Saturday, January 31, 2026
Friday, January 30, 2026
Google Translate uses English as an intermediary?
Bilingual dictionaries often don't exist for pairs like Greek and Thai, so in order for translation software to work, a third language would be needed. This is similar to the problem of UN interpreters who only interpret to and from the UN's six official languages. Other interpreters are needed who speak a UN language and other languages.
To translate from Greek to Thai, you need either: someone who speaks both languages or a Greek speaker and a Thai speaker who are also bilingual in some other language. This is how we ended up with lingua francas like Latin in the past or English now.
I suspect that translations to and from English are probably more accurate than translations that require English as a middle step. I doubt very much Google has or has made bilingual dictionaries of every language pair.
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Monday, January 26, 2026
Sunday, January 25, 2026
music and religion are the way the poor fight the rich
Thomas is sick of this heresy! - song inspired by Warhammer 40k and "Thomas the Tank Engine" meme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeBJoKm39Hw
Side note: This song seems to have the same URL as The Rake by the Rovers.
baldr's funeral
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Baldur was one of the most beloved of all the gods. The son of Odin, the chief of the gods, and the benevolent sorceress goddess Frigg, Baldur was a generous, joyful, and courageous character who gladdened the hearts of all who spent time with him. When, therefore, he began to have ominous dreams of some grave misfortune befalling him, the fearful gods appointed Odin to discover their meaning.
Baldur’s father wasted no time in mounting his steed, Sleipnir, and riding to the underworld to consult a dead seeress whom he knew to be especially wise in such matters. When, in one of his countless disguises, he reached the cold and misty underworld, he found the halls arrayed in splendor, as if some magnificent feast were about to occur. Odin woke the seeress and questioned her concerning this festivity, and she responded that the guest of honor was to be none other than Baldur. She merrily recounted how the god would meet his doom, stopping only when she realized, from the desperate nature of Odin’s entreaties, who this disguised wanderer truly was.
And, indeed, all that she prophesied would come to pass.
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fimbulwinter fenris
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Fimbulwinter (Old Norse: Fimbulvetr, lit. 'mighty winter') is the immediate prelude to the events of Ragnarök in Norse mythology.
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