swiss knife

Hello. I am not dead yet! I am alive still, but I am busy. Funny to find in this Ost-Asia, a custom called preliminary examination, in which the young of the species is tortured one extra time before the real examinations. It is supposed to be confidence-making for them. So they make a very hard examination (which I am setting questions for) and then when the young are quite embarrassed, they add imaginary marks to make it better. So the young are getting embarrassed and then encouraged, this is the theory. But this is not about why I am busy.

Today I am talking to the Alchemist. Here is part of conversation. I am asking him about his new job.

"So you are now Head of Production Science (HoPS)?"

"Yes, it's a new thing and the Ministry is very hot about it."

"Are you a trained Production Science teacher expert or whatever?"

"No. I'm not."

"So why they make you in charge of this?"

"They say I'm very flexible. I can do anything. So I'm in charge now."

"But do you know anything about it?"

"No. But I'm learning very quickly."

"That is good, my friend. See, they are teaching you new things."

"No. I'm picking this upon my own. I buy my own books, and learn what seems best."

"What? Are they not giving you the training, or the course of instruction?"

"No. But I'm confident we can have a Production Science Exhibition early next year."

Ah, my friend the Alchemist. He is a Swiss knife among men, a flexible tool with many uses. Also scholar and gentleman. But not so good at officer. Why? Because he is actually not happy to make people do work he cannot do himself. Ho ho.