Kitty's Corner

We often have morning meetings at work. And when we invite people to come to meetings in the mornings we always serve breakfast. We have a small kitchen with an oven and a microwave, and we have a fridge too, so all it takes is a bit of planning.

My boss had bought some buns for a morning meeting the other day. She had bought two bags of buns, because of a special offer at the baker's.

But let's take a closer look at that "special offer":



The white label tells the original price: 18.95 DKK - that's approximately 2.5 Eur, but that's irrelevant right now. The yellow label shows the "good offer": Two bags for 38 DKK. That means that if you buy two bags, you'll pay 0.10 DKK more than if you've bought two individual bags.

But hey, further down on the yellow label there's another noticeable thing. It says that the regular price is 25 DKK, and not 18.95 DKK. You know what that is? That's cheating! Selling things at regular prices, and camouflaging them and make it look like an offer - that's bad style. Shame on you, Føtex, for cheating your costumers!

The Nationalist Socialist Movement of Denmark (DNSB) has excluded one of its prominent members after suspicions of an "inappropriate relationship" with a 12-year-old girl.

The singer of Danish Nazi band Daneskjold is alleged to have had the relationship with the daughter of a friend, who visited the 32-year-old numerous times at his Copenhagen apartment, including staying overnight.
In a message on the DNSB website, chairman Jonni Hansen, said that the singer would not stay away from the girl, despite repeated requests from DNSB and her parents.

The case has now been reported to the police, but Jonni Hansen said that even if the relationship was found to be not sexual, then the "intensive contact with the minor is in itself totally unacceptable".

The band's website has been replaced with a large photo of the excluded singer, as well as comments from Jonni Hansen and a fellow band member. The three remaining band members have decided to disband, "rather than see their good name dragged through the dirt".

Hansen told a Danish newspaper that he has asked the accused to commit suicide, because "It would be the only real way out of this".


Please don't get me wrong, I have no sympathies for paedophiles. People who molest children should be punished very hard, no doubt about that!! But there is some things in this story I do not like. First of all, it is very unclear what it is, that has been going on. A 12-year old girl is visiting a 32 year old man, and it sounds as if she'd rather be at his place than at home. Why is that? I mean, she could be treated terribly at home, and sees his place as a place where she can be left alone, for all we know.

Another thing is that we live in a country where you're innocent until something else is proved. The DNSB decided to write the guy's full name, along with posting his picture on a website, that is very easy to find - just google Daneskjold and it's one of the first hits.

Imagine if the guy hasn't done anything. His life is ruined now.

So - if he really did something, the judge shall decide his punishment, and it better be hard - if he didn't do anything - then shame on you, Jonni Hansen!

Injuring yourself on purpose by making scratches or cuts on your body with a sharp object — enough to break the skin and make it bleed — is called cutting. Cutting is a type of self-injury, or SI for short. Most people who cut themselves are girls, but guys self-injure, too. People who cut usually start cutting in their young teens. A few continue to cut into adulthood.

People may cut themselves on their wrists, arms, legs, or bellies. Some people self-injure by burning their skin with the end of a cigarette or lighted match.

It can be hard to understand why people cut themselves on purpose. Cutting is a way some people try to cope with the pain of strong emotions, intense pressure, or upsetting relationship problems. They may be dealing with feelings that seem too difficult to bear, or bad situations they think can't change.

Some people cut because they feel desperate for relief from bad feelings. People who cut may not know better ways to get relief from emotional pain or pressure. Some people cut to express strong feelings of rage, sorrow, rejection, desperation, longing, or emptiness.

The cutters don't cut themselves to get attention. People who injure themselves usually hide the cuts and marks and sometimes no one else knows.

I think the most important way in which others can help self-harmers is by listening and not judging them. Talking without prejudice may be a good start to helping a person who hurts herself. You can remove the shame and secrecy associated with self injury. And, you encourage communication between you and the SI'er. You help create change just by talking.

Something that might stop you is that you might not know what to say. Even though you might not know what to discuss, just be acknowledging that you want to talk opens up communication channels.



Things that aren't helpful is:

* Ordering them to stop it.
* Watching them.
* Taking away their privacy.
* Taking away their razors and all sharp objects.
* Making them feel even more abnormal by saying things like, "You need help. You are sick. That is not normal."
* Rejecting that part of them. Not accepting their behaviour.
* Threatening them - such as with being sent to the hospital.


I know this is a controversial subject - so please - no disrespectful comments.

If you've got a headache it's a common advice to have a Panodil (or Panadol, or whatever they call the paracetamol tablets in your country). They also work for minor muscle pain, pain in teeth, menstruation pain and other types of pain.

Then the medical firm invented Panodil Zapp - with the same contents as the regular Panodil, but the Zapp version works much faster, and helps you over your headache sooner.


Now I wonder - why are they still selling the regular Panodil tablets? I mean, are there really people who says: "Damn, I've got a headache, but I only want to get rid of it slowly?

And it gets even worse. I just discovered that they come in an even slower version: The Panodil Retard:

WTF???

Are people masochists, or what?

When talking about cars in my country, it's not just the purchase price that makes buyers cringe.
Denmark also has the highest vehicle licence plate registration fees in all of Europe at 1,180 kroner (158 EUR). That’s 1,000 kroner (134 EUR) more than it should be, according to consumer groups.

Both the Association of Danish Car Owners (FDM) and the Danish Federation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises are criticising the fee as a not-so-honest way for the state to make vast sums of money off the nation's car owners.

According to the government's budget for 2009, fees associated with licence plates, vehicle registration and change of ownership are expected to bring in 780 million kroner (104 million EUR) to the state's pockets. In all, consumers will pay around 29 billion kroner to the state this year for the luxury of owning a vehicle.

The Tax Department itself indicates that service costs pertaining to plate registration amount to 160 kroner (21.5 EUR), with the plates themselves costing 22 kroner (3 EUR) each.

Overall car owner fees have dropped in the past two years, according to Tax Ministry figures, which show state incomes of around 36 billion kroner (4.8 billion EUR) in 2007 compared to the current 29 billion kroner (3.9 billion EUR) this year. But while licence plate fees are expected to drop next year, overall costs for vehicle owners are expected to rise again to give the state around 33 billion kroner (4.4 billion EUR).

I've always thought that the idea of licence plates with your own text on it was kind of stupid. I mean - it's only for show off, or...? But - if you had a car or another vehicle with a plate on it - and you didn't have to pay for getting your own text on it - What would your text be?