Vodka Science With scientific use of special "science" implements like the "science" funnel and the "science" pole. I'm glad some one is doing this so I don't have to. The best vodka related pieces of advice I recieved in my years in RUK* were "eat" and "rub the bottom of the bottle. If your hand is black, the bottle has come off an assembly line and is probably safe, If your hand is still clean, it's probably samogon(homebrew)
or poison."



RUK=Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan

This Peace corps Volunteer has some words to live by

"Don't scrimp when buying electrical adaptors in Kazakhstan."


How true, how true. that goes for anywhere in the former Soviet Union. Where else in the world do you have to test light bulbs before you buy them?

Some of my own advice would be: You can repair leaky taps with string.



link
via The Argus

MMMM Anti Soviet Kitsch


via Boing Boing

Neeka is great. For a long time I've despaired of any of my Ukrainian friends giving a damn about what happens in their country and even found myself infected with their cynicism. I've been watching and reading about events there with a mixture of relief that folks had finally roused themselves and morbid fear that the criminals won't release their sweaty panicked grip on the levers of power without a bloody fight. Thank you Neeka and the thousands of others for proving that Ukraine has not yet died.

In my first teaching job in a certain ex-soviet country, I was assigned to teach in the showcase class next to the office reception area. It was the showcase because it was slightly better equipped than the other classrooms in other parts of the building. the chairs were newer the light was better and it had the only white board in the whole school.

I made two main mistakes with that first class. The first mistake was telling the students that they were my first class. There was a stampede at the end of the first lesson with all of the students demanding to be switched to another class. The school administration, acting with the zeal only possible from those newly converted to the dogma of "the customer is always right," promptly emptied my group; only to have it reassembled a week later when the Director of Studies got back from holiday.

The second mistake was my "Oliver Twist"-like request for "more, please." More whiteboard pens, that is. More pens were duly proffered but only after surrender of the used ones.
The next day, I walked into class and the whiteboard had been replaced with a chalk board!