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A nice inconsistency in Finnish

I am currently studying Systems Biology at Aalto University in Finland and as a consequence I am also trying to learn the Finnish language. Sometimes it can be very confusing, because although Estonian and Finnish are quite similar, there are also many false friends – similar words that mean completely different things.

The best pair that I have found so far are words for south and south-west. In Estonian south-west is edel, south is lõuna and lunch or noon is also lõuna. So in Estonian at lunch time (12 o’clock, lõuna ajal) the sun is in the south (lõunas), which is very nice and logical.

The Finnish word for lunch is also lounas, but the words for south and south-west have been switched, so that now etelä means south and lounas means south-west. As a result in Finnish at lunch time (lounaan aikana), the sun is in etelä (south) and will only reach lounas (south-west) in a couple of hours, depending on the season. Alternative explanation is of course that Finns do have lunch when the sun is in lounas and this time just varies heavily depending on whether it is currently summer or winter. :)

Microserfs

Leidsin just draftide hulgast mõned tsitaadid 2008 kevadel loetud raamatust “Microserfs“, mis millegi pärast õigel ajal postitamata jäid. Ilmselt tahtsin midagi pikemat juurde kirjutada, aga nüüd on nagunii juba lootusetult hilja.

  • “There’s just so much I want to forget, Dan. I thought I was going to be a READ ONLY file. I never thought I’d be … interactive.”
  • “When they make processed cheese slices that are only 80 percent milk, what’s the remaining 20 percent made from?” Michael replied instantly, “Why, nonmilk additives, of course.”
  • “Bodies are like diskettes with tags. You click on to them and you can see the size an type of file immediately. On people, this labeling occurs on the face.”
  • “It’s like male geeks don’t know how to deal with real live women, so they just assume it’s a user interface problem. Not their fault. They’ll just wait for the next version to come out – something more “user friendly.”"
  • “Handmade presents are scary because they reveal that you have too much free time.”
  • “…well, actually, Stalinism is an application, not an operating system. I mean, if you want to wipe out 40 million people, you install Stalinism on your hard drive. It’s like a political ebola virus.”

Päeva küsimus

You know you're from Estonia when…

Pärit selliselt leheküljelt. Loodan, et esialgne postitaja ei pahanda.

1. You use the word ‘normal’ if something is ok.
2. When visiting friends abroad you bring along a box of Kalev chocolate.
3. You attended a song festival at least once either as a performer or as a spectator.
4. You know that going to the sauna is 80% about networking and 20% about washing
5. You are nationalistic about Skype (it is actually an Estonian company)
6. ‘Kohuke’ belongs to your menu
7. You declare your taxes on the internet like all modern people
8. You actually believed for a while that Latvians had 6 toes per foot when you heard that as a child
9. You are convinced that Estonia is very strategically located
10. You spent at least one midsummer in Saaremaa, Hiiumaa or one of the smaller islands
11. You can quote films like “Viimne reliikvia” and “Siin me oleme”
12. You spit three times around your left shoulder for good luck
13. Words like “veoauto”, “täieõiguslik” or “jää-äär” sound perfectly pronouncable to you
14. You like bold statements, such as this one…
15. There can never be too much sarcasm
16. You can at times drink hot tea to hot food
17. You are disappointed that Jaan Kross never got the Nobel prize in literature
18. It would not be suprising for English-speakers to find your name naughty (Peep, Tiit, Andres [sounds like undress]) or hippy (Rein, Rain)
19. You have been to Finland
20. You say ‘Noh’ (sounds like NO) even when you speak English, just to confuse people
21. You know the lyrics to “Mutionu” and “Rongisõit”
22. You would never mistaken Kreisiraadio for a radio station
23. You would agree that wife-carrying is a real sport (at least as long as Estonians are winning)
24. Your best friend’s girlfriend is your English teacher’s daughter and they live next door to your grandparents, who were colleagues with your advisor, who is friends with your…
25. You think that any beverage below 20% is non-alcoholic
26. You check the thermometer before going out
27. You look in both directions before crossing the road, even if it’s a one-way street
28. You grin very mysteriously when people ask about your national food
29. You teach a non-Estonian speaker the word “Tänan” before “Aitäh”
30. You put ketchup inside your pasta (french-cooked gourmet faire la fine manger pasta) in order to not to get the ketchup-bowl dirty
31. You cheated on your wife/husband at least ten times but you still think you’re in a good marriage.
32. When someone asks you “where is Estonia?” you quickly reply that it’s located in Northern Europe close to Finland…
33. Your grandmother’s “purse” is an old plastic bag that has been reused several times
34. Sour cream tastes good with everything
35. A foreigner speaks to you in broken horrible Estonian and you go on and on about how wonderful their Estonian is compared to “the Russians’”
36. You have ever worn or seen anyone wear “karupüksid”
37. You have heard the phrase “Estonians are slow” at least once
38. Kui sa saad aru, mis siia kirjutatud on
39. You find yourself continually ignoring the gender in other languages
40. You say ‘kurat’ as at least every second word
41. You consider running to the shop at 19.50 on Friday evening to buy some booze, a sport
42. You are a true Estonian when you come from Tallinn, because if you are from Tallinn you think Tallinn IS Estonia and that’s true of course that Tallinn is Estonia
43. When someone says “Estonians are so beautiful” you answer almost without emotions “I know”
44. You have tried to explain people that “kauboi” is actually a word in Estonian
45. You don’t think that terviSEKS is a funny word
46. You don’t find the Estonian equivalent to the expressions “twelve months”, “1002″ and “12 buses” remotely funny
47. Even though you never met Toots, Teele and Kiir you know exact what they are like
48. You grin when someone you know says that they bought a BMW
49. You know how to end the sentence “Kui Arno isaga koolimajja jõudis…”

Videod

Viimasel ajal olen ma leidnud päris mitu ühe laulu põhjal tehtud videot. Amateur Transplants – Finals Countdown:Wallstrip – STOK TIKR SING ALNG:

Here Comes Another Bubble v1.1 – The Richter Scales:

 Viimane on JibJab Sendables – In 2007, aga seda ei oska ma kahjuks ilusti postitusse sisse panna. Ja lõpuks ka üks üsna hea video originaalist: Billy Joel – We Didn’t Start the Fire.

Inimestele ikka meeldib ennast imetleda…

“A large hotel in an American city received many complaints about the slowness of its elevators. It installed mirrors next to the elevator doors. The complaints ended.” – Lawrence Lessig, Code: Version 2.0

 

Keel

Küll on ikka hea, et eesti keeles on ainult üks “tema”. Päris huvitav on vaadata, mida kõike inglise keeles välja ei mõelda, kui on vaja rääkida kellestki, kelle sugu ei ole määratud. Vanemates raamatutest kasutati igal pool “he”-d, kuna see aga on tänapäeval sooline diskirmineerimine ja väljend “he or she” on liiga kohmakas, siis ma olen märganud, kuidas mõnikord räägitakse ühest inimesest, aga kasutatakse asesõna “they”. Praegu käes olevas raamatus kirjutatakse aga “he” ja “she” korda-mööda, õnneks küll mitte päris ühes lauses.

Kaarsild

Kuna Tartu kaarsild on viimasel ajal nii kuum teema, et sellest isegi saksa lehed kirjutavad, siis oleks ilmselt paslik rääkida, kuidas Berliinis sellist käitumist vältida üritatakse.

Imelikud kogemused Orkutiga

Juba teada probleemiks on neil see, et vahel sisse logides tuleb teade, nagu oleks mul postkastis uus kiri, kuigi tegelikult ei ole seal midagi. Viimasel ajal olen ma kogenud Orkutis aga veel ühte huvitavat nähtust. Nimelt ühele kindlale inimesele saadetud sõnumid ei jõua minu Sent kausta ja tema poolt saadetud vastused ei jõua minu Inbox kausta. (Kiri jõuab kohale, sest tema vastus mulle meili peale tuleb). Ma tegin sellekohase teema ka Orkuti abifoorumisse, aga eks ole näha kas sealt ka mingi vastus tuleb. On keegi veel midagi sarnast kogenud?

Nigeeria Ülikool

LHV foorumis viidatkse sellele, et nüüd on nigeeria kirjadele lisaks tulnud ka Nigeeria Ülikool. Paar tsitaati sellelt lehelt:

“Your PhotoShop class was the best help I ever received.  Not only am I now able to amuse myself with multiple identities, but no one can find me now!  I ran away from my spend-thrift wife, cut off the alimony payments to the kids, hehehe… even the utility services can’t find me.  University of Nigeria helped me save thousands upon thousands of dollars.  Thank you for improving my life and providing me with the economic freedom I have been searching for.”

“University of Nigeria is the best in the world.  I never took any tests, graduated in less than a year, and already made my first million.  Thank you University of Nigeria.  You people are the best!”

Sellele ei ole vaja ilmselt midagi lisada.

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