Warning: New Sexually Transmitted Disease

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of Sexually Transmitted Disease. The disease is contracted through dangerous and high-risk behavior. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim and pronounced "gonna re-electhim." Many victims contracted it in 2004, after having been screwed for the past four years. Cognitive characteristics of individuals infected include: anti-social personality disorders, delusions of grandeur with messianic overtones, extreme cognitive dissonance, inability to incorporate new information, pronounced xenophobia and paranoia, inability to accept responsibility for own actions, cowardice masked by misplaced bravado, uncontrolled facial smirking, ignorance of geography and history, tendencies towards evangelical theocracy, categorical all-or-nothing behavior. Naturalists and epidemiologists are amazed at how this destructive disease originated only a few years ago from a bush found in Texas.

Funny and the New Blog

          Okay, so today two extremely funny things have happened.  First, in my ornithology (the study of birds) a new student joined the class.  He is the creepiest person I have met in quite some time.  Coincidentally, he's French.  Well, my professor for this particular class remembers when paper was invented because he was 34 years old at the time.  Okay, well, maybe that's a SMALL exaggeration, but he really is old.  He also suffers from selective deafness.  That means he can only hear certain people.  I am among those whose voice cannot get through the veil of his deafness and I have to repeat myself at least 4 times before he gives me a condecending answer.  Anyway, the French guy walked into class and the professor recognized him immediately as a new student and asked him for his name and where he was from.  This is where the funny thing happened.  The French guy responded in unbelievably broken and incorrect English and the expression and reaction of the professor were so precious I nearly died laughing. 

          The second terribly funny thing that happened today has just ended.  A neighbor of mine came to my door to ask for a couple of buckets of cold water.  This is an extremely unusual request, but being a good neighbor means that one has to help when needs be.  I went and got a bucket of water for her and then she told me what it was for.  Before I say what the problem was, I have to admit that even though I am studying to be a biologist and consider myself to be a rather knowledgeable man when it comes to the Animal Kingdom, I had no idea that what was causing her to seek water actually happens in the real world.  I mean, I'd heard stories about it, but always in jest and, well...She needed the water because her dogs were doing IT and they got stuck together!  Now you know why I was so stunned I couldn't even laugh right away.  Not having ever bred dogs and not having paid much attention when dogs I knew were, well, doing it, I had no idea that this actually happens.  So, the upshot is that this goes into my book of interesting anecdotes from my experience.

          Now, let’s get down to the business of tooting my own horn.  I decided to start a new blog.  This comes from the fact that I love to take pictures when I travel and yet, I don't often get the chance to hold a massive slide show so most of my photographs end up either appearing here in extremely small doses or they are sent individually by e-mail.  Then people get left out and wonder why they never saw them and all that.  Anyway, here is new blog.  It's going to be just for when I travel somewhere.  Family pictures and other fotós will still be placed here.  One of the reasons for doing this is that starting in May I'm starting a M.Sc. program that will involve a good amount of traveling and I figured I could then put photographs for that all in one place.

A Few Stories Worth Your Attention

There are a few great stories in the BBC news today. There is a story about a rat snake befriending a hamster, proving that innate nature is not an absolute. Another intersting story is about an Australian prisoner who found a new purpose to diet. Also, if you go to the Outlook page, you can scroll down to “Wednesday” to hear the story of Paul Templer, who relates his trip down into a hippo’s throat-TWICE! Unbelievable.

Security at Last

We can finally feel safe. Thanks to the Terminator and governor of California this man is no longer living. That’s right, a 76 year-old man. In fact, his birthday was the day before his execution. Forget the fact that he was so old and that he was partially deaf and that he was blind and that he was in a wheelchair, he’d been sentenced to death some 23 years ago and, damnit, we kill those who we’re supposed to kill...for the protection of the public, of course. This is almost enough to replace the sickening feeling I have in my stomach from my trip to the oral surgeon a couple of hours ago. Have you ever heard your wisdom teeth being ripped out? It was gross. The blood in my mouth is almost worse. But state-sanctioned murder doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t protect anyone. This guy has been on death row since I was 10. That’s a long time. Did the murder rate go down when he was sentenced and locked away? No. Was the country a better place? No. Is it possible to answer either of these two questions positively now that he’s dead? No. I don’t get it.

On the bright side, to make myself feel better, after going to the dentist I walked across the street and bought myself a couple of snails. They’re cool. Big and bright yellow. I’m hoping they’ll help me keep the tank clean. I know what you’re thinking, but yes, that was very exciting for me and it did make me feel better. I also got to see some rabbits that were born yesterday. They were certainly very cute.

Well, it’s off to the sofa I go. It’s time to read. Birds, ecotoxicology, or fish? Which would you start with.

ICEland

How is it that in a country called Iceland there is so little done to clear snow out of streets and sidewalks? I don't think I've ever seen a snowblower here. The only snowplows one sees with regularity are running back and forth on the highway. This year, for the first time, someone in a big red tractor has been nice enough to work very hard at attempting to clear our town. But I couldn't drive into the parking lot at school because the snow was too deep. I don't get it.

Let Them Run the Show, Thousands of Years Have Proven Our Inability

          I don’t know if you dear readers are aware of it or if you care, but in the past few months the number of women in the position of elected head of state has gone up, to my knowledge, by three.  There is Angela Merkel, the new Chanceler of Germany.  Then we have Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, he new president-elect in Liberia.  Thirdly we have the president-elect in Chile, a Michelle Bechelet .  These latter two women are firsts.  President Johnson-Sirleaf is the first woman to be voted into a presidential role in Africa.  Incidentally, Liberia is a country that was founded to give freed slaves from the U.S. a country to call home so it’s interesting that this country, whose name means “Land of Freedom”, would be the first African nation to choose a woman as president.  I’m sure that opponents of her election will say that she only won because her competitor for the post was a footballer (soccer player) with no experience in politics.  This is not the case in Chile, however.  The nation of Chile has just recently elected the first female president of a South American nation.  In a continent where chauvinism isn’t just present, but openly encouraged-by both genders-this is certainly a step in the right direction.  I’m hoping that the United States will follow the examples set by these nations.  I’m hoping that Hillary Clinton runs to replace Georgie Porgie.  If she runs, I wouldn’t be surprised if the warmongers, I mean, republicans will push Condeleeza Rice into the running for them out of fear that women in the country will vote for the woman running even if she is from the “other” party.  This at least would force the issue onto the so-called “minds” of American old boy politicians.  It seems to me that the human world is rushing down the toilet and I figure it couldn’t be worse if women were running the show.  Let’s give them a chance and see if they do better.  They very well might do.  Afterall, they don’t have high standards to beat!  Also, the repression they’ve lived with has given them the strength to excel whereas the men they would compete with in politics have been festering in laziness caused by the protection offered by their corruption.  They’ve been getting away with allowing their minds to atrophy, clinging to out-dated methods of governing.  Times are changing, boys!  Look at history. Try to find a group of people who have been held down by a minority and who haven’t succeeded in overthrowing their oppressors.  I can’t think of a single example…except the American people from about 2000-2006.  But that’s a bit different because things are not as bad there as they could be.  Freedom is only slowly being eaten away by the battery acid of Bush’s regime-driven fear and materialism.  I have hope, though, that the next election will turn the country back toward greatness.  But I digress.

          That’s the post for today.  It’s just a bit of my brand of feminism.  I’m glad there are women being elected.  At least it shows that it’s possible.

Christmas cactus

It seems Hermann can only produce beautiful children. This is Irma.

New Year's Eve party

Our hosts on New Year's Eve

Sparklers were fun on NewYear's Eve

OOOO, what is this I've found?!

I love chocolates!

Which do I choose first?

Björn Hermann

Kodak Moment

          Sometimes Hollywood gets something right.  Actually, it might be more appropriate to allude to Kodak in this instance.  For the past two days, I have been taking The Boy sledding.  I’ll tell you, it’s a lot of fun.  He’s very shy and not often very sure of himself in front of people he doesn’t know.  But the fact that he’s facing a snowy drop whose bottom he cannot see while traveling at high speed on a thin sheet of moulded plastic does not daunt him for a moment.  He did a face plant today that looked so bad I was sure I’d hear crying when the cloud settled.  But he got up laughing and trudged, slipping often, back up to the top of the hill.  Hann er svo duglegur (sorry, there’s no good translation for that word)!  For me, it was what people used to call a Kodak moment.  When I was a kid Kodak’s primary add campaign was aimed at parents who should not commit the sin of letting precious moments slip by without a camera in hand.  I love photography and I’ve always enjoyed taking photographs.  But I never really got into taking pictures of people until recently.  Having kids will do that to you; so will moving 1000 miles from everyone you’ve known all your life.  I’m going to post some new photos today.  They are mostly from my Christmas vacation.  These are the long-awaited photos of my family and Júlía’s family and Sigga and Addi’s kids.  Actually, if you’re lucky and I can publish them without being sued, I may even post some pictures I got of Þórunn and Binni.  I don’t know, though.  You see Þórunn has a lot of friends at the newspaper mentioned recently on my site.  I don’t know how many of my secrets will end up being discussed on Silfur Egils (an evening talk show about issues of the day here in Iceland) if she decides that the photographs were not her best side or something!  

         So, this image that kids can provide a man with a reason to give up all of the other “freedoms” of life can actually be true.  This is one of the things that The Wife does not always approve of in movies.  I mean, the idea that a career woman gives up her dreams to be a housewife to save a relationship with a man she loves.  I have to agree on this point.  It is pretty sad that in movies it’s almost always the woman who gives up here blossoming (or successful) career in order to save a boyfriend-girlfriend relationshipo with the guy she’s been with for the whole movie.  It’s never even mentioned that the man would give up the transfer to some city 3000 miles away.  I, for one, would love to be offered the opportunity to be a househusband if it mean that my wife could go out and earn enough to support us.  Then she gets to deal with the stress of commuting and working and pleasing people who are trying to beat her at the success game.  Meanwhile, Mr. Eric is sitting home cleaning and enjoying watching the children grow and only having to please people who love him very much and are not looking to destroy him for their own benefit.  What a gig!  I know taking care of the house and kids is a lot of work.  but it’s not thankless work in which one is constantly having to fight with others.  Out in the real world (though I guess it’s not in all fields of employment) one has to always push onesself to excel, not for one’s own sake, but to impress others.  One has to eat a lot of crap from a boss (often a boss who deserves no respect) in order to get recogition for the effort put into a job. Working at home, one can at least relax knowing that he/she is not in direct competition with millions of other people who have the same qualifications.  of course, I am speaking from the point of view of a man who lives in a marriage built on trust and respect.  I know that a lot of people don’t have that advantage.  Many people live in the fear of being replaced at a moment’s notise no matter what they are doing for a living.   But just once I’d like to see a man in a movie pack up and move with his lover somewhere or, even better, a couple who make a compromise of some sort.  How did I get here again?

     I know this is somewhat of a tangent.  But hey, didn’t you know that my brain wanders around in my head?  That’s why I started by calling this iste Wandering Thoughts Journal.  I recently changed the name mostly because I don’t like the word journal.  It sounds too official or uppity.  This is much more like hte useless scratchings of a chicken in a sandy barnyard.  But it’s sometimes pretty entertaining, ain’t it?!  I think the Scottish comedian Billy Connelly summed it up best:
     My thoughts are just flying round and I just sit back and watch them.  Every now
     and again, one say, “Talk about me! Talk about me, or I’ll f****in’ go away!”, and
     if I don’t it’s gone.

Expressions

I was just thinking that I’ve heard some really great sayings or expressions.  When I was in Texas for six months, I heard more than I had bfore or since.  But I’ve forgotten most of them.  I was thinking that it might be fun to get my readers to chime in with their favorites.  You don’t have to translate them if you only know them in a foreign language-I’ll forgive you.  

My favorites are:

1. In two shakes of a lamb’s tail.  This one makes more sense after youahve seen a lamb shake its tail.  You have to have good eye to catch that.

2. More nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.  This is one of those I got from the great state of Texas.

3. Hornier than a ten-peckered rabbit.  I take pride in having come up with this one all on my own.  I guess it says a little bit about my own personal state of mind, though you may not like to know that.

So, what expressions do you like to hear?

Immigration and the Decline of Icelandic Journalism

I'm not exactly a white American. In fact, since I was a boy my father has told me that I am not very American at heart. Apparently, not EVERYTHING that came out of his mouth was a lie. I never felt particularly like I belonged to the great nation that is the United States of America. I mean, I love the US and I probably will move back there at some point for a period of time. There are a lot of truly great things about that country and many wonderful effects seen in the rest of the world are caused by the US-whether people in those other countries want to admit it or not. One thing that has fairly recently come to my attention is that my home country is one of the world leaders in allowing immigration. This came originally as a shock to me. It's always been the case that any dealings I've had or my friends have had with the beaurocracy of the US government has been a nightmare, to say the least. Furthermore, the number of illegal immigrants that sneak into the country-and therefore enjoy absolutely no rights-has always been in the news and not the fact that the US is actually a fairly generous country when legal visas are concerned. This is another face of a general trend that I have observed in US policy. It seems as though the only facts about the country that are reported with much fanfare and noise are those that make everyone angry. The wars, the crime, the greed and materialism, obesity rates, poor school systems, offensive tv, movie, radio, and music personalities, etc. They never talk about the fact that according to many polls of refugees trying to get asylum in foreign lands, the land of choice is the US. Right around 24,000,000 refugees have been accepted into American society in the last 20 years. But does this appear on the front page of the newspaper? Is this used as an example of why America is great? No, instead the country's greatness depends on the squashing of military dictatorships that are technologically far below the level of the American military. I don't get it.
But the real reason I wanted to write in about immigration today is that I recently heard a lot of discussion about the US's proposed wall along the southern border to keep Mexicans and other Americans out. I don't think that this wall is a good idea for two reasons:
1. It won't work. People who are so desperate to get to another country that they are
risking their lives to get there and stay there living in a state not too far from slavery
will find a way around a wall.
2. The proposed $4 billion that the wall would cost would be better used on other things.
But aside from my personal reasons for being against the wall idea, I cannot stand by silently as people jump on the America-bashing band wagon. You see, leaders of most of the South American countries have been ver vocal about protesting the wall idea. They critisize the US for being exclusive and not wishing to have any dealings with their neighboring countries. Meanwhile, some USA citizens stood up to say that they believe that the problem of illegal immigration could be solved by providing a way for illegal immigrants to apply for legal status instead of facing deportation. They say that the positions of the current government are wrong and offensive. I agree with many of the criticisms I've heard of the current regime in my home country. But this is one issue where I do not think the US is doing anything wrong. It angered me that during the broadcast on the BBC not a single person asked why these immigrants want to leave their home countries. This is an important question that needs to be asked if anyone wants to stop illegal immigration. Light needs to be shone on the leaders of countries south of the border. What are they doing to improve situations in their country so that people will not want to leave? It's not a natural thing to see that your citizens want to risk their lives and welfare, leave their families and sneak into a country where they will have no rights at all, probably end up working for peanuts doing back-breaking (and spirit-breaking) work and then to critisize the government of the country of immigration!

There, I've said my piece about that.

One of Iceland's newspapers is in big trouble. The editors annouced today that they are quitting. This is because a front page article was published about a "One-armed teacher" who was accused of pedophilia. First of all, what difference does it make that he has only one arm?! But aside from that, the real problem is that the article featured a picture and the guy's name and he had not even been charged with the crime yet. A short time later (I believe it was a couple of days) the man killed himself. How much responsibility does the newspaper bear for his suicide? Does the man's innocence/guilt have anything to do with the justness of the article? When should the media be allowed to report things? This is the hot issue today. I saw that several stores have stopped selling the paper and stopped advertising it. Sponsers are scrambling to get their advertisements pulled out of it.
The man's life would most likely have been destroyed by this. He would have been fired. He would have been socially ostracized. This contry is so small that he would not have been able to hide. But that's all only negavtive (in my opinion) if he was innocent.
I don't really know what I think about this issue. Should the newspaper (which is nearly a gossip rag, from my understanding) be shut down? How is this paper different from gossip magazines that publish daily stories of unsubstantiated extra marital affairs, crimes and such?

Eh, I don't know. I'm off to fisheries science.

New Year

Now a new year has begun. I'm sitting in school at the beginning of my last semester. I wonder where I will be at this time next year. It could very well be that I will be in the same chair waiting to start my Master's degree. I could be sitting in another chair peering through optical lenses at a tiny crustacean or something. Who knows? But what is for sure is that I will be working on something I find interesting. Life's too short to do something that one does not find interesting.

On a very different note, my sister in law, Kristjana, was in a terrible car accident this weekend. I hope the best for her speedy recovery and an end of the vicious streak of bad luck that has been tormenting her family for the past few months. She's not got a broken shoulder and shoulder blade (along with other various cuts and bruises) after having slid off the road and rooled down an embankment on an icy street between Eskifjörður and Egilsstaðir. her husband, Pétur, is still trying to return to normal after being folded in half by a two ton bag of fish that fell on him. It's a miracle he survived. Anyway, I hope that their life gets back on track soon and they find happiness and peace.

Black Beans

I know that some of you are pretty handy in the kitchen.  Please, if you have a good recipie including black beans, let me know.  When I was in Costa Rica, I ate a dish called casado (I think) just about everyday.  It was fantastic, but I don’t know how to make it.  I’ve found a couple of recipies for black beans and rice and I’m going to attempt to modify one tonight.  But the truth it that I really want what I got down south.  Any ideas?

This semester

So far, the two grades I've gotten are my best yet. I guess that it just reflects my increased interest in what I'm learning. I'm discovering that I'm not a very general biologist. I don't care much about genetics and I'm mathematically challenged. I believe that the theory of evolution is absolutely true, but don't have that much interest in understanding how to predict its future course using computer models. But, if you give me a critter, I'll ID it for you. I can tell you to whom it is related (given time) and most of the time, some idea of where it is found geographically and ecologically. I can usually name some of the primary predators or prey of the species.
I hope there's a place for me in the biology research world.