is czech, but I don't think he speaks the language. However, he knows many languages! I am sure his contributions to geometry will continue in the same way as during the last decades. He was very generous, and always bought the local newspaper, so that poorer secretaries could also read it. Likewise, he paid more than his share for departmental coffee, for the benefit of the others. I am sure that many will miss him. Lots of interesting documents might reappear once his office will be cleared.
Now back to identities!
Topalov won again!

October 4, 2005 The blouwkamer charges now 29.50 for the buffet! Risc has a brandnew romanian Ph.D. student, "Flavia". Is it politically incorrect to mention "blue eyes"? I don't think so! It is cold here, and the water pressure this morning was very low. I hope it will be better later. Maybe some repairs? Christa, Peter and I spent a very nice evening in the Cafe Einstein in Linz. Some german bikers were also around, Kai-Uwe from Wanne-Eickel (or something like that).
Bulgarian chess player Topolav is quite stunning!

October 3, 2005 Hi, folks, the first bulletin of the new month! Visitor Markus Kuba arrived yesterday. I visited Klagenfurt and Linz, and with the exception of Manfred Borovcnik, everybody treated me with respect. I was quite pleased. New grass now also outside of the fence, but problems with weeds. Carpenter Trevor will start his job soon. Train from Klagenfurt to Linz: almost 5 hours! Restaurants in Austria: the opposite of smoke-free! In the guesthouse Zlany, the toilet seat was a bit too close to the wall, and the curtains did not cover the window! 3 Stars for that? And a tourist smoked even in the breakfast room!

September 11, 2005 Exactly 3 years ago, I was in hospital, for an operation. Bush might remember other things related to that day.
I will soon go to Austria, and still have millions of things to prepare!
Ra-Ra-Ra(sputin?)
Burning the wet roots created some unpleasant smoke, and my neighbours complained. Well, they will dry, and then I will burn them mercilessly. Arnold K and Charlotte B were here for 2 days.

August 31, 2005 Visitor Heuberger has left. In 19th century prussia, a "Geheimrat", perhaps the equivalent of "Sektionschef" could entertain a large family, plus servants. And today? A "Kriegsrat" would have to think about piano lessons and a private teacher for his daughters, and could not afford a "car" [equipage]. That would perhaps be "Ministerialrat".
Gutzkow is sometimes funny: Boerne was very clean, but often one would not see it: Traces of tobacco all over his cloths... Why not saying straight away that he looked like a pig?
I will get James Muir's thesis printed. Burnt all my roots! On monday, I used the scooter, now it is not nice again, but dry.

August 24, 2005 A quick update: Bad weather, dinner with a guest cook in my house, then concert: Libertas choir performing Elijah. Today: 2 seminars. I tried to bake the first cake of my life. I bought the wrong cacoa powder. Der Jaeger von Fall: At least as strong as the Schlo3 Hubertus! My homeworker asked, after 2 months, for a pay raise of 30%. Well, I am not in favour of that. Garden man Breeze did some painting, since "his" painter did not arrive. Pope: back in Rome, must rest after the events. Tiger won again and leads the rankings by a margin.

August 17, 2005 Wow! Monsun rain! Attended Lynette's talk. Anybody knows Ganghofer, Schloss Hubertus? Must have been a movie, I am sure. With Romy Schneider, Kardl-Heinz Boehm, etc? Sabinje Sinjen? Something like that. I once saw the movie "Griseldis" and laughed my a.. off. "Reichsgraefin Gisela": wow, that's it.
Pope Ratzinger visits Cologne.

August 16, 2005 Sorry, folks, long time no update. Research goes very well, thanks to a very strong visitor, who will also give a seminar on thursday. A pain in the back muscles. Tony's teeth deteriorating. Poor weather kills excursion and hiking plans. Lots of roots now in the garage. After 2 days I managed to burn some of them; they were too wet. Bloukamer: 25 Rand for a buffet. Fantastic. Reports, etc. And some very unpleasant stuff that I don't want to describe here.

August 2, 2005 Visitor Heuberger has arrived. Walk in the Helderberg nature reserve. Breeze could not dig out a huge tree. Hopefully, on saturday, he will finish this. Wall plastered. They were a bit careless, but I insisted that they fix the sloppy parts. Burnt some roots in the fire place. Bought an apron. Ate. Slept. Watched Tiger over the weekend. Poor Tiger: some brilliant phases, but also some average ones. But what a smile!

July 23, 2005 Not many news. Walls outside now prepared for some plastering. Breeze was here yesterday to dig out some roots.

July 19, 2005 Finally some rain, but also heavy storms during last night! I slept quite long, that's great. Pope Ratzinger needed some Mozart scores, since his entourage forgot to pack them. Did he rent a piano in his holiday place? Or does he travel with one, as Horowicz did. In one of Rosendorfer's novels, Liszt gets a huge piano moved to a glacier? Something like that...

July 17, 2005 Finally a bit of rain. Tiger Woods won easily. Vandenberg: impressive guitar work with silly lyrics: "friday is O.K. // I get my pay"
Inspired by "friday's on my mind", by the easybeats? They are related to Angus Young.

July 15, 2005 Gardner Niels likes my CD collection. I got my scooter back, but for how long this time? Tiger started excellently. I got a new bottle of Tony's eyedrops.

July 13, 2005 Gardner Niels recommended to keep the monsters away from the new lawn. So, we blocked one side, and keep the other side closed with a (=the) gate. I pray for rain, but... OK, OK,... I won't say it!
The faulty curtains have been replaced. Now I need more furniture, but one shop that was recommended to me has no time... Well...
And...still no motorbike. It was repaired, in Cape Town, now they need to find somebody to bring it, since J. went to Bloomfontein, because his grandmother died. The complications around this Jonway scooter are incredible!
I am very happy that my coauthors work out little suggestions of mine! That is GREAT! A big thank you to all of you! DO YOU also want to become a coauthor?!

July 11, 2005 Summer temperatures in the middle of winter! The new curtains are almost done; a bad one was sent back for replacement. The new lawn: we are waiting for the rain; the dogs are digging; I could "kill" them! An old man could not dig out the roots of the old trees, he was not strong enough. Only 56, but quite old, biologically. I tried myself; it is immensely tiring, and ruins the hands. No guitar etc for a few days. Keith K moved a heavy piece of furniture to another room, for R150. I hope to get the scooter back soon. New airbox, hahaha. It is sort of ridiculous. Registered letter about the house (change of title); I got extremely nervous, because I did not know what it was. Sigh! New pool motor, put into place by RA. A long paper to referee, but a good one. Interesting preprint of J. Cigler on the xxx-server.
Who can tell me what "Teremtete!" means? The pope is on vacation, as I just read.

July 1, 2005 I am no longer afraid of the Southafrican winter. Here, in Stellenbosch/Somerset West it is easy to deal with it. Today it is even bright and nice outside. I watched a bit of TV yesterday: Venus Williams and the screaming Maria Sharapowa, then some golf (Cialis!), with Tiger, and then a report about plastic surgery in California: a young woman named Heather, with a perfect, although admittedly small set, got 2x450 gram stuffed in. Crazy! Tony got his stitches out today. Several people during the last few day, who had a chance to see Tony, said something nice about him. He is a star!

June 28, 2005 I waited for gardner Niels this morning, but nobody came. I went to the municipality this morning. Guess what: they had a wrong address in their computer; somebody entered it incorrectly. Wow! Pollen problems.

June 28, 2005 Tony got the bandages removed, but not the stitches. But it healed beautifully. Tomorrow I wait for gardner Niels; let's see whether he comes.

June 27, 2005 Tony hurt himself, and got stitches. I ordered several curtains, and burnt some old wood in my chimney/braai place. It worked! During the night, some hail, but not for long. New mattresses will also be expensive. Worked on the Ward parameter.

June 14, 2005 The barcelona conference. It was in the same place, where I met Matthias Baaz in 1999. Very central, but not a "good area". The food in Spain is often oily. At the conference dinner, some 15 young spaniards wanted to move highly successful international researchers around, to have a table for themselves. I did not like that, but was perhaps a bit too outspoken about that. The young french are always like that, remember San Miniato and the swimming pool? With the polish host Sylvia? One unnamed lady did the usual thing: Appeared 6 hours before her talk, and left the next day. But went with us to Montserrat, a famous place for tourists. Monks sang in unison. Organizers: Conrado Martinez (now a professor, congratulations), Jordi Petit, the young Leonor, and a few others. I took a pick-up service to reach the airport, and had a bad connection, long waiting time in Johannesburg, which isn't my favorite place. All in all: a nice week. The conference last year, however, was the worst in the series, with a margin. Next year, Luc Devroye organizes something in Belgium, but mostly 2 and 4 beds in one room. Nothing for a bad sleeper like me! A canadian (female) student became the center of attraction of several (mostly french) men. It was quite funny! This week I'll have a chance to watch some golf, eventually. I did the short walk, since I didn't have good shoes. The dogs barked a lot while I was away. Next time: no more Rowan A. Renzo and daughter Rachele Sprugnoli told me that Ratzinger's italian is quite good, better than what Wojtyla had at his disposal. Ward (from the "ward"-paper fame) bought lots of toys for the baby Bruce. But he let me use his white laptop. A lot of people had already wireless laptops. Now I must soon start to work ("ward"-parameter and other stuff). Christian Mauduit did not attend, but came as a tourist, at the end of the week. Tapas, Sangria, San Miguel. Spanish TV had some surprisingly explicit material, during the night. I thought that they are strict catholics. Health OK, but sometimes tired. Shocking news about somebody who died. I did not know him, however. I am happy for Michael Jackson. Must go home now...

June 2, 2005 Problems with the bike: unclear, what it is. The latest theory is that the BP station in Stellenbosch sold me water instead of petrol! I got now aircondition units and the satellite dish going. Everything costs money. An old mattress I gave to the dogs: Sheila, probably in her dreams, wetted herself on the mattress! Tony sniffed at it in the morning with interest. Talk for Barcelona still not finished, eyesight worsens (too much reading). I got a bit of a flu, but not too serious.

May 20, 2005 Yesterday: Electrician Kobus installed new lights. I talked to my neighbour about cleaner "Tanja" who will start on monday. Gardner Niels came, to discuss the garden. The previous owner liked stones instead of grass & trees. Then I got better remote controls (3), and the Stuttaford people removed most of the empties. I went with Tony to the vet, and then Dewald came to discuss the project of installing airconditions. Then I slept a bit and removed almost everything from the rental house. Now I must catch up with research and administration! That will be my week-end. The days are now very pleasant and bright, after the rainy week-end.

May 16, 2005 The second car repair: also R1250! I moved into my new house: chaos! Otherwise, nothing special.

May 7, 2005 The car: fan motor defect, perhaps more. The scooter: no lights, but good John just fixed some bad contacts. I started to unpack. Ratzinger: no news.

May 6, 2005 The car: got a new starter motor, for R1250. Now, more problems: no fan, no indicator; will go there again today. The scooter: The shop insists that the damaged stand is not under warranty! Avoid Scooter World in the Strand! The move: mover Deon did it, driving 3 times between the houses. My bed was falling off his truck, and he promised to get it repaired. Municipality: Electricity was switched off! "an internal communication problem!" In the new house, lights are insufficient for me. I like a lot of lights, not a cosy atmosphere as in a bar! I damaged my finger, but it is still on, at least.

May 4, 2005 Starter motor burnt down! Oscar Panizza, die Paepstin (das Liebeskonzil)? Movers (Deon) will come tomorrow.

May 1, 2005 Catastrophy report: I got the keys for my new house (only one set!), drove there yesterday evening, and the car broke down. Noise, smoke,... It was inside the property, fortunately. I had to walk down, with bad shoes. Fortunately I have the scooter. But it rains now occasionally. On thursday, mover Deon will come. Originally, that sounded great, but now the thursday is treated as a monday by the university, so I have to teach (and also Afrikaans course). Two speeding tickets! Only one can be paid on "easy-pay". And I lost another small screw from my glasses. Otherwise: good mood, and healthy. One of the worst persons I met in my previous life turns 50 today. Don't ask me for a name, I will be silent (as old Groer!).

April 28, 2005 Marking finished! That nearly killed me. Went to the municipality today. Seems to work OK, but they wanted another deposit.

April 26, 2005 Scooter: the 500 km service is over. Gap paper: close to the finish. Marking: will be finished tomorrow. Ratzinger: no news. Beckham, Jackson: don't care.

April 25, 2005 Scooter: Stand is broken, but I will get another, free of charge. On wednesday is "freedom day". Ward paper is finished, the gaps paper nearly, the Katti proofs have been sent to Elsevier. Marking: not finished yet. I'll take it with me again. Ratzinger got a new ring, and Elton John wants to marry.
Change of plans: I'll finish the marking on the public holiday, and study the gaps paper and the Chara lamb instead.

April 24, 2005 Pooh! A lot of marking! It takes so long! Ratzinger! One can sing it: Ra-Ra-Ratzinger... Lunch in Omega street number 5: very nice people. Reviews, revisions, reports: the 3 R's. (And RRRRRRRratzinger, of course.) Finished the RvG. Tomorrow Kieka Mynhardt gives a talk : without me, since I go to the Afrikaans class. Coauthor Ward is now working feverishly to keep the deadline! I'll take the ominous box with me now...

April 17, 2005 My car did not start; I had to call the AA. The reason was, however, trivial: a loose cable. Concert at La Motte: nice, little snacks. Acoustic was problematic, bavarian TV was taping the show.

April 16, 2005 It is Pope Ratzinger's birthday today! No internet! The first time in 4 months. My cell phone disappeared. Must I add that the Featherdusters were in my house on monday? A ridiculous guy who had an eye disease like Tony, but apparently untreated, suggested to come with 14 men to do the garden, for R1320. Instead, reasonable Niels started already, doing the outside lawn. A surprising invitation from the Libertas Choir came in, at the La Motte wine estate. I will report later how it was.

April 12, 2005 Cardinal Mortati! Dan Brown is now what John Grisham was 10 years ago! We had lots of rain. Now, on mondays, some cleaners come. They are not fantastic, but... I was at an attorney yesterday. The young female lawyer was a nail-biter. That might be exciting to do, but the result isn't pretty. 3 papers with the good Guy must be finished/revised! After reading this novel about popes, antimatter and Illuminati, I think that I should really visit Rome!
Tiger Woods won again. Great.

April 8, 2005 In chess, around 15 years ago, super-grandmasters had 2600+ Elo; now, with the current inflation, 2700+ would be more appropriate. If we compare a cardinal with a grandmaster, then the top-cardinals should be the super-grandmasters. Ratzinger is surely one. It is not his fault if he cannot become pope. He had a super-career. Professor in Germany, and a cardinal already at 50. Reportedly, he is very intelligent. Dan Brown's book "Angels and Demons" deals with the conclave in Rome: how appropriate!
I spent the last years in Johannesburg and worked for the Wits university. Last year, I was physically sick. Now I am OK. Getting out was the right idea. Supervising a ph.D. candidate can be anything between very rewarding and very painful. The full scale.
The scooter: After the first leaking oil seal, technician J. did not connect the cables properly. That was apparently the reason for the trouble. RvG has Propst Gelbsattel. Propst is probably similar to a bishop. Ratzinger and Krenn were at Regensburg. Did they overlap there? Krenn never made it to Cardinal; he made perhaps a few unfortunate moves. Vienna's Noebauer had an assistant, Johann Rosner, who did his ph.D., but then left to make a career in theology. Some people mentioned "Rome". What is his current rank? One of Peter Paule's ph.D. students became a monk. Georg Karner was close, but eventually did not make the final step.

Addition: The internet has this: Pfarrer Mag. Dr. Johann Rosner Pfarrer Neudorf bei Staatz Expositus Zlabern. That means: not close to bishop and/or cardinal yet.

April 3, 2005 Now it is over, but not the trouble with my motorbike. The owners have changed, but the new ones promised to take care of it. Revisions are pending, one with A Knopfmacher, one with G Louchard. And papers need to be written, and applications to the NRF done. Tomorrow, the cleaning service is coming again. Then teaching starts again. Auguste Ludmer, Louise Eisold, Franziska Heunisch,... I must leave you now. Hopefully, my home computer will soon be delivered. Gutzkow, when talking about women and their fading beauty, he says that they become thin. Nowadays one would say "fat". But perhaps he means "sagging", etc., words that he could not use in 1850. Times have changed, in many ways.

April 1, 2005 I am not a fan of April-1-hoaxes. Pope nearly gone, Juhnke dead, Rainier almost, Terri eventually. I got a new refrigerator, for R999. They don't say: one thousand Rand, they say triple-nine. I left a gate open, and the dogs disappeared this morning. Fortunately, they came back on their own. I got quite a shock, especially after a night with bad dreams. Now, let's pray that Ratzinger makes it! I am almost halfway through RvG. SANUM05 happens at the moment. Dinner yesterday was nice, at Stellenbosch 33. Ask MathSciNet about "Danut Marcu". Quite astonishing!

March 29, 2005 Yesterday, I believe, was Arnold Knopfmacher's birthday. It wasn't the battery, it was the regulator (Lichtmaschine)! [It could be the fever...but I swear it is YOU!] You know who sang that? Le Roux, with Jeff Pollard, who turned Kerry Livgren into a christian. Oh, everybody is now watching koma patient Terry and the pope. Will Ratzinger make it? I never saw the polish pope wearing reading glasses. Amazing! Ratzinger made quite a career: Professor, then archbishop, and cardinal at 50. Soon after that, he moved to rome.
Ritter vom Geiste: Now in the middle of book 4. Social aspects are also covered. Poor people, as in "les miserables", etc. Around 1850, a worker could not afford a flat; they rented small places, sometimes they shared a bed with another worker, in rotation. Food wasn't plentiful, as today. Oranges in germany a luxury. To light and to heat rooms: non-trivial! Birthcontrol, women's rights: difficult! No proper jobs for women. The book is quite good. Although there are tons of people, Gutzkow does a good job to familiarize them. It appeared first in a journal, so you had to read it during 2 years or so. Therefore, he had to repeat the storyline quite a bit, which is helpful, even if one reads it faster. 3000-4000 pages (depending on how it is printed, of course!) One understands why millions of germans emigrated around 1850, mostly to the USA. Better to be a farmer around St. Louis, than to join the slums of large cities and work for the booming industry at minimal wages. And the communists=socialists took it from there. Is it true, that in the 19th century, these terms were used almost synonymously? How did they produce ice without electric refrigerators? Apparently, they could. Now we just switch on all the tools we have, but when Jules Verne wrote about it, "electricity" wasn't so obvious. He had the right vision. Things were different: Educated men knew a lot of latin, and women could sing and play the piano.

March 25, 2005 A young man had his own ideas. For a while, his superiors just ignored him. Eventually, they thought that he might become dangerous, and removed him, in a rather unelegant way.
Professor B., a protestant, researches at home today.
No news; I finished now 2/9 of the RvG. Did Umberto Eco know it? Templer, etc. Dan Brown. ...
I saw 80 pages of a new Krattenthaler-survey.

March 24, 2005 The scooter got a new battery this morning: let us pray that no more problems occur. The pope is out for this year's easter events. Ratzinger! My fridge is now in a repair shop, but I'll buy a new one anyway. To have a spare small fridge isn't a bad idea, for a guest room or so.
Karl Gutzkow: Die Ritter vom Geiste. I go through the text, which I have in my computer, and unify it. His writing of words isn't consistent. Eltern-Aeltern, Moebel-Meubles, umsomehr-um so mehr, funfzig-fuenfzig, elf-eilf, Bauerhaus-Bauernhaus, sechzig-sechszig, and 100 similar cases. I have to decide. When I am through, I will post the cleaned version. This book of 4000 pages is an oldfashioned soap opera. Gutzkow-Freytag-Dahn- who knows them today? I read the Kapitaen Nemo story (20000). Mysterious capitains: Ahab... even the flying dutchman! I watched an old video (don't have TV at the moment): Black Sabbath, 1970-78. Ozzy Osbourne wasn't a frontman, he was a side-man! I don't remember any other singer who was placed at one side of the stage and not in the center! Anand ahead in a chess tournament: rapid+blind. Bobby Fisher now a citizen of Iceland.

March 18, 2005 The scooter: Something was faulty, and replaced. Let us all pray that it is OK now. I also needed brake fluid for my car, and in the garage where I went, they did not even ask for money for the few drops! Near the cheese factory "Simonsberg". I did not know that this factory is in Stellenbosch. Shocking news about the death of a young woman (30) whom I knew. W. Steiner apparently tours through France.

March 16, 2005 The brandnew scooter: After 28km, it just gave up, for no reason. I had to call the AA and wait for a long time. Fortunately, a nice woman stopped and allowed me to use her cell phone, since I did not have one with me. Eventually, the guy came and towed me and the bike away. Tomorrow morning, somebody from SCOOTERWORLD will come and have a look. Probably it is a minor problem, but not when you are in the middle of nowhere. The AA guy was extremely friendly and polite. If I compare local people with the rude ones in Norwood in the gym, I must say that it was wise to move to the cape! Reviews, revisions, etc., the usual load. Kasparov resigned; no news from the pope.

March 12, 2005 Scooter on tuesday: the queue at the bank was just too long, so I changed my plans. I bought an anti-ants bowl for the doggies. The ants here are a nuisance.

March 11, 2005 Another refereeing request! And a paper, to distribute to referees. I will get the scooter on monday morning. It was colder recently. One woman called me today, got another phone call in, answered that, chatted away and expected me to wait and listen! The woman from the cleaning company! That was not to my liking.

March 10, 2005 Two days ago was Alois P's birthday. My house was cleaned today, at least to some extent. Faculty meeting. The scooter purchase comes closer. The reception was actually for everybody who got a new (or improved) NRF-rating. Nice food. Evening: Pizza at the Boord, near the Medi-Clinic. Rejoice, a student from Venda, knows Albert and Simon! Small world.

March 9, 2005 Another refereeing request, but I said NO. Bad luck: the small refrigerator is not working anymore. A reception for A-rated people today. Evening: socialising with graduate students. Tomorrow: the company "featherduster" comes to do some cleaning. Who beats me concerning bad luck?

March 8, 2005 No news from the ailing pope. Tiger Woods wins again. I need some vacation, I believe. Lots of trouble. Afrikaans course on wednesday cancelled. Lots of ideas, but no strength to work on them.

March 5, 2005 Hiking in the Helderberg reserve. Nice, but a longer trip would be demanding. I had a brief look at Aliev/Hosseini, Southeast asian bulletin of mathematics 27(2004), 787-790. Although I can at least simplify one sum, I decided that it is not worthwhile to spend more time on it; trash bin, it is yours.
I bought a helmet in Cape Town (Waterkant road). Saw a terrible accident on the N2. A large branch broke away from a tree on "my" property during the night (heavy storms). Another refereeing request!

March 3, 2005 Must eat antibiotics: middle ear infection. Hanns-Dominik Schwabl, about 25 years ago: "Der Ingenieur braucht Kalkuele, keine Theorien!" Alexander Forbes in Pretoria (car insurer) could not find me in the computer. Eventually, problem resolved. This afternoon: we go to AIMS; I must talk briefly. Tony looks like an old dog now. He loses a lot of hair; that is a seasonal effect. The urns eventually become independent... unpleasant to prove rigorously... Saturday: hiking in the Helderberg nature reserve.
Pope in hospital again. Fascicle of Don Knuth can be bought now.

February 27, 2005 It is very quiet this year; last year, there were many visitors and guests around. Maybe I will buy a scooter from the chinese brand Jonway. Thanks to the famous HK, I have now several old papers in an electronic format. Find out where they are; you need some imagination (or good eye sight [which I now longer have]).
The senate meeting was short; online translation was provided; great. Then a talk by Dieter Spreen, and then drinks and snacks with altogether 5 people.
I discovered Stellenbosch square, a new shopping centre. They are all somewhat similar! I cut my hair with the old Wahl. I must probably squeeze in another visit: France, with the CNRS/NRF project, probably in June.

February 24, 2005 People ask me whether I am happy here. Yes, I am. I enjoy a friendly atmosphere in the department; nobody checks what I do, when I arrive, when I leave. I am respected as a person, not only as somebody who puts an address on a research paper. I see bright and good looking people here, and they are polite. And nobody intends to bully me. Secretaries are competent, efficient, and friendly. My life has improved. Food was perhaps nicer in Johannesburg.
On monday, I sang with Barry Smith's choir in Cape Town. I attend Afrikaans classes. But I am not gifted at it. In the course, I am Jasper Jonker. I bought a house, from L and A Badenhorst, in Steynsrust. Tomorrow is my first senate meeting.

February 18, 2005 Neues Buch des Papstes erscheint bei Weltbild: "Erinnerung und Identität": das politische Vermächtnis des Heiligen Vaters

Well, I won't buy it, but...maybe you...?

February 17, 2005 So far, after 2 months, the internet services here always worked. Quite a new experience for me. Anybody knows SYM, the motorbike company from Taiwan?

We teach the students that epsilon^2 is so small that it can be neglected. But yesterday it happened to me, so I rushed to a dentist to get 2 problems fixed.
The IMN arrived here. They must have a problem with TeX, since there are lots of empty spaces, especially around ligatures. Hans Knapp: ausgelaugt. Well, me too. If the name is short, the first name should be longer.
Havliczek did not like Strang's book too much. Sorry, I just found that the spelling is Havlicek. Well, all these spellings are probably approximations. Anton Dermota versus Michael Drmota. Gelfond, Gelfand, etc. Hurwitz, Horowitz, Gurwitz, Gurevich, etc. Herdlicka, Herdlitschka. Gilbert Strang. Yes. He was one of the authors of the "probability of a single winner". Dvorak, Dworschak. Oh, Vienna is full of them. In the Afrikaans course: a brazilian woman with a mother from Lithuania. People move more these days than old Geiserich and Chlodwig.
Rush to the gaps, otherwise my friend GL will not like me anymore.

February 16, 2005 Some of you might remember that from 1995-98 I had this wonderful scooter from Piaggio (aka Vespa). I almost cried when I had to sell it, and lost a lot. Now, here, for R7000 or so, I might get such a thing again, of course "only" an asian brand, but who cares. Wow! I am excited. That makes commuting more fun, and eventually cheaper, and less depending on rush hour traffic. I walked to a shop, and it is already quite hot outside. Now I am cooling down, thanks to the air-condition.

February 14, 2005 Happy Valentine's day! It's my nephew's 40th birthday today. I just came back from the first Afrikaans course. My brain is not what it perhaps used to be. Shame! Skatkamer! Not a room to play cards! My name during the course is Jasper. Remember Jasper and Arabella?
Q: Have you ever met a man who regrets having married?
A: Oh, sure, many!
Q: Have you ever met a man who regretted that he did NOT marry?
A: Uh, dooh; I must think ... not sure ...

A nice book, this Kenelm Chillingly!

On saturday, I saw 6 houses. It is quite difficult to make decisions.

February 9, 2005 Yesterday, a local cardinal talked on the local radio: 3000 years old rules, for modern people. I can't see how that works. Cardinals get into the lime light now, since the race for the new pope might have started. Popes during my life time: Pius XII; we overlapped, but I only learnt about him later (from Deschner). In power for 19 years, but in reality before also. Then an old man, Johannes 23, from Venice (?), then Paul 6. I don't remember much about this one, then a poetic talent who lasted about 5 weeks, then the current polish pope. It would be more exciting to see new faces more often. As in sports: if only one guy wins all the time, it becomes boring. And history is cruel: Nobody remembers those who are close seconds, like Rubinstein, Tarrasch, Schlechter, Keres.
Yesterday evening: reception for new people, given by the dean. Great idea, nice atmosphere.

February 8, 2005 Roberto Avanzi arrived again in Graz. I wish I would have more energy. I am teaching Mathematics for Biologists. In Vienna, Mathematics for Chemists was given by Dean Dr Dietmar Dorninger (many "D"s!). Today: a small reception in the botanical garden.

February 6, 2005 Brian Hahn is dead. Ask google to find the shocking details for you. (use keywords UCT, umbrella)

February 4, 2005 At the Neetlinghof with the seminar people. Dinner: Kingklip as a starter, then a mixture of crumbed chicken, some game, some pate type staff, and sorbet+pudding. I talked to mathematician E-U Gekeler and his wife Petra. Google will find 'em for you. He is currently editor of "Archiv". I did not know that. We had a bus; then I gave Christine Swart a lift to the house of her sister (Sandra?), who works in our history department. Then I drove home and was quite exhausted. In the afternoon, I attended talks by Breuer-Hughes-Swart. No comments here about them.
Stellenbosch has now 9 A-rated researchers, and Engela (a writer) will interview me next week. (I almost wrote Engelke, but wasn't that Harald Schmidt's successor?) Today I am not very energetic, and must prepare for lectures.

February 3, 2005 This is a day of ups and downs: I could sleep since Sheila kept silent. The reason might have been the rain and that she ate well the evening before, and that other people kept their dogs inside or whatever. I talked to Philippe Flajolet, about our Kemp project. And a nice lady (a journalist) wants to interview me. But there is trouble with the wooden floors and termites in my old house. Email by Tanguy Rivoal. Lots of students around!

February 2, 2005 My first day at AIMS! A software presentation of Magma, seafood for lunch. Then I drove back, with Ernest and his friend from Pretoria. Then I needed some rest. Now much work remains to be done. Tony was also there (not the dog, the wife of Alan Beardon). Wits people did not hear much about AIMS (firewall!), but that changes now. I will think about giving a course there.

February 1, 2005 Barry Green and Florian Breuer are running a seminar that just started. First talk by Marc Hindry who works with Tanguy Rivoal.
Just received a reprint with a dedication! Great!
Brian Hahn from UCT attacked by former student! In intensive care.
Australian Mathematical Gazette arrived. Many coauthors keep me busy. Very bad sleep, but now it is getting better. FJU: anniversary.

January 31, 2005 Hi, folks, the bulletin reopens! After Norma was not around anymore, my life somehow deteriorated, but now I have another chance here in lovely Stellenbosch!

I just came back from icy Graz, where I was made "Honorarprofessor". My new employer can be proud about this achievement. Roberto Avanzi came from Germany, that was very nice! I saw Fidelio in Graz, and a "Liederabend".