Out with the old.
Out with the old and in with the new. That's not an original sentence; half the journalists in the English-speaking world write the same thing every late December. Still, why go against tradition?
Mind you, I've done a few new things this year so it's not all 'out with the old'. For example:
I've won at least two games of internet chess. I started playing the game online over a year ago but I didn't checkmate anyone until somewhere in 2006. Alright, I've lost more games than I've won, but it has been great fun. You can see all my losing games (and the two victories) at the Scheming Mind website. Just look for the player with the Polish flag but without a Polish-sounding name.
I've appeared in court as a witness for the prosecution. Now that was interesting. I was expecting a large room full of legal personnel. In fact, it looked more like a broom cupboard with only four people: a judge, a typist, the defendant and me. I spent about five minutes there and then the judge said I could go. I've done this twice, and entirely in Polish, but I've seen so many films from the UK and the USA that each time it has felt oddly different.
Something went wrong with my computer's sound card during the summer. The guarantee had already run out a year earlier so I fitted the new card myself. Now I can say that I have repaired my own PC! You know, it's a lot easier than I'd thought. I can probably save a lot of money in the future by doing this myself from now on.
I've also written to the President, made all twelve traditional Polish Christmas dishes, and spent longer than twelve months without crossing any of Poland's borders. Now, what new things shall I do this year?
Happy New Year!
Glossary
checkmate dać szacha
a broom cupboard schowek na przybory do sprzątania
personnel dział kadr
typist maszynistka
Language note:
How many times can you find the Present Perfect tense in the text?
KEY
The Present Perfect tense appears twelve times. There are also two examples of the Past Perfect. Can you find them?
QUIZ
Alright, I know it's a bit morbid (makabryczny), but can you find the names of famous people who said goodbye to the world in 2006? And what were they famous for?
O Y O P G M J Q Q V Q A S D F D V L O B L P L K Q
M R K I W J I L X E M L R H F K K N T B N O X N G
B Q W N W N O L B B O A P E X Z U U S H D V J R U
M T R O Q T N U O B G E Y X B L D X U J I E I T I
A O E C W C N E O S S Y C Y X R D F G V D H B G Q
J L O H O G D D P O E H R Y K D A T U W Y A A Y A
V D K E O W A M J C R V J W H O U B A Q S M Y B R
S J S T I N L M M I T I I K Z O Y Q O M N K E E D
K Q R H L H P G S R P A D C T H I B O P O I Z Q R
P I T N E Y K Y L I M V S X U Z G Q Z O J B S P S
T P K I G H Z V H X B X G B F U W J Y S B T F D O
A Y D Y Z H V Z W X L Y S H V J U F C C J H J Q U
G E S Q U N C J F V T X C P C X H U P T A W O H L
W H M G W I J R L D M T X V J R A H B N T M N G O
C O W V G N W H S A A B B Z D V M S V O D K B H Z
Q Y A Z T R S D P O G M D L L R O P T A U N I T P
Q Y E P X M M Z B A C Y D P M P S G J E N P R V D
E N E G Z G Y S S V P W B T T E R R A B V P W B G
B T Q Q N N A Y P Y U P G L D Z B O L J C E I W L
X F Q Y M R A X I V Q D Q I H T G M B E C R N K M
J K V T H D Q Q V U W R D H O B O J L L Q P L L U
W X S L T S A P O Y T G E N S K R H Y H P G A M A
C K W M Z G I K L H Z P X B K D X K O L B B K O Z
T F U P G X M Q Y P E K N S U U T Y K O B P W U P
N B U C P C Z Y G Z E D O K D A C U I Q R R Y C P
Clues:
A musician, famous for co-founding Pink Floyd.
One of the creators of cartoons such as The Flintstones.
A violent dictator from Chile.
A television presenter known as 'The Crocodile Hunter'
A singer, most famous for the song 'Twenty-four hours from Tulsa'.
Another war criminal, this time from Yugoslavia
An actor who played in the Tarantino film 'Reservoir Dogs'.
KEY
Syd Barrett
Joseph Barbera
Augusto Pinochet
Steve Irwin
Gene Pitney
Slobodan Milosevic
Chris Penn