laundry

Today is laundry day at Chez Andrew. Soon to be ex-Chez Andrew (f.d. hos Andrew) I leave for the UK on Sunday. After a week visiting B et. al. I'll go to Florida for a week, Santa Fe for a month, then the West Coast for a few weeks before going back to the UK. I'm not allowed to be back to Sweden for 90. Silly Schengen visa rules.

The laundry room is called a tvättstuga (tvätt = wash, stuga = cabin or cottage; in Sweden you take a sauna in a bastu, short for "badstuga" = bath cottage). As usual for Europe the washing machines take forever. I thought it was because they were gentler than US washing machines. Emily has an XP or Agile methodology essay on the wall at work using washing as a metaphor for software development. It says the wash takes 25 minutes. I pointed that out to her and she was surprised at how short that was. Wash here is usually an hour or more. Same in South Africa.

I think it was Laura who pointed out that washing machines here are only connected to the cold water tap. They have to heat the water too. That explains some of the increase in time. Is that the only reason?

The tvättstuga also has a torkskåp. That's a drying cabinet. The Swedish Wikipedia entry has a good picture. Open the cabinet doors and pull the rack out. Hang the clothes on the rack and close it back up. Press the temperature button (40C or 60C). Wait. Rather like a mechanical clothesline. I visited Rhoda many yearss ago. In winter she ran a line across her basement. It worked albeit slowly because of the moisture. I imagine that's the reason for developing the torkskåp.

Google reports several hits for "drying cabinet". The first page's hit were all from manufacturers and appliance sales places. Staber reports:

The Staber Drying Cabinet is a very unique product that will be a new concept to the U.S. This new high-end product would be an alternative to a conventional clothes dryer, and is simply a different way to dry laundry.

It operates like an accelerated clothesline, circulating air throughout the cabinet. You can put anything in it at the same time (winter boots and heavy jackets), and use it for delicate items or things you do not want to shrink. The drying cabinet uses a 1,500 W heating element, using just 2.8 kWh for a standard load. In comparison, traditional tumble dryers commonly use a 4,000 W heating element.

The life expectancy for the drying cabinet is around 15 years, and there is very little maintenance if it is ever required. Drying cabinets are a common way to dry laundry in Scandinavian countries, and they are used in addition to traditional tumble dryers.

Laura and Jacob's old place on Linnégatan had a torkrum (rum = "room" in English). Not a cabinet but a whole room, with air pipes above head level acting like the clothesline. Heated air was forced through the pipes, to dry the clothes.

My load should be done by now. Oh, and a neat thing is that since I dry at 40C which is about 100F I don't have to worry about keeping some of the laundry in too long. It doesn't get that hot tortured feel of leaving things in too long in the tumble dryer.

proper clothing

There's an expression I first heard as being Norwegian but I've also heard said as being from Iceland or Finland. "There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes." It had to have come from some place without tornadoes, unless you count a storm cellar as clothing.

I took a long walk both yesterday and today. Yesterday I walked from here to Nya Varvet, mostly along the river's edge. It's a working river and I walked by or through a couple of ferry terminals, cargo yards, wharves and the fish market. The last used to be where The Fish Church is now but moved some time back. The fish harbor is good sized, with many companies located there, an auction house and (because this is Sweden and they believe in Education) a school for training in the fish industry. I hadn't walked that section before. Beyond was a part I had been before, going under Älvsborgs bridge, by Röda Sten and Nya Varvet. I stayed at NV about 2 years ago. It's a ways out of town, and some 10 minutes walk to the nearest tram stop.

I had thought to walk to Saltholmnen and take the tram back but I wandered a bit so walked to Kunsten and took the tram back. Today I took the tram to the Nya Varvet stop and continued walking. I enjoyed yeterday's walk. Today wasn't so good. It was raining the whole time. At the start that was fine. The gear I have is good enough for about an hour in that sort of weather. I wasn't wearing the right pants. After a while they got wet and as they are cotton you could easily see the pockets. My wallet got wet and I moved my cell phone to my back pocket.

That wasn't so bad. It's 40 something outside and like I said I could have continued. It's more that the neighborhood I walked through was pretty boring. All suburbs and not much interesting to see. I couldn't walk along the river because at Nya Varvet it's fenced off. The roads are all curved and I didn't know where I was going so I had to backtrack several times. The only cool part was walking through a dockyard with all the ships pulled up for overwintering. I was surprised that the gates were open and anyone could walk in. Again, this is Sweden.

Next to it was a more official area, with the Coast Guard and other services. The gates there closed and locked at 5:30 so I didn't go in. It was 5:25. That blocks off more of the river and walking around it meant more backtracking. Finally got back to the tramline. All that time and I only managed a few more stops down the tramline.

Oh well, perhaps tomorrow I'll finish the "walk" to Saltholmnen.

Trettondagsaftonbal

I fredags kväll gick vi till en Trettondagsaftonbal på GöteborgsOperan. Det började med en konsert som Maria (i mitt i bilden) och Johan (mellan tjejerna) lyssnade på. Andra killen heter också Johan. Han, jag och Camilla kom bara för att dansa. Första var en halvtimme weinervals. Jag kan inte dansa den så vi dansade tango istället. Efteråt kom ett storband. De spelade nästan 3 timmer, fast med ju flera pauser. Jag försökte att dansa foxtrot men det har varit så länge och jag kunde inte. Vi dansade en blandning av tango, swing ('jitterbug' kallades den i USA - den svenska jitterbuggen kallar vi 'lindy hop') och salsa.

Kl 24.00 serverades korv och öl medan dansen fortsättade. Kvällen slutaded kl 1 och den sista dansen var med Maria. Vi dansar så dramatiskt ihop. Johan (andra till vänster, efter jag) grattade oss eftersom vi ser ut jättefina.

De behövde "Klädsel Mörk kostym." Jag hade ingen kostym, bara arbets- och danskläder. Ingen för operan. Jag gick runt till flera secondhandaffärer och hittade en frack på Myrorna, visade i bilden. På annan butik hittade jag slipsen. Jag har en traditionel "wild west" väst från Western Warehouse i Santa Fe som passar bra med frackan och mina dansbyxor. Sara och jag säger "swing heil" byxor eftersom de kommer från en affär som säljer skjortar med text från swingdansare under och mot Nazitiden.

Allihop ser det ut fint. Vi tre tog en promenade till Operan och jag klädde mig i min svarta läderjacka. Jag gillade kläderna! Kanske skulle jag klä mig i högtidskläder mer ofta. Sverige är landet att göra det. De har många mer gånger att klä sig fin.

Translation follows:
Last Friday evening we went to a Three Kings Day Ball [Or Epiphany Ball - I think I use Three Kings Day because of growing up in Miami where the Catholics made a big deal about it] at Gothenburg's Opera House. It began with a concert which Maria (in the middle of the picture) and Johan (between the women) heard. The other guy is also named Johan. He, I and Camilla came only for the dance. First was 30 minutes of Viennese waltz. I can't dance it so we danced tango instead. Afterwards was a big band. They played for nearly 3 hours, although with a few breaks. I tried to dance foxtrot but it's been too long and I couldn't. We danced a mixture of tango, swing (jitterbug, although here "jitterbug" means lindy hop) and salsa.

At midnight they served hotdogs and beer and while the dance continued. The evening ended at 1 and Maria and I danced the last dance. We dance so dramatically together. Johan (second from the left, after me) congratulated us since it looked so good.

They required "Dark dress suit." I didn't have a suit, only work and dance clother. Nothing for the opera. I went around to several 2nd-hand stores and found a dress jacket at Myrorna, shown in the picture. At another shop I found the tie. Jag have a traditional "wild west" vest from Western Warehouse in Santa Fe which matches the coat and my dance pants. Sara and I say "swing heil" pants because they come from a company which sells shirts with text from swing dancers in and in opposition to the Nazi times.

All together they look good. We three took a walk to the opera house and I wore my dark leather jacket. I really liked the clothes! Perhaps I should wear formal clothers more often. Sweden is the country for that. They have many more times to dress up.

Stadsbiblioteket

"Stad" = "city", genitive "s", "bibliotek" = "library", "et" = definite form ==> "The City Library"

I went to the library last week looking for a place to work outside of the apartment. Usually it's not a problem but because dancing is on a light schedule I've not been going out in the evenings as much. Because I've been sick I've been watching too much TV. There's more American shows to watch here than when I was in Santa Fe!

While I was there I looked through the different floors, to see what was there. I looked through the science fiction section in the thoughts of rereading some of my favorites in Swedish. Because just about everyone reads English and the population is small there are relatively few books translated into Swedish. One that I do want to read is Heinlein's "Have Spacesuit Will Travel." That was my favorite book for a while growing up.

Today I went by the library again and tried working there. I went downstairs, where I hadn't looked before. I found the chess players. Somewhat surprising given that this is Sweden, they were all men. They again, they also looked non-Swedish. I don't get the impression that chess is a big thing in this culture.

I headed over to the newspaper section. They have an amazing number of Swedish newspapers. I didn't realize that Mölndal has its own paper. It even looks like Luleå (or was it Umeå?) has two small papers. The have an even more impressive of foreign newspapers. Most European countries, some in Arabic, some even using languages I didn't even recognize. The only US paper was the International Herald Tribune, which is a cross (literally) between the New York Times and ... no, I was about to spread a falsehood. The Washington Post sold its share 30 December 2002, says Wikipedia.

Another falsehood - the library also had, I think, Wall Street Journal's European edition. I didn't really count that though. In any case, the it didn't have any US newspapers like you would find on the rack in the US.

One thing I miss about the US is free public toilets. It costs 5:- (about 85 cents) to use their toilet.

Finally, finally, finally, after almost a month I feel good enough to go out dancing and enjoy myself. It was salsa night and I had a lot of fun.

Nyårsaftonfest

Thats "Ny" = "new", "år" = "year", "s" = genitive/possive, "afton" = "afternoon" (here "eve"), "fest" = "party" ==> "New Year's Eve party". Agglutination - fun for the whole family!

I went to Camilla's for New Year's Eve. It was a knytkalas (potluck). I made chile con carne. There was a lot of food. Yum. Different foods than at a US party. More "pies". In this case a"paj" is something more like quiche. In South Africa a "pie" is a savory pastry.

Here's a picture with Camilla in the center.


I know Camilla from tango. She cleared out her bedroom and turned it into a dance floor. I was one of several tango dancers there. It wasn't all tango. We danced salsa for a while, as well as some swing and reggaton. Most weren't pair dancers and they like the reggaton the best. We talked too, and I got to be exciting again about having non-trivial conversations in Swedish. I could even add a few things to other conversations. W00t!

You can buy cool fireworks here and all evening people were setting off their own displays. Around midnight we each got a sparkler and champagne, with an impromtu countdown for midnight. Hugs and kisses for the new year and more talking, dancing, and eating. Mmm, chocolate.

I've been negligent about taking pictures. Even with digital cameras I'm not that much of a picture taker. Maybe if there was one in my phone, and it didn't cost 25 cents to move it some place real like my old Motorola in the US. I figure friends and family want to see what I look like these days with my new Swedish glasses and haircut, my South African dress shirt, and with Swedish people, so I took a few shots.

Here's me with two people. The woman is Maria. It's jättekul (very cool) to dance tango with her. The man is Johan. I've only danced with him a few times. :)



Hmm.. Both with my arms crossed. And yes, Johan is wearing a banana tie.

ladies of negotiable affection

That's Terry Prachett's term.

I went to visit friends in Germany for Christmas. I took the train there. Perhaps not the best of solutions but I figured it would give me time to read some and perhaps study Swedish. Didn't do the latter. On the way back I changed trains in Berlin. I've never been to Berlin so I gave myself a few hours to walk around and see a bit of the place.

The train station there is new, and quite impressive. A multilayered station and mall. But it isn't near anything. Walk outside and you see Federal Germany. There's a park there by the river. It was dark (after all, it is winter) and the day after Christmas so few were there. Strange city, empty, dark. I decided to not walk to the Brandenburg Gate and instead walked to some place closer and more populated. Ended up at Friedrich Straß. Went to an Irish Bar. Felt like talking in English and getting a burger. So-so burger. Killians beer.

Had some time remaining before the train so I walked down the street and was propositioned. My German is good enough to understand "Haben Sie sex mit mich?". Hope I spelled it right. Realized the first time I used Swedish "mig" instead of German "mich."

I got asked several times (5 or 6) while walking. Including once by a pair of women. They stepped in front of me so I stepped aside. They stepped in the same way. Repeat. As I was walking away one said something which included "Weihnachts". I'm guessing they were offering a Christmas special. I didn't even know enough German to say I wasn't interested, and didn't want to ask them to repeat in English.

The uniform seems to include a white bolero jacket and high boots. I think in Germany that prostitution is legal. Wikipedia knows everything.

This is the third time I've been propositioned. The first was in Glasgow when I was there for ISMB. While walking to a salsa club a woman asked "Service?". I responded "Sorry?" "Sex?" "No thanks." Searching now that's because of "Prostitution Tolerance Zones" introduced 28 October 2002.

The second was here in Göteborg. I was walking back from tango at Språkkaféet and passed two woman in a car near Feskekyrkan. They looked in their late 40s, early 50s and, well, not much to look at. The woman in shotgun asked me something I I didn't understand. I asked for clarifiation. (Rather, I probably said "Sorry? My Swedish isn't very good.".) She asked the driver to translate. "Do you want to have sex?" "No, I don't." Prostitution is not legal in Sweden. According to Johann, offering is legal but accepting is not.

I've also once been offered drugs. Coming out from tango dancing in Cape Town a guy, who I thought was a car guy, came up to me. Wanted to know if I wanted cocaine. After I said no, "weed?" I left, and was happy that the car guys started coming. "Car guy" is *not* in Wikipedia. It's the guy you pay a few rand to to watch your car.

So do I look more like a coke guy then a weed guy? Perhaps it would have been different had I still long hair. Or perhaps the profit margin is higher in coke. That's Emily's thought when I recounted these stories last week.

taught salsa dancing

I taught salsa a couple of weeks ago. Here was the announcement:

"""Andrew will teach the basics of L.A.-style salsa. Also called line-style salsa because of how the dancers change position it has a different feel than Cuban-style salsa. Both styles are danced in Gothenburg.

The timing in salsa is a bit tricky because of the pauses on beats 4 and 8 so the lesson will start with the basic step and following the beat in the music. After that will be the underarm turn and the cross-body lead, along with advice on how the lead works and the reason why it's called "line-style" salsa.

"Cuban motion" adds an extra flare to salsa dancing by making the hips move. Andrew will introduce cuban motion through merengue, another latin dance with a simpler beat than salsa."""


It was 90 minutes of teaching Santa Fe style salsa to a mixture of new beginners and ballroom dancers. Went pretty well. (I use "Santa Fe" style to mean club style, line style, on-1 with a smooth (vs sharp) transition between moves.)

I was nervous at the first. That worked out once I started getting into the teaching. Not much different than other teaching I've done. I would have like to practice before though. When teach programming I have both a lot more experience and often notes about what I'm teaching.

I didn't have the right music. I don't have much salsa music (haven't the room to read from Darin's DVD's) and even the slowest song was too fast to teach. Luckily the club had slower music.

There were a few things I taught out of order. I should have started with an explanation of why it was line style. This was at an engineering school. That did help. I went with a more mechanical explanation of how things worked. Not often I get to say "C2 continuous" - though I know that's wrong. I meant it as a joke. (Really it's more like there's a maximum jerk -- which is the I-kid-you-not scientific term for change in acceleration.)

When I learned to dance several of my teachers talked about "energy" and "grounded" and other things which were hard to interpret. I'm a reductionist; breaking things down and build them back up again. So I tried to teach like that more mechanistic manner.

I mixed teaching styles. I tried to do a bit of the style one of the teachers in South Africa uses, but it's not for me. I mostly stayed with Santiago's style. Even with the circle of women around me. They didn't quite get it, but it was the first time for them.

I teach best as a tutor and not to large groups. What I did was teach and go round to each couple and give pointers. One of the guys was a relative beginner and wanted to do lots of fancy things without having the basics down. After the course, in the open dancing, he wanted me to show him a .. I think it was a CBL inside turn, but that's too simple. Ahh, perhaps I was showing him why he couldn't do a given lead because it was too easily confused with another move, so he wanted to do both.

There are many paths to dance. I personally emphasize the small details first. I think going for the moves makes for bad habits that are hard to break later. It's more than that, I know, and different. Too complicated to explain now.

Hardest was teaching cuban motion. That was the last 10 minutes of the course. I did it with meringue music. Being traditional and all. The thing is, I don't know quite know how to teach it. I remember taking Liz's class focusing on Cuban motion (I do like details) but it was too long ago to remember the details, and I couldn't recall enough from your and Santiago's lessons to teach it.

I also knew it would take a while no matter what so I wasn't worried. I had a lot of lessons focusing on that so instead I only wanted to get across "stepping into a bent leg, which gets straightened" and "shoulders stay still." I prefer dancing with people whose shoulders are not moving up and down.

The ballroom dancers, of course, knew ballroom style Cuban motion. They tried, but habits are habits. Just like I can't do ballroom style motion.

I taught an underarm turn as an arm raise/halo around the head, and emphasized that the lead can start early.
One of the ballroom dancers was having a problem with it because his habit is to do a tick-tock on the lead so he needs to start it later. There too I got to talk about mechanics.

Overall it went well. I got a gift card for two to go to the movies. Anyone want to join me? :)

In the free dancing I tried some waltzing. The first was pretty bad as I tried to remember lessons from earlier this year. It did help having a larger floor than the practice room in Santa Fe. The second try was much better. Still only doing basics and I don't think I attempted the full progression, but enough to fake it.

The woman I danced with is from the local ballroom dance society. She wants me to take lessons from some-teacher-or-other when I'm next here. I'm still of mixed views on ballroom dance (called "standard dance" in Swedish; sorry, "standard dans" in Swedish). It's that poofy formalism. I watched some competitive ballroom dance on the sport channel here. They cover weird sports here. Tall thin guys wearing shirts with the fronts open to the belly button. Not my style.

Plus, there really isn't much chance to dance ballroom socially. OTOH, I do want to reacquire those long missing skills cause you never know when you'll need to dance a Viennese Waltz. More importantly, I want there to be a time in my future when knowing how to a waltz becomes useful.

Though so far that hasn't been the case with my rusting fencing skills. *sigh* Maybe I should practice dancing while wearing a cutlass? Just in case pirates attack during the big ball?

Read a funny joke in Swedish which translates well to English: "Dad? How do you spell 'locomotive'?" "Just like it sounds." "Choo-choo?" See the Language Log entry for the original and details.