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Buying Russian Train Tickets: A Tale of Language and Gaming
Goal Get from Moscow to Saint Petersburg on a particular day, starting at a particular time, and on a particular train. Trouble I don’t read Russian! Nor do I have a grasp on the phonetics of the alphabet, although I can now successfully remember/guess the sounds of some letters and thus near-cognates (e.g., “ДOKУMEHTA” is probably something about a document, although Google Translate throws up its hands). Things in My Favor I’m using Google Chrome, which seamlessly lets me toggle back and forth between the original Russian and translated English. I have a precise train number, car number, and set of seat options to book. (Hoo, boy, if this had…
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Visiting Russia: the Unfriendly Reactions
The trip to Russia is in planning–our traveling companion is researching hotels (so we can get visas!) and sight-seeing destinations in Moscow and St. Petersburg. What’s been surprising me is how much negativity I get when I tell people I’m planning a visit to Russia. “It’s depressing!” (with pictures like the one to the right) “Don’t go to XYZ!” “It’s super-dangerous!” “The USSR?!” It’s disappointing that my friends and colleagues have little other than (relatively uninformed, I think) skepticism and dire warnings. I find wonder in so many things; a few pictures from the internet don’t suffice to satisfy or discourage that. I might choose not to visit an active…
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Quasi-daily linkage
Alas, a blog » Blog Archive » Fragments of Evolving Manhood: Do You Like Your Body 3 (Preliminary Notes On the Expendability of the Foreskin) – In summary: I'm not a huge fan of circumcision. (Very long article.) MetaFilter Saved My Pals From Sex Traffickers—Exclusive Interview | Mother Jones – This is incredibly cool, although the article is a bit confusedly written. Blog U.: Book Publishers’ Regrets in 2025 – Technology and Learning – Inside Higher Ed – "Sell the Book, Not the Format: Whenever we buy a book we should automatically have the option of receiving the book in all formats." Big Fat Deal » The Rhetoric Of The…