Thanks a Bunch Mr Edison

Apparently people used to sleep nine hours a night before the electric light bulb came along and kept us artificially awake until the wee hours. Words cannot describe how relieved I was when I read this, since I have been ashamed of my sleeping habits for years.
However, if I were to follow the natural day light schedule in Iceland, I would soon be sleeping not so much nine hours a night, as twenty. In the summer of course, I would not sleep at all from June 1st till July 20th. Not super practical. Would make helmet use mandatory.
When we relocated to Reykjavik we made an uncharacteristic attempt to get fit - an attempt we quickly abandoned for much needed couch sitting/lounging/sleeping- and decided to go swimming. On the way to the local pool we met a child walking by itself in the absolute darkness. Both of us instinctively worried why a young child was walking all alone in the dark, until we remembered that it was 9. 30 in the morning and the kid was probably on the way to school.
Even though I spent most of my childhood on the 64th parallel, I never quite got used to the wild light swings. I get very uppity in the light times, very tired in the darkness.
In an effort to control the light I use one of those ridiculous eye masks in the summer. Yes, yes I look like a drunk movie star when I sleep.
For our winter blues The Husband made us a daylight lamp which we soon realized has to be used with the utmost care. Leave it on too long and The Husband turns into a spastic puppy and I into jell-o that sees pink spots in her peripheral vision.
Soon enough I will mention the C word. The C-word is needed in the dark that engulfs this island in midwinter. But I won't bring it up until I absolutely have to. The fact that the C-word is being pushed and pandered as early as October makes me irate, it ruins it for me.
Of course the city of Reykjavik disagrees and the C-word ornamental lights already adorn some of the main streets.
Remember to thank Mr. Edison when your neighbor puts up the entire electric C-word gang, reindeer and all, in the front yard.

Damned if You Do and Damned if You Don't

Elementary school teachers in Iceland were on strike for a total of eight (8) weeks. On saturday the Althingi passed a law effectually making the strike illegal, thereby forcing the teachers back to work. Without a new deal.
A teacher who has taught for thirty years makes less than a meter maid.
Yet the media has been quite negative in their portrayal of the teachers' ordeal, leaving them to defend themselves constantly. Many seem to think that what we have here is some sort of club of overpriviledged ladies arguing over the size of crumpets who should stop whining and focus on the value of their jobs. Children are the future and their education is of the utmost importance. Again, the inconsistency of this argument seems to bother no-one.

I'd venture to say that at the core of this problem is the fact that about 80% of teachers are women. Angry women, be it feminists, teachers or wives, seem to provoke people quite a bit. Although I rarely buy into freudian theories, perhaps there is some sort of mother complex going on here? A need to punish the authoritarian mother figure? A need to put her in her place?

When trying to figure out what is at the bottom of the gender based pay gap some have pointed out that women are less skilled at negotiating higher salaries for themselves. What if we turn it around? What if we say that people in charge react less favorably when women ask for what is rightfully theirs? And this in turn creates an environment where women are less likely to stick to their demands.
Unless, of course, parliament steps in and makes their salary and benefit negotiations illegal.

I say, lets get rid of the pesky teachers altogether and send in the meter maids. They have to know the basic math, spelling and reading. In stead of vasting valuable money teaching the little critters Phys.Ed. we can use the kids to hand out parking violations. I'm sure fewer people would argue with a cute eight year old than a meter maid and eventually we could run schools with profit.