20 September, 2009

TacoFone's

Things are sometimes not what they seem. In Cyrillic script some letters look like others we are familiar with and some look different. Take for instance the letter F as we know it looks like ะค in Cyrillic. Cool isn't it. and some others are the same but different. like the letter o is almost always pronounced like a soft a. and a number 3 is actually a z , while the small capital H is actually the letter n, and the c is pronounced s. Got that. There will be a test later in this post.

Take for instance this telephone booth which in not in service, apparently leads one to question if it was a TACO-fone phone or a Toxa-fone phone. We have wondered what exactly that is all about and what one would use one for. To order tacos or to report hazardous waste spills. Or maybe this phone has some other sinister use we have not yet guessed. They are located all over Bay city and most are in this or worse shape. Apparently the coming of the Cell phone has killed the Takcofon phone market. But as always happens just when you decide to have no idea what is up a lightbulb illuminates and you know.


These phones were for ordering take out from the HAZMAT cafe.
Question answered and case closed.

Now that you have read all that, I hope the rest of your day goes better. Have a good one!

ST

15 September, 2009

Monthly post

humm this is a not so regular blog isn't it. Things get in the way of playing on the internet. What did we do before internet. Can you picture blogging by candlelight? Ya that is pretty lame wasn't it. In the last 4 weeks I have started a new post 6 or 7 times. I wanted to include pictures but I don't want to waste your time with bad ones so I haven't. Several months ago I started helping some friends register at a local university to take some classes. We spent the first two months working on getting the university to help us get them a visa. That didn't work so we got our own visas for them as students, it was easier and faster. That took about 2 weeks. So in June we started with the paperwork for their registrations. First we translated their passports and diplomas. Then we had those documents notarized. Then we took them to the local department of education who requested that we get copies of transcripts. When we had those we were then told that they needed to also be translated and notarized and accompanied by a copy of the institution who granted the diplomas' accreditation paperwork, which needed to be translated and notarized and accompanied by a document from the US embassy stating that it was correct. Right! Like that is going to happen. Last week our students started classes. All went well. It was decided that as they only wanted a couple semesters of language and not a degree that the translated diploma would do fine. Hurry up and wait.

Oh, about the pix;
Well, can your cat play cards?



This one is not a picture from here.

ST