Sunday, April 30, 2006

Boy

 
I went for a walk with the big boy today.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Avoidance of My Aversion

I had to take a few minutes out of my studying time to write a blog entry.  I’m studying for an exam in fish ecology (fiskavistfræði).  The exam is on Thursday and I’m not too worried about my potential for achieving a decent grade.  But I do have a little problem in concentrating while studying.  You see, when the first several lectures of the class were given by the author of our text book.  Now, this is a great opportunity because he really is considered to be an expert in the field and I felt very excited about hearing him talk as well as hearing lectures in English!  But now that I’m re-reading his book, I hear and see him as I read.  He was not a very attractive man.  Normally, that would only mean that his face would disappear into my foggy memory, never to be seen again by my mind’s eye.  However, this did not happen.  No, his face haunts me as I read his words.  Actually, it’s not his whole face, just one little, teensy tinsy part of it:  his tongue.  I know I’m becoming rather fixated on something that I shouldn’t have even noticed, but i can’t help it.  This is like when you have a sore in your mouth or a fine splinter that’s annoying but not painful enough to make you stop playing with it until it won’t heal properly.  The problem I’m having is that Mr. Wooton, the brilliant and knowledgeable author of Ecology of Teleost Fishes, had a big yucky knob on the end of his tongue and as he was talking he kept licking his lips (as any of us do).  Each time he did so, that disgusting thing lurched out of its cave to mock me.  “Am I not disgusting,” it would say.  Later, “You can’t stop looking at me!”  Finally, “pay no attention to the words, focus on me!”  For the entire two days that we listened to lectures, I was tormented by the tongue-knob (Lingua diabolus Lineas).  I dreamed of that nasty wet bulb lurching toward me!  I lay awake nights seeing this hideous knurl coming out of its cave to taunt me.  
As I sat there listening to fascinating and easily understandable lectures, I couldn’t help but focus on that little bulbous thing on the end of his tongue.  I wanted to chop it off with a sharp scythe every time it popped out.  I’m ashamed to admit all this because I don’t want you to think that I judge everyone on the basis of outward appearance.  The truth is that I admire Robert Wooton.  He impressed me to no end with his understanding, knowledge and ability to teach others.  I wish him only the best.  I hope he doesn’t see this because I’m sure that my little obsession would probably have some negative effect on his impression either of me or himself.  But I cannot live with the secret fear any longer.  I must air this thing out in the hopes that I will be able to find solace in the admission.  Dare I dream that maybe by some strange twist of fate, there is someone else in the class who suffered the same fate as I?  Is it possible that there is someone else out there struggling to control traumatized nerves long enough to concentrate on gleaning understanding of the complex workings of fish populations from the words formed by the tongue-knob?  
No, I fear that I am alone in this cold dark void of disquietude and abhorrence.  I shall likely have to traverse the North Atlantic someday to do battle with this aversion by meeting him face to tongue-knob, armed only with inner fortitude.  But, alas the cruel dominatrix of Fate has twisted me into singular path forward and I have to delay my release from this mental prison.  I must apply my every will to the avoidance of my aversion so that I can prove to myself, my professor, and the world that I have matriculated the subject of fish ecology into the annals of my intellectual cognizance.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Afslappaður-->Stressaður

Í dag kláraði skýrslu sem ég byrjaði fyrir tveimur mánuði síðan.  Eiturefnavistfræði.  Það er mjög skemtilegt fag og mér fannst gaman að skrifa ritgerðina.  En, Jörundur er að kenna þetta og þetta var annað sinn að hægt var að skrifa eitthvað stórt fyrir hann.  Sum ykkar munna eftir fyrsta skipti að ég fékk frjálsa hendur að velja ritgerðarefni og lengd.  Það var þegar við vorum að fara til Tælands.  Þá hefði ég átt að skrifa eina lítla 10 blaðsíðna ritgerð.  En, nei nei, ég gat það ekki.  Í stað þess að skrifa stuttlega skrifaði ég 27 blaðsíður um tigrisrækjuna!  Ég vissi ekki þegar ég var að skrifa hana að við þurftum að lesa allar ritgerðir sem skrifaðar voru á meðan að við vorum að keyra um í Tælandi.  Sorrý, ekki hata mig fyrir þetta!  
Aaaanyway, ritgerðin sem ég skilaði til Jörundar í dag var frekar stutt (bara 20 blaðsíður), en þð er kanski skiljanlegt þar sem ég á að fara að læra fyrir prófið í fiskavistfræði sem einhvern masókisti vildi hafa fyrir próftöfluna (líklega einhver frá Hafnarfirði)!  

Þá er bara það að leggja í lestri og reyna að geðbilast ekki í stressinu.  Gangi ykkur vel!

Exams

Fuglafræði     lau. 06. maí 13:30 - 16:30
---Askja - St. 130 og 131

Eiturefnavistfræði    fim. 11. maí 13:30 - 16:30
---Askja - St. 131

Fiskifræði     lau. 13. maí 09:00 - 12:00
---Askja - St. 130

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Would Al Gore have been any better?

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."
--Al Gore, Vice President

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Want a Laugh?

If you want a laugh and have a good internet connection...and you understand English really well...check out this short video "American Suck Countdown".

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

I'm with Jesus

I was reading in the Bible last night (yes, Eric the heathen has converted to Christianity and as part of his faith has decided to read the Bible in its entirety) that Jesus said that it’s not what goes into your mouth that makes you dirty, but what comes out.  That’s a pretty danged good philosophy, if you ask me.  First, I like this idea because I think that one’s actions and words really define character.  Throughout history (and on a smaller scale throughout my life) the people who acted on their thoughts were the clearest and most well-defined people.  You can find thousands of examples of people who believed in something (right or wrong) and acted on it.  They lived their life by some code that came from deep within them. Some succeeded to great effect and others were killed by people acting on equally deep-seated but disagreeing beliefs.  Everyone who has ever made some massive change in the course of human development did so by acting on something they thought worth fighting for.  Granted, some of those who acted on such a drive were clearly misguided souls: Adolph Hitler, Josef Stalin, Michael Jackson, etc.  But the thing to remember is that every wonderful machine, every fascinating literary masterpiece, every note of music (except pop “music”) and every work of fine art we created because someone was working on what they saw as the truth.  Michaelangelo, DaVinci, Monet, Rembrandt, Ansel Adams, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bill Gates, the creators of South Park...they have all taken to heart these words of Jesus’.  They realized the power that comes from within.

The subject came up when the right wing whackos of the time asked Jesus why he and his buddies didn’t properly wash in the accepted ritualistic way before eating.  Why is it that they would eat food that was considered unclean for some arcane reason?  “The body is a temple,” they said.  Jesus-the clever little man He was-seized the metaphor.  He had seen the corruption going on in the temples of the day and was known to oppose many things that were going on in society.  He took hold of their metaphor and used it as a way to point out their imperfections to them-yet again.  He said that it’s not what goes in but what comes out that’s important.  The food, the dirty hands...that stuff isn’t important in a spiritual sense.  What’s important is that one be true to oneself and be just in making decisions of good versus evil.  The message to the right wingers was that the temple is supposed to be an example of goodness, kindness, love and justness.  It is not the building that is holy, but the soul of the building (what the building stands for).
Then, there is the other, more important reason I like what Jesus was saying.  What he really meant is that there’s no reason NOT to eat junk food!  I no longer have to feel any pangs of guilt as I drop that fourth scoop of ice cream into my bowl!  

Thanks again, Jesus!

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Primavera!

I just took my favorite eight km walk; it takes exactly 2.5 hours.  I walked from here into Njarðvík to meet inga and our friend Sigga Ragga at Kaffitár (my favorite coffee bar).  On the way I saw a golden plover.  This is the second one I’ve seen this year, but the first was flying full speed away from me, so although  I’m pretty sure of what it was, I didn’t get a really clear view of it to be scientifically accurate.  However, the one I saw today was only about 20 meters away and I checked it out with my binoculars.  So, no disputing that one.  Spring has sprung.  This bird’s arrival in Iceland is the traditional sign that Spring is here.  Also today I saw a lot of snipe starting their mating displays and calling from among last year’s lupine stems.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Interestingly Today

Hmm, a couple of interesting things to comment on today.  We’ll start with the introspection-as I fully enjoy that...
I surfed over to my friend Bjarni’s blog today.  He wrote about his expanding belly.  It was funny and well written, but the reason I felt the need to write my own column on this subject is that...well...the truth is...that little picture of me on the right is not ENTIRELY unPhotoshopped.  No, I’ll come clean...that photo was worked over by my seriously talented sister.  I was sitting and waiting for my bath to fill yesterday and I found myself holding two handfuls of fat.  At first, it shocked me.  “Who’s is this?!” thought Our Hero.  Suddenly, the fog of self-delusion lifted and I looked down to see that the fat I was holding in my hands was my own.  If you didn’t know me as a boy, teenager, or 20-something, you won’t understand why this was such a shocking realization for me.  All of my life I’ve been skinny as a bean pole.  I was so skinny as a kid that there was a fair amount of anorexia jokes.  But my laziness in the last 6 years has paid off with a sore back and an expanding waistline.  What do I do now?  Well, the back pain rules out jogging or any other impact sports.  The deep-seated fear I have of men’s locker rooms keeps me out of the pool.  I decided that what I should do is yoga.  I started attending yoga classes when time permitted at school but I’ve missed a lot of them due to the required practical periods in school.  I really like yoga and as soon as I get a mat and an instructional dvd I’ll start doing it at home.  The yoga will help with the back pain and make me more limber and stronger.  So, to this, I supplement the sit-ups and push ups that I’m starting tonight and we’ll see some improvement on the waistline.

The other thing that I came across today that sparked my interest was Paul’s comment a few entries down about eating dog.  I like to think of myself as one who will try anything once.  I’ve never had dog, but that’s because it’s never been on offer.  It sounds, from Paul’s description, that I really missed the boat in a big way when I went out to visit him over there in South Korea.  Now, for anyone who doesn’t know, the dogs are a special breed and they are raised to be eaten-they’re not slaughtering people’s pets.  I was curious if anyone else who reads this blog has eaten dog.  If not, what is the most unusual thing you’ve eaten-by international standards.  I put in the ‘international standards’ addendum because let’s face it, normal to one person is strange to another.  So, I start my list here:
Hákarl: rancid shark meat-an Icelandic “delicacy” the flavor of which is roughly what i
would expect from a mouthful of horse urine.
Silk worm: when in Thailand, do NOT do as the Thais!  This little disgusting “treat”
filled my head with a flavor unlike anything I’ve tried before and it wouldn’t go away-even after a liter of Coke!
Guillemot egg: another one from the icy north.  It’s weird but not the worst thing I’ve
tried.
Svið: sheep’s face-no, I didn’t eat the eyeball (though some people do).  Too much work
for too little meat.  It tastes like lamb, though...
Peeps: these are disgusting marshmallow chicks sold only at Easter and only in the god
ol’ US of A.  Even people who like to eat a few teaspoons of sugar each morning
should avoid these evil little devils!
Sea urchin sushi: I believe I will never eat that again...even if I AM starving on a
deserted island!

I know that this is not a very impressive list and that many of you have stretched to further lengths.  I’m really interested in hearing your input.  

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Partý Eða Ekki Partý

Ingi var að spyrja um partýið.  Það reyndist bara vera heimsókn en ekki partý þar sem einungis einn maður vogaði sér að mæta í sveitina.  Það var hann Haukur Hauksson.  Við Haukur átum allt góðgætið sem til var og töluðum saman fram til miðnættis þegar við Inga keyrðum hann heim.  Það var samt mjög skemmtilegt og mikið var hlegið.  Bjartasta hliðin á málinu er að ég drakk ekki nóg til að vera of fullur og vegna þess sást ekki ælandi kani í Vogunum í morgun.
Ég von að næsta partý verði stærri, en svona er lífið.  Ég vill ekki að þið sem lesið þetta skammast ykkar fyrir að hafa ekki mætt.  Ég elska ykkur eins mikið og ég gerði á fimmtudaginn!  
Aðallega vill ég segja gleðilega Páska.  Vonandi eru þið öll komin heim til mömmu og eigið eftir að éta á ykkur gat á morgun!

The Dear Boy

Today the Dear Boy returns from his vacation on the east coast with his cousin.  The message I got was that they have been glued together for the last week or so.  It’ll be good to get him home.  The house is so quiet.  Also, it gives me a better excuse to go out to see Ice Age II; there’s something just a little bit creepy about a full-grown man going to a kids’ movie by himself!  

Let’s see, what’s new?  Not too much, really.  I found a complete exoskeleton in the crayfish tank this morning.  The Big Boy is getting bigger.   I really hope he doesn’t decide to eat Little Girl and her young!  I’m not ready to set up a third tank yet.  
More animal news...I saw a golden plover (lóa) the day before yesterday!  For anyone who doesn’t live up here in Iceland with me, tht’s supposed to mean that summer is just around the corner.  However, the snow on the ground outside doesn’t seem to agree.
Still more animal news...Yesterday I went out with the Dear Wife to photograph her school for a web site she’s building.  While we were out there a flock of seagulls that had been sitting on the shore of the little pond next to the school took flight all of a sudden with lots of angry calls as a falcon swooped down at them.  I didn’t really see it very well (the sun was behind it) but it sure looked like the typical Icelandic version of a gyrfalcon.  I can’t say with great certainty that it was in fact a falcon, however...

Friday, April 14, 2006

Good Friday

The party is still on, although there is snow falling from the sky.  I suppose this is what I get for living in Iceland.  Here it is, the middle of April and it’s snowing.  Granted, it does not look like the type of snow that will accumulate.  But still...what the?!  If I were superticious, this might be taken as a sign that God is against my idea of holding a party.  If He’s really opposed to me holding a party on the day His son was crucified for my sins,  may He strike...just kidding, Dude.  I really do appreciate the sacrifice.  Jesus was truly someone I wish to be more like.  The trouble is that I was raised a Catholic and they believe that you can be as naughty as you want as long as you confess and truly mean it...each and every time.  

But on to other things.

I’m really enjoying having a laptop.  I like it far more than I should, I suppose.  My dear wife is lucky (or possibly unlucky depending on your point of view) that i crave a warm, living human being with whom to share my existence.  This one craving draws me out of the laptop every now and then.  Truthfully, I have been mostly working on homework for the last few days and this explains my disappearance into the computer of late.  But I can see that even when school is finished I’ll be using this little machine quite a lot.  It’s just such fun.  
We have realized, though, that we couldn´t live like we have for the past five days for very long.  We both feel the aches of being in our mid 30’s.  These aches, of course, come entirely from the lack of excersize lately.  Starting tomorrow we’re going to start walking regularly.  Once school starts again, I’m going to start going to yoga classes again.  I need to get a dvd to teach me at home.  I haven’t mastered proper form or memorized the positions fully, yet.  But I will.  

Friday, April 07, 2006

I've come to realize

I’ve come to realize that fisheries assessment is not a good course for someone with very low self esteem or self confidence.  I had thought that I was pretty much over those feelings of low self worth a few ears ago.  I had found a woman who appreciates me and I’d managed to carve out a pretty dang good slice of the pie of life for myself.  I managed to move across the ocean from everyone I grew up with and all the places that are familiar to me.  I learned to communicate in a new exotic language.  I started school, studying in this new language and didn’t fail.  In fact, my grades have been improving throughout my school career.  Then, all that success came crashing down around my feet about three or four  weeks into this class.  The professor, who’s a brilliant statistician, expects that I know things that are well beyond the boundries of my understanding.  He says things lke, “But you already know how to do that so we can just move on to the next step,” and such and i respond with a blank stare as though he were speaking Chinese (not one of the languages of which I have any understanding).  
Now, I know that some of the other students in the class have similar trouble to mine.  But hey have hat crucial ingredient that I lack:  self confidence.  I walk out of that class feeling like I was just sitting naked in a room full of beautiful people all pointing and laughing at me.  I grapple for a hold on reality-that is, the reality where I shouldn’t get so down on myself.  This class is not a personal attack.  The fact that I don’t understand it all doesn’t reflect a stupidity level roughly equivalent to that of a slug.  But that’s my logical side speaking.  Inside there is still that little spic who was almost the smallest boy in the school.  You know, the little boy who was stuffed into gym lockers for fun and mocked in class.  I’ve been doing my best to push him out of the recesses of my mind since he ensconced himself there.  I’m still fighting with him.  It reminds me of “Flatliners”...what an interesting movie.  
I know, I’m whining again.  But, as anyone knows, nobody’s in a good mood all the time. Some people feel the need to go to a psychiatrist to receive theraputic catharsis.  They must feel that by revealing their weaknesses to only one person sworn to secrecy they retain some sense of security.  I don’t have that sense and never have-even when I went to a psychiatrist.  No, I choose to air out the musty air of my weaknesses in front of my friends.  Now that I have a blog I can do it with a few pecks at a keyboard instead.  Occasionally, I get feedback.  But I really write on this site just for me.  I like to release my thoughts and feelings to the world.  I feel cleaner afterward.  
So, I write and I publish.  People come and read what I’ve written and mybe they know that I’m human.  There’s nothing wrong with that.
On a pleasant note, I’m even more excited than I was yesterday about cooking for my dear wife.  Cooking is something that I can do well.  Also, it’s always so gratifying to do something to make her happy.  
See, I told you...I’m moving closer to being in a good mood because of writing this post.  

Thursday, April 06, 2006

The Little Lady

Yes, it's almost that time again. My darling wife's age in number is about to become one year greater. That means that she'll be a ripe old 35 and I'll still be a spring chicken of 33 (until September, of course). But despite her advanced state of maturity, she's still sharp as nails, as they say in Texas. And, let me tell ya; she's still got it, ooo mama! So, happy birthday, ástin mín.
The party will be on the actual day of birth: this Saturday, the 8th of April. I'm going to bust my hump in the kitchen all day (one of my favorite activities) to prepare a feast of Mexican and Asian culinary delights for the tastebuds of those few whom she chooses to invite. She's not one for big parties, so, if you're not on the list, don't be too offended.
I nearly filled an A4 sized page with ingredients to buy at the grocery store and I'll probably have to go to two different specialty shops as well, to get everything I want. Sure, I COULD do this easier and cheaper. The original idea was to roast a big turkey with all the trimmings. Easy, peasy, Japanesey...but that's too boring. I've done that several times in the last few months. No, this time I got the bright idea to use the opportunity to try cooking a whole bunch of stuff that I've never tried t odo before. On the menu are things like japanese gyoza, fried rice, Thai fish patties, stir-fried bean sprouts and scallions. I also have some very simple stuff like quesadillas and a nice platter of fresh exotic fruits (well, exotic by Icelandic standards-then again, in the true sense of the word, almost all fruits are exotic here!). Anyway, I'm looking forward to it all.
Mostly, I can't wait to see her reaction to all the good food and good company. It's so much fun to see her enjoy a good evening. She'll laugh-that's a given. Two of her sisters will be here and they are both the type of women who can really entertain. We always have fun when we get together.

But, now I have to stop playing and read some articles so I can hammer the students holding lectures in fish ecology with tough questions! Mwa ha ha ha ha!

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Ingvar and the Post Office

I'm mired in a bit of a quandry.  You see, I own a Subaru Legacy Outback.  It rolled off the production line way back in 1996 (10 years ago).  That is not, in and of itself, a problem.  I love my car.  Not the way I love my kids or my darling wife; but more in a way similar to the way I love anything that's not living on which I depend for the happy continuence of my chosen lifestyle.  The ownership of said vehicle enters the realm of Problem when something breaks or stops working due to the advanced age of the car.  last Spring the locking mechanism for my hood decided to stop working when I was driving at about 50 mph and the hood popped open smashing my windshield and denting the roof.  I had to then make a phone call to Ingvar Helgason (the company that imports Subarus) to order the parts needed to get it fixed because 1996-model hoods are not in the warehouse.  That was the second time I'd had to resort to dealing with that monkey factory.  It took from the end of March until the second week in July for the hood and lock mechanism to get here.  The experience before that was for a piece of the automatic transmission mechanism-that took just over 6 months to get here.  As you can possibly imagine, when I found out that I needed a new EGR valve (one of the many pointless sensors that is there just to break and make the car drive like it's constantly running out of gas) it as with great reluctance that I called Ingvar.   But I did.  He checked availability for me (after only 20 minutes of trying to figure out whether what I was trying to order was, in fact, a part of a Subaru) and called me back before ordering.  He told me that it wasn't available at their suplier in Bulgaria and that he would have to order it from Japan.  It would cost $277 and I needed to make a 50% down-payment if I wanted him to order it.  No thanks.  I heard Japan and the price and imagined myself getting a Christmas package from them containing the part I'd ordered in March (interesting that things always break in he Spring...) and that guy from the cartoons who was always twisting his moustache and saying,"Where's the rent?"  Anyway, I asked my mechanic if he knew of a good way to order parts from the US.  he handed me a business card from Discount Auto parts.  I went home, looked them up on line and found the part I was looking and the price was set at $170.  But they didn't have it in stock, so I called and talked to Bud.  he said that he'd look for it and call me back (knowing full well that I am in Iceland) with a price.  To make this long, boring story short, he found it, I ordered it over the phone and he sent it right out.  Two weeks later, it hit the main post office in Reykjavík.This one of the other companies I don't understand over here.  they get this package from me nd have to charge me duty on the contents.  There's nothing really wrong with that in my opinion.  I understand that duties are just another part of the taxes that pay for so many services and aspects of life here that I enjoy.  that is not the problem.  The aggravation is that they get the package.  They remove all paperwork on the outside of said package.  they put those papers in an envelope and send them to me along with a request for permission to open the package to look for the packing slip.  They want to open the package to compare what's listed on the packing slip to the contents of the box so that they can make sure they charge me the right amount of duty.  So, I get the envelope they sent with the request for permission to open the box.  I sign the form and fax it back to them ignoring the othe paper in the envelope.  thy get my fax (the next day) and open the box to find that there is no packing slip in the box.  The day after that, I get another envelope conatining a letter saying that there was no packing slip and would I please e-mail them the confirmation e-mail I got upon ordering.  The trouble is that I ordered it over the phone.  There is only the email Bud sent me about how much the total was once he added shipping (he wasn't sure when I ordered).  So, I sent them that, knowing it would not be enough.  then, this morning, I was sitting here looking at the messages I got from them and realized that in their first envelope was the %&#$ packing slip!  they send it to me so I can send it back to them and the thing doesn't get to me for an extra few days!  ARGH! 

Jump

Have you ever jumped so high that in order to come down safely you had to open a parachute? These French guys are crazy! I'm not one for risking my own life, but it sure is fun to watch someone else risk theirs.

For the second time in 6 years, I saw lightning in Iceland yesterday. This was just over my town somewhere a little bit south of my house. The thunder clap was also really loud. It happened during a hail storm yesterday. Fun, fun.

Oh, yeah, big news...I'm going to be a grandfather! Well, technically, that's not entirely true. One of my crayfish has eggs under her abdomen. This marks the first time a pet of mine has borne young.

Does anyone know how to make meatballs? I can't get them to stay whole. They always fall apart during or just after frying them.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Weather

It's cold out today. I just went out to take a few pictures of Inga's school. First I had to go out to buy batteries. Then, I walked home, got the camera and tripod and walked down to the spot from which I wanted to shoot the photos. I turned the camera on and was reminded that I hadn't returned the memory card to the camera the last time I had taken it out to load the pictures onto the computer. So, I walked home to get the memory card and then back out to the spot. By that time, my hands were numb. But I took some photographs and found the best side of the school for a photograph for the web site. As much as I like to take photographs, he cold was a bit much and I didn't last very long there.
This post is mostly just a test to see if it is indeed possible to post at all because my Blogger for Word plug-in is not working. I'm, not sure that the problem is in my computer and not theirs.