The PhD Dissertation Explained:
“‘What is it, then?’
‘Nothing.’
‘What do you mean, nothing?’
‘Nothing of importance.’ [...] ‘I’d rather not talk about it.’
‘Come on, professor, out with it.’
‘It’s, er, a doctoral thesis.’
Smyke laughed. ‘That’s a relief. I thought it was some frightful disease.’
‘So is a doctoral thesis, in a way.’”
Walter Moers, Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures, (p 142).
It is that time of year, again, and I signed up for it, again. Last year I got a Glen Cook and a David Crystal, the year before I got two Arthur Ransome novels… I have been spoilt!
I refer, of course, to Secret Santa, where you receive gifts from your Amazon Wishlist (mine is linked over there to the left!) and send something to somebody else, from their list. I remember a couple of years ago trying to explain to some people that no, it is not a zero-sum game, it’s not the same as buying yourself something from your own list. Of course you’ll get something you want and that you explicitely asked for, that’s why you have it on your list - but the whole point is getting surprised by which item the secret Santa picks! And of course getting to pick something for somebody else, that you know they want. It’s not a zero-sum game - more like a win-win situation.
Recent sighting: one of the Uppsala cafés (Landings by Forumtorget, for locals) sell, among their other hand-made confectionary, Congac Truffles. I expect to see them dancing past any time now.
Looming fear: 10-credit exam in 3 hours’ time. Ten credits is supposed to be, roughly, equivalent to ten weeks’ work. The subject is Middle English, and I am feeling exceedingly muddled.
Upcoming relief: Am about to be replaced as chair of the department’s graduate student society, at the annual meeting in 45 minutes. Not that it is a lot of work, but it’s one thiing less to keep track of.
Frustrating fun: The three GROW games: GROW which I’ve linked to before but that’s more than a year ago and I’ve forgotten the solution, GROW RPG which is easier to solve but has lots of extra effects, and GROW CUBE which was released only the other day, is rather difficult but fun. And I had to get help to solve it.
It is Talk Like A Pirate Day, so…
What kind of pirate am I? You decide!
You can also view a breakdown of results or put one of these on your own page!
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey
This is what my desktop looks like at the moment. Yay Order of the Stick! (Seriously - if you are at all into role playing games, you need to read that strip, and the articles on the site as well. Very good stuff.)
Incidentally, while any pictures on the nea.pp.se are normally free to grab and use, that desktop pic isn’t, so please don’t. If you want the desktop Elan for yourself, check the OOTS site - you can donate to the Red Cross to get it.
OK, let’s see if you all are smarter than I am: If you got this txt message from a uknian friend:
Dunker! Ivar! Pjatteryd! Rigga! Ludde! Poäng!!!
What would you think it meant?
Nice site idea: youthought.com, a web site where anybody can post brief thoughts. It’s moderated, so shouldn’t get full of idiocy; I haven’t looked through it enough to see if there is actually anything worth reading there - that’s not the point, though, I just kind of liked the idea.
Dept. of Laughing til you Cry: Skateboarding email to Tony Hawks. There is a British comedian named Tony Hawks and an American skateboarder called Tony Hawk; the former often gets fan email intended for the latter, with hilarious consequences. (I do think he gets a bit too rude in the later messages, but that’s probably just me.)
Finally, 
WARNING: the “useless test” site has many, many popups. Many. Of the kind that’s really difficult to get rid of, and very possibly not of the work-safe kind. Popup killers are our friends.
Babelfish provides hours of fun—but now I’ve found an online translation tool that transfers English into almost, but not completely, unintellegible Swedish. I entered a paragraph from this blog and translated it into “Swedish”. Here is the result:
I stället Jag har rättvis läsa Jane Yolen’s Briar Ros , en ovanlig Holocaust berättelse vävt tillsammans med en re - talande av Sovande Skönhet. Den er en ung vuxen roman , med en hellre uncomplicated , uppriktig jordbit ( och en kom framträdande vid staden av Torun ) ; så undersåten materia vinerna , ändå , den er icke i en uncomplicated bok , till vara placera ned obekymrad efter den er färdig. JAG vill inte försök till definiera vad göra den ovanlig I’ll behov till re - läsa den första , JAG tänka. Den central lokalerna om jordbit är en söka , en sökande av slagen , för historien av en gammal dam vem dör inne mitt om henne älskande familj , ingen om vem veta henne verklig namn eller var hon kom från originellt. En om dams bagen stor daughters—the ungast av tre syster , ja , för når det den här er på en måte en saga also—undertakes söcken , och så JAG omtalat det er icke mycket invecklat , en annan författare kunde har gjord den mycket mer besvärlig , utom JAG få kännanden så pass för Yolen grunden er icke den all - viktig sak. Vad er mer viktig de/vi/du/ni är den se en skymt av av historia , den inblicken in i vad göra en person en hjälte , en bov eller en på - såg i en desperat läge , och den fläta samman om gammal och den ny berättelse. Vilken är vackert gjort.
“Måte”? Since when is that a Swedish word? (Norwegian isn’t Swedish, you know.) And “ungast”. . . no, words fail me—I laugh ’til I cry instead. Let’s translate the paragraph back to English, using the same tool. . .
Instead I have just read Jane Yolen’s Briar Rose , a unusual Holocaust tale wove together with a territory expressive of Asleep Beauty. It’s a young adult novel , with a rather uncomplicated , frank plot ( and a arrived appearance wide cities of Torun ) ; so subject matter hints , yet , it’s by no means a uncomplicated book , to be put down unconcerned behind it’s completed. I will nots try to define what make the unusual I’ll need to territory read the first , SELF think. The central premises if plot is a search , a quest of down and out , for affair by an old lady whom dies in the midst of hers loving family , none of whom know hers substantial name ors each she came from originally. A if lady’s bag grand daughters—the youngest of three sister , yes , for after all this yourself in a way a f*** also—undertakes search , and so SELF mentioned it is not much good complicated , another author be able had made it much more troublesome , except SELF poll feeling that for Yolen grounds aren’t the all matters of importance. What is more important they / wes / yous / yous is the glimpse of stories , the insight into what make a person a hero , a villain ors a on saws in an desperate situation , and the interlace if stale and the fresh tale. Which is beautifully done.
As I say, hours of fun! The toy is found here.
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