murmeldyr.no

The weblog of a traveller

Author Archive


   May 31

Flotilla of Freedom

Today we are all Palestinian. The events of this morning have shaken a whole world. I am of course thinking about the brutal overtaking of the international transport of aid for Gaza, the Flotilla of Freedom as it is dubbed. When the Flotilla was recruiting, I was thrilled and dreamy-eyed. In another situation I might […]

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   Apr 29

2 days in a treehouse

Now this post is coming shamefully after the fact, this is simply due to a temporary loss of speech induced by the awesomeness of the place. When I saw the treetop huts in the hostel catalog I was immediately fascinated, and booked a weekend in easter. The place is just north of Hamar, but not […]

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   Apr 25

Shoesgasm

Today was the treasure hunt of the year. One of the major theatres had its occasional costume sale. Over a thousand people turned up and were let in a hundred at a time. Thanks to early bird Marius we were first in the line, but were run past and down before even reaching the shelves. […]

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   Feb 11

Ancient crafts

Curious things to do with cardboard and paper clips (Note the interested onlooker under the table) So, this weave is just a bunch of cardboard pieces with holes in the corners. Make your own with some coasters and a puncher. The whole setup looks like a cobweb to start; however, follow the instructions and beautiful […]

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   Dec 11

Ecosia

Ecosia is a new (as of december 2009) eco-friendly search engine. The choice of a search provider may not seem like the biggest one you are making in the course of a day, but imagine the hellofalot of searches you do in a year – even a small difference in, say, energy consumption or investment […]

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   Nov 25

The Compulsory Gift

Whether you celebrate the change of seasons or a teenage mum giving birth under possibly unusual circumstances, the gift giving tradition can be a headache. There’s all sorts of requirements for this ritual exchange of stuff. The present should be personal and unique, sustainable, not too much but not skimpy (though where the line between […]

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   Nov 04

Getting Started

The hardest part of this work might be the timing. Undergrad lab courses have all been tightly time-controlled (do this-then do that-go for lunch-come back just in time for x while y is cooling-etc etc). Now how to plan all this? What to do when your one reaction lasts 2 hours, the other one is […]

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   Oct 24

Master’s Project

It happened ad detours. The project assignment process was recently reorganized to ensure fairness. Still, in the allotment of projects it seems that making everyone happy/evading complaints is more important than fairness. The result is a ratrace like before where the demanding students choose first, only now covertly and unpredictably. As a qualified and less-noisy […]

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   Sep 16

Number 13

As I was skimming through an article while waiting for my friend at a brown-ish cafe today, an elderly man approached me real close, tried to catch my eye and started reciting poetry in a calm, comforting voice. It was a gray, sobering text about the struggles of the working people in a time not […]

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   Sep 05

Welcome to my institute

Welcome to the building where I’ve spent most of my days lately. Oddities abound, and I decided to take you here and show you around before I get so accustomed I do not notice them anymore. The first thing that meets you inside is this guy and this guy. The foyer is full of dead […]

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