Wednesday 30 May 2018

08:00 Lois and I get up and take a shower. Even though it is raining today and the temperature at night is not that high yet, we take the plunge and replace our winter duvet with the summer one.

10:00 I get started with leafing through the first half of "Line", the Danish crime novella which is our U3A Danish group's next project. The group is to hold its next meeting here tomorrow at 2:30pm. I'm sure the group's members (except Jeanette, our Danish member) will be very rusty tomorrow because we have not had a real meeting since late February, because of Lois' and my 2 month stay in Australia with Sarah, our youngest daughter, and her family.

Lois and I have recently discussed whether it would be better (and faster) if we just limited ourselves to learning Danish sign language.

I recalled a report in Onion News a few years ago, where a team of American researchers announced that they had successfully taught American sign language to a 43-year-old gorilla-suit-wearing male. The news was hailed at the time as a major breakthrough by the scientific community.

The researchers (who worked at the Oregon National Primate Research Center) told reporters that Brian, a western Kansas-born male in a gorilla costume living in their facility, had already learned 250 words in sign language, including all 26 letters in the alphabet, basic greetings and even more short, simple sentences.

"It has been an extensive process, but it is remarkable to see that Brian is beginning to express his thoughts and feelings to us in sign language," lead researcher Rebecca Hayes. She told reporters that after only nine months of instruction, the fully adult gorilla-suited male was already able to put his thoughts together in almost complete sentences. "He's not only able to tell us when he's hungry or thirsty, but he can now use signs to show feelings of happiness, anger and even love."

Interesting article! But I also recalled that the experiment ended badly when members of the Oregon National Primate Research Center, just two days after Hayes and her team talked with journalists, issued a solemn statement saying they were forced to euthanize Brian after the gorilla-costumed man suddenly felt threatened in his environment and violently attacked a researcher leaving him in critical condition.

Good grief, what madness! It may be that our U3A group members will have to limit ourselves to the written and oral forms of the Danish language - that's something I have no doubts about !

13:00 We have lunch and afterwards I go to bed and take a huge afternoon nap. In the meantime, Lois does the dusting in the living room where our Danish group will gather tomorrow afternoon.

15:30 I get up and Lois and I relax on the couch with a cup of tea and a piece of carrot cake.

17:00 I jump up my exercise bike and cycle 6 miles.

17:30 I take a little look online and I see that Ed, our son-in-law in Copenhagen, has posted an interesting news item on Facebook. He is flying to England this weekend to play golf with his brothers and father, and to clear up in the family's old house in Haslemere.

It is now absolutely certain that Ed, together with our eldest daughter Alison, and their 3 children, will move back to England at the end of June. Ed's attempt to find another job on the continent has failed for the moment. He has to clear up their English house and make more space in the attic: they have to transport a lot of items and furniture back from their house in Copenhagen. Poor Ed !!!!

18:00 Lois has back problems again today, so it's my responsibility to make dinner: my signature dish - fish fingers, boiled potatoes and baked beans - yum yum!

20:00 We spend the rest of the evening watching television. An interesting documentary is on, all about crash diets. The host of the program is the charming Javid Abdelmoneim (crazy name, crazy guy).

Another example of where the medical profession is beginning to backtrack. For years they have been saying that crash diets were a bunch of crap because you quickly put on weight again after the diet was over. But now they are beginning to change their minds. So can we rely on anything they say? What madness !!!!

21:00 We continue to watch a bit of television. Another interesting documentary is on (1st part of 3) all about Pompeii. The program's hosts are the charming Bettany Hughes, Raksha Dave and John Sergeant.

An interesting, moving film - the programme-makers were allowed to have some plaster casts "admitted" to the hospital so they could undergo a CT scan. Some previous theories are disproved. For example, a person who was thought to be a tall African adult (thick lips !!!), a probable gladiator, turned out to be a 15-year-old boy, with no sign that he was not Italian ha ha ha!

Another one believed to be male because of the suggestion of a seemingly small lump in the crotch proves to be a woman ha ha ha! What a crazy world we live in !!!!

22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzz !!!!

Danish translation

08:00 Lois og jeg står op og tager et brusebad. Selvom det regner igen i dag og temperaturen om natten ikke er ret høj endnu, vover vi springet og udskifter vores vinterdyne med sommerdynen.

10:00 Jeg går i gang med at blade igennem den første halvdel af ”Line”, den danske kriminovelle, der er vores U3A danske gruppes næste projekt. Gruppen holder sit næste møde hos os i morgen kl 14:30. Jeg er helt sikker på, at gruppens medlemmer (bortset fra Jeanette, vores danske medlem) vil være meget rustne i morgen, fordi vi ikke har haft et rigtigt møde siden slutningen af februar, på grund af Lois’ og min 2 måneders ophold i Australien hos Sarah, vores yngste datter, og hendes familie.

Lois og jeg har for nylig diskuteret, om det ville være bedre (og hurtigere) hvis vi bare begrænsede os til at lære danske tegnsprog.

Jeg mindes en rapport i Onion News for nogle år siden, hvor et hold af amerikanske forskere meddelte, at de med succes havde lært amerikansk tegnsprog til en 43-årig gorillakostume bærende mand. Nyheden blev hyldet på det tidspunkt som et stort gennembrud af det videnskabelige samfund.

Forskerne (der arbejdede i Oregon National Primate Research Center) fortalte journalister, at Brian, en vestlig Kansas-født mand i en gorillakostume, der boede i deres anlæg, allerede havde lært 250 ord på tegnsprog, herunder alle 26 bogstaver i alfabetet, grundlæggende hilsner og endda flere korte, enkle sætninger.

"Det har været en omfattende proces, men det er bemærkelsesværdigt at se, at Brian begynder at udtrykke sine tanker og følelser til os på tegnsprog", sagde leadforsker Rebecca Hayes og fortalte journalister, at efter kun ni måneders instruktion var den store voksne gorilla-kostumeret mand var allerede i stand til at sætte sine tanker sammen i næsten fuldstændige sætninger. "Han har ikke kun mulighed for at fortælle os, når han er sulten eller tørstig, men han kan nu bruge tegn til at vise følelser af lykke, vrede og endog kærlighed."

Interessant artikel! Men jeg mindes også, at eksperimentet endte galt, da medlemmer af Oregon National Primate Research Center, bare to dage efter at Hayes og hendes hold talte med journalister, udstedte en højtidelig erklæring, der sagde, at de blev tvunget til at euthanere Brian, efter at den gorilla-kostumeret mand pludselig følte sig truet i sit miljø og voldsomt angreb en forsker, og forlod ham i kritisk stand.

Du godeste, sikke et vanvid! Det kan være at vores U3A gruppemedlemmer må hellere begrænse os til det danske sprogs skriftlige og mundlige former, det har jeg ikke nogen tvivl om det!

13:00 Vi spiser frokost og bagefter går jeg i seng og tager en gigantisk eftermiddagslur. Lois går i mellemtiden i gang med at støve af i stuen, hvor vores danske gruppe skal samles i morgen eftermiddag.

15:30 Jeg står op og Lois og jeg slapper af i sofaen med en kop te og et stykke gulerødskage.

17:00 Jeg hopper op på min kondicykel og cykler 6 miles.

17:30 Jeg kigger lidt på nettet, og jeg ser at Ed, vores svigersøn i København har lagt en interessant nyhed op på Facebook. Han flyver til England i weekenden for at spille golf med sine brødre og far, og at rydde lidt op i familiens gamle hus i Haslemere.

Det er nu helt sikkert at Ed, sammen med vores ældste datter Alison, og deres 3 børn, flytter tilbage til England ved slutningen af juni. Eds forsøg på at finde et andet job på kontinentet har for tiden mislykket. Han skal rydde lidt op i deres engelske hus og gøre mere plads i loftet: de skal få transporteret en masse ting og møbler tilbage fra deres hus i København. Stakkels Ed!!!!

18:00 Lois har rygproblemer igen i dag, så det er mit ansvar at lave aftensmaden: min signaturret – fiskepinder, kogte kartofler og baked beans – yum yum!

20:00 Vi bruger resten af aftenen på at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en interessant dokumentarfilm, der handler om crashslankekure. Programmets vært er den charmerende Javid Abdelmoneim (skørt navn, skør fyr).

  

Endnu et eksempel, hvor den medicinske profession begynder at trække i land. I årevis havde de sagt, at crashslankekure var noget skrammel, fordi man hurtigt tog på i vægt igen efter slankekur var slut. Men nu begynder de at skifte mening. Kan vi så stole på noget som helst af det, de siger? Sikke et vanvid!!!!

21:00 Vi fortsætter med at se lidt fjernsyn. De viser en anden interessant dokumentarfilm (1. del af 3), der handler om Pompeii. Programmets værter er de charmerende Bettany Hughes, Raksha Dave og John Sergeant.

En interessant, rørende film – programmagerne fik lov til at få nogle af gipsafstøbninger ”indlagt” på hospitalet, så de kunne gennemgå en CT-scanning. Nogle tidligere teorier bliver modbevist. For eksempel, en person, som man troede var en høj afrikanske voksen (tykke læber!!!), en sandsynlig gladiator, viste sig at være en dreng på 15 år, med ingen tegn på, at han ikke var italiensk ha ha ha!

En anden, der man troede var mandlig på grund af antydningen af et tilsyneladende lille klump i skridtet viser sig at være kvinde ha ha ha! Sikke en skør verden vi lever i !!!!

22:00 Vi går i seng – zzzzzz!!!!