Valborg

As usual the Lund University students take their spring celebrations seriously.

People enjoying themselves

The cool gang.

The ass is hanging out. He does not seem to mind.

Action by the Baja-major

The mel-man is checking out the crowd. He was even given an offer to become the father to some labrador - border collie - jack russel mix puppies, the guy had a friend that had a bitch in heat. I politely declined, with the excuse that melvin is too young still. He said he'd bring the dog next Valborg, and his labrador-border collie could hook up with melvin then. I said that was a good idea (but I wasn't sincere).

Even the mental institution has opened their doors and let the insane ones free for the day.

Officially summer!

The summer is here. Sun, warmth, but most importantly my flowers have returned from their hibernation in Kattarp to my balcony.

Come on summer, do your best to make these plants explode in crisp green interspersed with all possible flower colours! Melvin is checking out the balcony, or rather checking out everything surrounding the balcony. He's the real poser.

Playing

Cute Cat did NOT want to play with the XL pig's ears we bought for Melvin.


And Melvin REALLY wanted to play with them, but he was not allowed. He has to wait for them to be soaked in water and tied to a string, pulled along the grass, in order for him to find it. Perhaps during the weekend in Kattarp.

Makeovers

Before.

After.


AND.

Before.

After.

Hanami att Norra Fäladen

Me, Melvin AND Cute Cat sat on the lawn for a little while yesterday, trying to enjoy the sun. It didn't work out too well. Cute Cat was constantly trying to walk further than his leash stretched, and Melvin was trying to bite him. And me, I was trying to cure my headache, which I had no luck with. But it was cozy while it lasted.

To get to the truth

Flera företag inriktar sig numera på att ge dig servicen att berätta vad som hänt med dina gamla vänner och klasskamrater, t.ex. myspace, facebook, och klassträffen.se

Men får du verkligen reda på sanningen här? Kommer dina vänner avslöja vad som egentligen hänt dem - om deras fortkörningsböter, domar, 3 misslyckade äktenskap, skulder etc. Och detta är, så klart, det du egentligen vill veta. Har jag fel?

Så varför inte ta saken i egna händer och verkligen ta reda på vad de döljer. Välj ut en person, och följ listan nedan.

1. Välj ut någon du vill kartlägga.
2. Sök på eniro.se eller hitta.se för att få reda på adress, telefonnummer, födelsedag. Misströsta inte om detta misslyckas, hoppa bara vidare till punkt 3 nedan.
3. Ring Skatteverket (du kan vara anonym) och ge personnummer eller berätta vad du vet om den person du vill höra mer om. När ni fastställt personnummer så anteckna detta, och ställ följande frågor
A. Folkbokföringsadress
B. Civilstånd (ogift/gift/skild)
B1. Få personnummer/namn på de personer de är gifta med/skilda från.
C. Fråga om de har barn, och när de fötts (och personnummer/namn på den andra föräldern)
D. Fråga om deras föräldrar (personnummer, var de är mantalsskrivna, vem de är gifta med etc. etc.)
E. Fråga om ditt offer äger ett hus (och om taxeringsvärde och fastighetsbeteckning på detta huset.

Tacka och lägg på.

Du har nu en bra bas att bygga vidare på. Kanske du fått fram något smaskigt - han har kanske varit gift 4 gånger sedan ni tog studenten, och alla hans fyra ex-fruar är syskon. Eller kanske han bor i ett ruckel som är taxerat till 50 000 kr.

Du har nu flera uppslag - personnumret är nyckeln till allt.

1. Du kan ringa Vägverket och fråga om vilka körkortsklasser personen har, historiken (om han/hon fått prickar eller blivit av med körkortet), medicinska prövningar som han/hon fått genomgå för att få körkoret. Här kan du också få veta om personen äger en bil, och om denna bilen någonsin fått parkeringsböter - och hur mycket de varit på!).
2. Försäkringskassan ger dig uppgifter om vilken arbetsgivare personen har, och om han/hon är anställd på en myndighet t.ex. skola, sjukhus, polisen etc. så kan du dessutom få fram en personakt som innehåller personens CV.
3. Du kan ringa gamla skolan och fråga om avgångsbetygen, eller Verket för Högskoleservice för att ta reda på om han/hon sökt till universitetet vid något tillfälle (och då kan du också få reda på avgångsbetyg från gymnasiet).
4. CSN berättar gladeligen för dig hur mycket personen har tagit i studielån och var han/hon studerar eller har studerat.
5. Lantmäteriet kan berätta för dig (om du har fastighetsbeteckningen som skatteverket gett dig) om det eventuella huset han/hon köpt - hur stort det är till ytan, antal våningar, etc.
6. Skatteupplysningen berättar gärna för dig om vilken årsinkomst och förmögenhet han/hon har.
7. När du fått reda på av Försäkringskassan var personen jobbar kan du ringa lönekontoret på hans/hennes arbetsplats och fråga hur mycket de ger honom/henne i lön i månaden.
8. Kronofogden (och nu blir det ju intressant!) berättar om skulder, och böter som personen har och har haft.
9. Tingsrätten i hans/hennes kommun berättar gärna om de någonsin dömt honom/henne för något, och om eventuellt böter/fängelsestraff.
10. Pastorsexpeditionen berättar om personen är medlem i Svenska Kyrkan (om man av någon anledning skulel bry sig om detta!).
11. Bolagsverket berättar gärna om personen driver ett företag, eller sitter i en företagsstyrelse (och vilka andra personer som sitter i den styrelsen).
12. Pliktverket avslöjar om personen gjort lumpen, och i så fall när, i vilket förband, var, resultat på fys-test, och betyg.

Ja du, någonstans där borde du kunna hitta något spännande, och undan för undan måla fram en bild av personen. En vanlig google.se-sökning är ju inte att underskatta heller förstås, inte heller att ringa personen och fråga (du har ju numret nu), men om du vill veta sanningen så tror jag nu du vet var du egentligen ska vända dig...

pretty flowers

Birthday gift!

My parents came over for waffles and to celebrate Joding's birthday today. The birthday was friday, but not much celebration was going on then. Some virus had just infected me, so I couldn't go pick up Joding's gift - so I sent my mum. And as usual, she's just the best mum ever, always there! From my parents Joding got two bottles of Innis and Gunn-beer, some beer brewed in Edinburgh - we will go check out the brewery when we go there in august. He also got 6 different 5-cL-whiskeys from different regions in Scotland.

And from me, he got a digital photo frame. The funny thing is, a few days after I had come up with the idea to give him such a frame for his birthday, he told me about 'these digital photo-frames' and how 'one should have one of those'. He had absolutely no idea I was getting it for him, and he had long forgotten ever talking about it. A typical necessity!

Pretty chica!

My pretty friend became even prettier after a facial and make up. She was not too comfortable in the lipstick, but oh so pretty!

Happiness in my vicinity

Pretty flowers makes you happy for at least a week. Then they die. Then you buy some new!

Cute Cat makes me happy. He's soft, cuddly (when forced), and has a vast personality.

Joding and Melvin makes me very happy too. I like Melvin's ass, it's so cute with the fur in spirals on each cheek! He's cute whatever he does, and whichever angle you view him from. It's just the way he is. And the same goes for Joding, I can't imagine a better person to have close to me.

Narrowing ray

My pretty one is catching the last few rays of sun on the livingroom floor. I lifted him up to warm his ass in Cute Cat's window, but Joding did not approve of this. So now Melvin is forced back down on the cold floor, squeezing the last warmth from the narrowing ray.

The progress

I will let you all participate in my misery, i.e. acute tonsilitis (halsfluss). I can feel it coming, and thought I'd blog the important hallmark time-points and symptoms. So if you never have had tonsilitis, or has forgotten what it feels like - here is your chance to become virtually infected by the bacteria!

Saturday 4.20 pm
No fever has arrived, instead a runny nose and lots of sneezing. So the bacteria theory has been thrown out the window - I'm glad I never started the round of antibiotics. I feel week, and frustrated that I can't go out walking, running and playing in the sunshine. I have to live vicariously through Melvin and Joding.

Friday 2.35 pm
Have slept since Joding made me breakfast at 9 am. I really want to go pick up his birthday gift, but it does not seem possible. And he says he doesn't mind not getting anything on his birthday, which probably is true. But I know I would! The two colonies are still there, and my throat is still very soar. Still no fever. I should probably start the antibiotics, but I want to make really sure of the diagnosis first.

Friday 6.20 am
Still awake, and the first sneeze departs my nose.

Friday 5.03 am
I wake up, and the first thing I sense is a sharp pain in my throat when I try to swallow, which is probably what woke me up in the first place. Starting to think about what it can mean for my planned work at the lab during the weekend, and for my weekend in general, I decide to put on my robe and get up - I cannot fall asleep just now. The anguish of still remembering what the mouth tasted like the last time streptococcus bacteria made a settlement, along with the bitter medication, is starting to worry me. I feel some sniffles, and I had to blow my nose (probably not for the last time for the next few days). I feel annoyed getting ill on my boyfriends' birthday - I still need to go down and pick up the gift that's finally back in stock, and I want to cook for him, and make it his day, not sitting around whining.The potential patch of tonsilitis colony is still there.

Friday 1.30 am
The soarness is still there when I'm turning off the lights to go to sleep. It's not painful, just an obvious hint. I shine a flashlight into my throat, and it looks a bit red, but it's hard to tell anything. I saw one patch of potential tonsilitis colony.

Thursday 11.05 pm
I notice I have a hint of soarness in my throat when I sit by the computer.


My first thoughts of trying to place blame has made their way into my head, now I'll carefully study incubation-times and in detail go through who I met when. My hope is to find the one that brought me this bacteria, and force them to buy me ice-cream and make me a nice cup of tea.

Bodies!

The very cool exhibit Bodies is now in Copenhagen for the rest of the year! I will SO visit it, you should too. Check out the link

http://sydsvenskan.se/danmark/article316595.ece

Two signatures down...

The papers for surname-changing and consideration of impediments to marriage (hindersprövning) has been signed, less than four months left until THE wedding!

Aren't you curious which surname it will be? You'll have to find out later!

Playing

Melvin is playing with grandma and grandpa. Grandpa is trying to box Melvin on the lip, while grandma is tickling him (him referring to Melvin). They all seem to enjoy it.

Smart animals

In Lund, even the animals are academically smart.

Joding and Melvin is writing a doctoral thesis on "Recombinant amelogenin - strategies for purification and protein processing".


And me and Cute Cat is learning the essence of critical information processing, argumentation analysis and rhetorics.

Unhealthy cookies?

Sydsvenskan reports that cookies contain more fat than noted on the package, up to 20% more fat than it says on the box.
http://sydsvenskan.se/kropp/article315351.ece



Now, in the line of critical information processing, let's look at this piece of news.

First of all, one should be careful when drawing quick conclusions based on facts given in %. The cookie contains 20% more fat than noted on the package. It can easily be perceived that the cookie contains 43% fat instead of the 23% fat that Göteborgs kex reports that Ballerina cookies contain. Which is not true. For simplicity. Say the cookie weighs 100 g. On the package it lets you now that the cookie contain 23% fat, i.e. 23 g of the cookie is fat. 20% more than that is 4.6 g more fat, so in total 27.6 % fat, not 43 % fat. I'm sure it's all obvious when thinking about it, but reporting percentages is an easy way to lure someone to think there is an extreme discrepancy in reported vs. actual fat-content.

It is also interesting that Sydsvenskan shows that Livsmedelsverket has reported the Ballerina cookies containing 20% more fat than on the package, whereas DN (http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=3130&a=759992&rss=145) shows that Livsmedelsverket has reported that Ballerina cookies contain 31% more fat than on the package. So one really has to go to the source on this one, what did Livsmedelsverket really report? Actually, Livsmedelsverket reports that the declaration on the Ballerina box is 23 g fat, and the real content is 30.2 g fat, which means 31 % more fat in product compared to noted on box. So, where did the percentage 20 % that Sydsvenskan reports come from?

Now, as important as it might be for food to have a clear declaration of contents, I don't really think this discrepancy (20 or 31 %) is of any significance to the public. If Göteborgs kex had neglected to report that they put in pig's feet, or perhaps something people might be allergic to, like nuts or lactose, then it would have had a greater significance. If they write on their cookie boxes that the cookies contain 23 % fat, instead of 27,6 % fat (or 23 instead of 30.2 %) does it reallymatter? Who eats cookies when trying to reduce fat-intake? Upon guessing how much fat there is in a Ballerina cookie before you eat it, would you be right on 27.6 % fat (or 23 %)? I could just as well have guessed 50%, and still eaten the cookie. So has anything really changed? Is Göteborgs kex at great faulty?

And also, this is a good example of source critisism, and how much you need to use it. If the discrepancy between DN and Sydsvenskan can be several %-units when reporting something they have picked up from the exact same source (i.e. Livsmedelsverket), what else do they diverge in when reporting? Isn't that perhaps what's really interesting in this story?

Decisions

I had just decided it would me too much for me to write up my thesis and finish two papers during the fall, along with full-time journalism studies. Journalism studies that would continue during the spring as well, the spring when I will "just" prepare and defend my thesis. So I had decided to skip the idea of journalism studies right now. I had found a part-time course in massmedia-knowledge from the university in Gothenburg, a distance-course. I thought maybe I could apply for that one instead. I had come to terms with my "limitations", and was fine with it.

Then my sweet contact at Sydsvenskan Sarah Nylund send me an e-mail. She told me she had showed her boss the portrait I had done of her. This boss, the domestic boss at Sydsvenskan, had then said 'she's got real journalism potential'. Which Sarah kindly let me know.

Five words. That 5 words can just turn things upside down all over again. A compliment. I'm like a desert when it comes to compliments. Not that I don't get any, just that I inhale them, suck them up, and I just love them so much. So now I'm all "but maybe I still can do it all", "I can't throw away this potential", "it's not fair to journalism to not do it now", and other silly arguments. So now I'm all clueless again. I really should focus on reading for my exam I have monday, but I just can't get it out of my head. What should I apply for? Tuesday evening 11.59 pm, before that I must have decided and applied.

Dog course

Doing "kanin" (rabbit) at the dog school

Learning to sniff up a trace...

But before he could find the treat, a murder snail had already found the lost pig's ear. I didn't kill the little snail though, he looked so cute and innocent.

Someone is very proud having found the pig's ear all by himself, by using his nose to sniff it out. He is the smallest dog at the course, therefore the slowest one to finish his ear. So he had a long time he could just walk close to the other dogs and tease them with his pig's ear.

Party!

On my way to a 3x30-years-old-party. Wearing super-red Mary Kay lipstick. And some clothes.

Tulips!

The tulips on the balcony are happy about the sun and semi-warmth, and so am I!

I've been working out hard today, and in an hour we're going to go check out a house we're interested in. The sun's out, and all's well!

720th

What better to blog about in my 720th post, than a drink recipe!

I just improved the cosmopolitan recipe, exchanging the cranberry juice to Proviva watermelon-cranberry.

Good for stomach and soul!

Some might argue that the happy Proviva-bacteria might not enjoy the ethanol concentration in the drink, and die before ever reaching my stomach. But those people are just jealous that they didn't come up with the recipe first!