Monday Mission 3.47

1. It is a lovely 21 degrees here in Oklahoma, and since walking in from the parking lot, I can’t seem to warm up. I’ve got the coffee to my right and the space heater to the left and the non-functional central heat blowing above me. What do you do to get warm when you are very cold?
Well, a warm shower if practicable. Or hot tea (coffee, somehow, doesn’t work in the same way).

2. What is the first thing you do in the morning after you get up?
Put the kettle on for tea.

3. Do you remember the very first video game you ever played (arcade, handheld, console, etc.)? What do you remember about that experience?
Not really. I think the first game I played was a Donkey-Kong handheld game, but I’m not at all sure.

4. Do you have a good memory or do you find that you need to write things down to remember them?
I tend to remember things better if I’ve written them down – without having to check what I’ve written, that is. It also depends on how concentrated I am at the point where I get the information in the first place – I suppose that’s probably why writing it down helps, to write something down you have to actually think about it (unless you’re a stenographer, of course).

5. I am currently really getting a kick out of the Citibank Citicard commercials about Identity theft, to the point of quoting them out loud (which no one gets, I really need new some geeky-er friends). What are some of your all-time favorite television commercials?
The Tine Melk commercial with the kids and the various types of milk (“Sur”, “Lett” etc. – you have to be Norwegian to have a clue what I’m talking about) were good. Some of the Norwegian lottery (Lotto) commercials have been pretty good, too. However, if a commercial is really memorable it’s more often because it’s unintentionally funny.

6. Since Thanksgiving is this week, I felt like I just had to throw in the obligatory food question, so here goes. Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving food that is made by one person, and no one makes it better? If not, then what is your favorite food to eat at Thanksgiving? (Those who don’t celebrate Thanksgiving feel free to insert your favorite fall food)
Sorry, too tired, will skip this one (no thanksgiving here, in any case).

7. Wireless telephone companies will now let you move your cell number to another carrier, or move your land line number to your cell. Not only is this incredibly convenient, it forces cell phone companies to be more competitive. Are you planning to switch cell phone companies as a result of this new law, or possibly pit two companies against each other for a better deal?
We’ve been able to do this for some time in Norway. I’ve been meaning to change my company, actually, or at least the kind of contract I’m on, but I never seem to get around to it. I use my mobile so little that I’m only likely to save 5-10 dollars a month at most, so the incentive to go to a lot of hassle to change it really isn’t there…

This week’s Friday Five:

1. List five things you’d like to accomplish by the end of the year.
– get the current project at work live
– finish Robin Hobb’s Tawny Many trilogy (I’ve so little time to read at the moment that what should have taken me a weekend has now taken three weeks – and I’m only half-way through the second book)
– get all the Christmas presents sorted (duh)
– send Chirstmas cards before Christmas for once (rather than in January or not at all)
– fix the tear in my coat (it’ll take five minutes once I get round to it, it’s the getting round to it that is the problem)

2. List five people you’ve lost contact with that you’d like to hear from again.
– Marianne Jepsen, fellow student in Aarhus in 1994/95 – please get in touch!
– Adeline and Suen Suen, from my hall at Uni in Manchester 1997/98
– Vipul Kundu, penpal from India – it’s been years. Mind you, I probably still have his parents’ address.
– Gertrude (nee Bere), originally from Zimbabwe, last heard of living in South Africa

3. List five things you’d like to learn how to do.
– play the sax (no patience, no ear for music, no chance)
– scuba dive
– snowboard
– speak Spanish (beyond ordering two beers, I mean – I don’t even like beer, so what’s the point?)
– weave on a proper loom

4. List five things you’d do if you won the lottery (no limit).
– buy a house
– go to Scotland and buy ridiculous amounts of Whisky to put in the “cellar” of my new house
– pay off my student loan and my brother’s (plus pay for the rest of his studies)
– go visit Glenda and Roger and Sarah and Donna and Betsy and Jo Ann and Peter and… (and bring Jane with me on the round trip)
– start that second-hand bookshop cum pub in Scotland that I’ve been talking about

5. List five things you do that help you relax.
– read
– sit on the couch with Martin’s arm around me (actually, just being with him at all tends to work)
– stand on a beach and watch the waves (tends to be difficult to accomplish around here, unfortunately)
– listen to music
– read some more

I wish people would stop posting these. I can’t help myself, if it’s a list I have to complete it.
Read More

It’s not me that’s late, honest. I skipped a couple of questions, this week, feeling I had little to say on the subject.

1. (…) Do you ever sling slang from your area of expertise around accidentally and leave folks scratching their heads? Do you feel left out when others start speaking in terms specific to their industry? Gimme some examples!
I do use acronyms/abbreviations a lot, though mostly where there really isn’t an alternative (I suppose you could say “hypertext transfer protocol” instead of “aitch-tee-tee-pee”, but I think a lot of people would be more confused by the former than the latter). One thing I know confuses people, even at work, is the fact that I’ve gotten used to pronounce SQL as “sequel” rather than as “ess-que-ell”, which isn’t unusual in English but does not come naturally to Norwegians (“sequel” not being a Norwegian word). It’s a hard habit to break, though. I rather enjoy “tech-slang”, whether it’s my own industry or somone else’s, and though I can quite often be confused by people using acronyms I’ve never come across before, I’m not too shy to ask what they mean, so I feel intrigued rather than “left out”.

3. Some of the meetings at the conference were just plain dull, I almost fell asleep a few times. How do you make it through a boring conversation or meeting when you are feeling drowsy?
A boring conversation? By cutting it off, somehow, anyhow. A meeting, well, if I can let my attention drift I’ll start thinking about something else, preferably some sort of problem that’s complex enough to drag my attention away from the fact that I’m tired. If I do have to pay attention, well, I don’t quite know. I manage somehow. I have the advantage (in this context) of not falling asleep easily, so while I may sit dreaming of my bed the chances that I’ll actually nod off are slim to none.

4. Do you enjoy flying on commercial airlines? Ever flown First Class?
We were upgraded to first class flying BCal back from The Gambia in 1987, but that’s the only time I’ve experienced that. I like flying, though I wish there was more room in ordinary aircrafts – I’d probably enjoy first class a lot for that reason, but I don’t think I’ll ever see it as worth the price (except, possibly, for very long flights).

5. When I book my airfare, I always try to book an aisle seat on the left by the exit doors. That way you have more legroom, and being a “righty” I am able to move my arm and elbow without jabbing someone’s belly. When you fly, where do you like to sit?
I prefer a window seat, as I have never outgrown the thrill of watching everything down on the ground becoming really tiny and all that. I like sitting by the emergency exits, though, precisely because of the legroom issue.

7. At the conference, I saw several “Tablet PCs” and now I really want one. And Digital MP3 player. I don’t ask for much. Do you have any techno-lust going on?
Well, I have an MP3 player. I want a pda of sorts, but only for “playful purposes”, so I haven’t quite managed to convince myself to spend the money yet. And I want a digital SLR – a Canon EOS300D, to be precise. (*Drool*) Not happening, though, unless I win the lottery or something.

Could you please take a moment and go to this page and vote for Amalie (Theresa‘s step-daughter) by dragging the slide over to the smiley face and hitting “Stem”?

Go on. Please?

Tricky Friday Five this week:

1. Using one adjective, describe your current living space.
Stuffed.

2. Using two adjectives, describe your current employer.
Fair. Challenging.

3. Using three adjectives, describe your favorite hobby/pasttime.
Relaxing. Exciting. Educational.

4. Using four adjectives, describe your typical day.
Stressful. Fun. Companionable. Meaningful.

5. Using five adjectives, describe your ideal life.
Less stressful. Fun. Companionable. Meaningful. Exciting.

Or something of the sort.

Well, I’m game:

APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

Well. Hm. Those three are really the only ones I would definitely cross out. Some of the others are a bit, well, dubious.

(Via Donna)

Well, I think this is pretty accurate. The part about being only half-there most of the time certainly is.

You are mRNA. You’re brilliant, full of important,
interesting information and you’re a great
friend to the people you care about. You may
have sides to you that no one understands. But
while you understand more than most people,
you’re only half-there most of the time.

Which Biological Molecule Are You?
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(Via Melissa)