Recently overheard near a deck of tarot cards

Thor: Alright, so these (holds cards out for show) can tell the future, right?

kimananda: Well, not exactly...they're more for meditation...confirmation of current trends...

T: Yeah, yeah, but they show how to get to future situations, right?

k: Well, you could look at it that way, I suppose.

T: O.K., so (looks at the cards, and begins loosely shuffling them, and talking to them) what do I need to do in order to win the lottery this week? Tell me... (pulls a card from the deck and places it on the table...it's the Ace of Pumpkins...turns to kimananda)...O.K., what's it mean? What do I have to do to win?

k: Well, let's see. You've pulled the Ace of Pumpkins, which in more conventional decks would be the Ace of Pentacles or Ace of Disks. Pentacles or pumpkins refer to the material aspects of things, the real tangible world. In this case, that would presumably be money. The ace generally represents the seed of an element, the tiny beginning that starts it all. So, clearly, this card can be seen as a tiny seed of money which could perhaps leads to more money later on. Basically, what the cards are telling you is that, if you want to win the lottery, the way to do it is to buy a ticket.

T: O.K., so this means that if I buy a ticket, then I will win the lottery. (turns to cards) Thank you cards. I will buy a ticket, and if you are right, then I will win. If you are wrong, then burn, baby, burn

This was two days ago, and he has been periodically threatening my favorite deck of tarot cards ever since. He has also, as of a couple of hours ago, bought a ticket (the draw is sometime this evening). If force of will is enough to affect the winning numbers, then we'll both be much better off financially tomorrow (as he's promised me half). If not, then I may have to move my cards to some sort of parapsychological safe house.

*Cards courtesy of the Halloween Tarot, published by US Games*

The train station of the supernatural

I have just survived an amazing happening. Oh, everything is normal now, but just an hour or so ago, the world around me vanished and I was transported seamlessly into a parallel universe. No really.

I was at a rather large, busy commuter train station out in the burbs of Copenhagen (Høje Taastrup, for what it's worth) ready to go from work into the city to do more work. The station seemed totally normal. The platforms were there, with their little tv screens telling where the next train would be going, and when it would be going there. The ticket machines, the station convenience store, my fellow travellers. All was as it should be. Except. Except...in this parallel universe there were no trains. At all. In any direction. All the tracks (and there were several) were spookily empty. For at least 15 minutes. Where did they go?! And then, finally, a train arrived, and I realized that I must have been transported back to the universe that I usually inhabit.

There are those in Denmark who will blame this twist in the train station space-time continuum on the snow. But I don't believe that. As I see it, when all the trains are late (as they seemed to be, judging by the information given on the little tv screens), the wait for a train should be the same as normal...instead of waiting to catch your train which is late, you catch the next earlier train which wasn't there earlier because all the trains are running late. Simple logic really.

I know, wishful thinking. I grew up in Northern California, where we didn't have snow, but where, when it rained, everyone would simply forget how to drive, and just leave their cars in the middle of the freeway. (Perhaps I exaggerate, but not as much as you might hope). It would drive (no pun intended) Midwestern transplants I've met mad, and left me with the idea that we were the only ones who couldn't deal with the weather. After all, it rains every year. You'd think we'd get used to it. In Portugal it was a bit the same.

In London, the underground gets closed for anything. A leaf on the track has closed a line before, which sounds like an urban myth, but I think is actual historically documented fact. When there's snow, which is only a few days a year, there are always problems. And what do people say? There is snow every year, so why should they be surprised? You'd think they'd get used to it. In Denmark, there is more snow than in London, and whenever there is snow, especially the first couple of days after a snowfall, there are major transportation problems. And guess what people say...there is snow every year. You'd think they'd get used to it. 'Hvor svært kan det være?' - 'How hard can it be?'

As I continue my journey Northward through Europe, I eagerly await the time when I find the country which has 'gotten used to' winter weather. But does that country exist in reality, or only in another parallel universe? I await response from any readers from colder climes; Finland, Siberia, maybe Greenland. Do your trains run on time on the first day(s) of snow? Because ours sure don't, and I'm getting a bit tired of waiting outside in the cold.

Alternative Performance Measures

Well, as some of you know, this morning I had the oral exam to accompany my project paper, where I got the chance to explain some concepts from the reading list and relate them to what I had written about. Some of you whom I know personally have asked me to let you know how I did, and I have decided that the best way to do this would be to post it here. But first, I would like to explain a bit about the Danish grading system, so that it's clear what the grade I got actually means. But first, some history.

When I left the states, I was not too surprised to discover that educational systems in other countries use other scales for evaluating student performance. What did surprise me was what was considered a good grade, or rather, the fact that there can be grades on a scale that no one would ever receive, ever. So, in Portugal for example, grades are given on a 20-point scale, but nobody gets a 20. I've heard more than once an explanation of grading that starts with '20 is for God,....' For the degree I did in England (graduate level, so no 1st, 2.1, 2.2, etc.), we got scored out of 100%. Distinction (like honors in the states, I suppose) was at 70%, and if you got much more than that, you were very, very special. I can't imagine anyone getting anywhere near perfect.

In Denmark, there is a rather strange 13-point scale. Below you will see English translations of what the numbers mean, taken from my school's exam information page.

§ 1. Course applicants, apart from course applicants at primary school and in the 10th grade will, at the time of tests included in examinations, and at the time of tests in individual subjects, be assessed individually in accordance with the points scale (the 13-point scale):
13: Is given for the exceptionally independent and excellent performance.
11: Is given for the independent and excellent performance.
10: Is given for the excellent but not particularly independent performance.
9: Is given for the good performance, a little above average.
8: Is given for the average performance.
7: Is given for the mediocre performance, slightly below average.
6: Is given for the just acceptable performance.
5: Is given for the hesitant and unsatisfactory performance.
03: Is given for the very hesitant, very insufficient and unsatisfactory performance.
00: Is given for the completely unacceptable performance.

6 is the lowest passing mark. You'll notice that there are some numbers missing: 12, 4, 2, and 1, or maybe that should be 02 and 01. Apparently, there's an extra '0' on the two lowest grades for the good old days when grades were handwritten in ink, so that enterprising students couldn't just write in a 1 in front of the number for instant performance enhancement. The grades are divided: under 5 is 'usikker' or hesitant. 6 is 'acceptabel', 7-9 is 'god' or good and 10-13 is 'udmærket' or outstanding. 13 is for the 'more than perfect' grade; I won't say that no one gets it, but it is very rare. My idea is that it is so far above the other grades that there should be a gap before it, hence the lack of a 12 grade.

Now, to get to the point: I got a 10. I have the idea from the comments given with the grade that my written paper by itself wasn't a 10, but the spoken part of the exam pulled the grade up. Considering the problems I had with the paper, and that it was in a completely new academic area for me I'm extremely pleased, and really don't think I could have done any better. I would be proud of myself, but I tend not to be able to be proud of myself in that way...too much of a perfectionist perhaps. So that you can all be proud of me instead, I will end this post with a more specific description of pre-conditions for getting as high a grade as I got.

§ 4. The points group ‘excellent’ (points 13, 11 and 10) will be given to the performances or standards where the student

1) shows comprehensive and certain knowledge and comprehension and confident proficiency in the subject,
2) distinguishes clearly between important and unimportant
3) shows a very thorough knowledge of concepts and methods as well as comprehensive proficiency in concepts and methods
4) gives an account of these and deals with a subject in such a way as to include almost all relevant conditions
5) gives an expressive substantiation for producing these conditions
6) compares or combines concepts, methods and information in a very confident way and evaluates and generalises correspondingly on the basis thereof, and
7) used his knowledge and proficiencies in the face of known problems very confidently and possibly in the face of unknown problems by combining existing principles to put forward solution options.

Yes, it's true. I'm great. ;-)

Weekend in Europe, Part 3: Christmas in Prague

We have a tendency to travel at Christmas; more because we have time to get away then than out of any desire to escape Denmark. This time, our destination was Prague. Although Thor had been several times before, this was my first trip there, and I knew very little about it. I'd heard that it's one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, has the world's best beer, which almost makes up for the absolutely dreadful food, and that it is crawling with American expats.

We didn't take the time to check for crawling Americans; most of the native English accents were various flavors of British from what I heard, but it was quite cold, so perhaps all my fellow expats were hiding at home. And the beer quality was lost on me, though I was well on my way to a serious absinthe habit by the end of the first day. Sadly, though I pride myself on liking all cuisines, I found the food fairly disappointing...I won't say dreadful, just, well, not very inspiring. And I'm convinced that traditional bread dumplings actually are circular pieces cut out of slices of Wonder Bread. I kid you not. I should have taken pictures.

But the city is definitely one of the more beautiful I've seen, in Europe or elsewhere. If cities have colors, Prague is all sorts of pastels, faded facades along narrow twisty alleyways, or overlooking elegant squares. The main square is overlooked by the original Cinderella's castle, made all the more impressive by being just slightly dilapidated. The whole city is this way, an old woman wearing old-fashioned worn-out clothing which still, somehow, suits her perfectly.

Keep in mind that when I say we were in Prague for Christmas, I really mean we were in Prague for Christmases. In Denmark, the big day is actually Christmas Eve, leading to eternal arguments about which day is the 'real' Christmas. On Danish Christmas, we went to Prague Castle, which includes a cathedral, which was, against all reasonable expectations, closed. On American Christmas, we went to a series of synagogues and a Jewish cemetary. This is in keeping with another tradition of doing decidedly un-Christmassy things on the 25th...last year, we spent part of the day visiting Mao's mausoleum.

Otherwise, the point of the whole journey was to relax, and considering how much work I knew was waiting for me at home, it was actually surprisingly relaxing. We strolled, souvenir shopped, took pictures, hung out in bars, walked back and forth on the Charles Bridge, and survived the cold. It was, in short, an ideal winter holiday.

Any suggestions on where to go next Christmas?

Writing a paper, take 2

Well, I figure a month without posting is long enough. I'm back in the blogosphere, and please be quite clear on the fact that I missed you all terribly. No really. Yes, even you. :-)

To update you all, although I am a procrastinator, I did finish my project on Sunday evening, did a bit of minor editing (it needed a lot more, but I just couldn't bring myself to look at it anymore) on Monday, and turned it in Tuesday late morning. I was curious how I would feel after it was done. Would I be relieved? Would I be sad? As it happens, I felt exactly the same. Stressed. Whatever I did that wasn't writing the paper (which of course was everything I did, seeing as the paper was finished), I felt pangs of guilt, that I should have been working on the paper instead. Then yesterday my body decided to release the stress...as illness. I'm not that sick (I mean I'm still going to work and everything), but I still feel pretty dreadful. So, in my last post, I could have put that 'writing a paper leads to stress-based illness'. Now, because this is Europe, the continent of the oral exam, I get to re-read the pensum (a lovely Danish word that means reading list for a course) and make sure I'm ready to defend my paper inasmuch as it is defensible, and describe it succinctly, and in three weeks (a bit less, actually), the cycle can start all over again with the next module in the course.

In more exciting news, during my month away, Denmark got a lot of snow (I love snow), I went on two trips (one for business and one for Christmas), and have been seeing lots of interesting things in the Danish papers. They could well be the subjects of more interesting posts in the very near future.