Dikt for (morgen)dagen

Jeg velger meg april!

Jeg velger meg april
I den det gamle faller,
i den det ny får feste;
det volder litt rabalder,-
dog fred er ei det beste,
men at man noe vil.

Jeg velger meg april,
fordi den stormer, feier,
fordi den smiler, smelter,
fordi den evner eier,
fordi den krefter velter,-
i den blir somren til!

— Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Å, som jeg gleder meg til våren tar tak!

On language and such puzzling things

The local bus company has finally got its act together – in cooperation with the other companies running public transport in Trøndelag – and issued electronic passes. I’ve been using mine since the start (July last year, if I’m not mistaken) and it’s mostly problem free*, and all in all a great development.

However, the posters advertising the system on the buses: Not so great. They read: “Nå kan du reise elektronisk i hele Trøndelag.” (You can now travel electronically in the whole of Trøndelag.) Yes, well, all fine and dandy, but how do you “travel electronically”? Sounds like teleportation to me, and if they have invented working teleportation, why is there a complete mess when the weather turns unfriendly (like it has over the last few days)? Yesterday it took me almost an hour and a half to get home, despite the buses (for once) corresponding in the centre of town. Teleportation would have been a great improvement.

_________

* Well, except for one thing: If there is a problem with your renewal/payment and the card registers “no travel product available” when you scan it on the bus, you have to pay the normal ticket prize (bloody expensive, too). I suppose you migth be able to get a refund, but that would involve standing in line at the office in town, and the tickets are not THAT expensive. And with the old cards you paid, got a sticker on the card and were good to go, now there is a 24 wait before you’re guaranteed that the card system has registered the renewal, which, if you’re ever so slightly scatterbrained (*puts up hand*), is a problem.

Shh. Can’t you tell I’m working?

1. A priceworthy way to spend three months. (Via)

They have gone as far as correcting graffiti.

I have been tempted. Sorely tempted.

2. One of my coworkers is 40 today. Some of our colleagues have filled his office with approximately a gazillion balloons. Every now and then one of the balloons expire with a loud bang, making everyone nearby jump. My desk is nearby. I suspect I will do my share of jumping for a whole year by the time today is over. 

Of apostrophes and other animals

Meg wrote a fantastic entry recently entitled Malapostrophication, crap marketing agencies, and why its they’re fault you’re business look’s dumb. Just in case you don’t go through my blogroll every day, you know.

I must remember to get my camera out more often when I see signs like that. I don’t seem to have any malapostrophication examples uploaded to Flickr, so you’ll have to make do with the one on the right as an illustration for now.