Posted by Robert Dilley on October 15, 2003 at 18:06:05 from 65.39.15.73 user rdilley.
Ed is quite right -- his name is a much better approximation of the original than the English pronunciation of "Caesar" (or, as our university cafeteria renders it "Ceasar" Salad).
As one obliged to learn (or, at least take) Latin at school, I remember that there was a lot of argument over the authentic pronunciation of the language (which probably varied from place to place, anyway -- try to envisage Egyptian Latin v Yorkshire Latin). However, I was finally convinced that "Kaiser" was better than "Seezer" by one authority who pointed out that when Latin names were -- back then -- transliterated into Greek, the C was replaced with Kappa, not Sigma. So, Kikero, not Sisero. (Cicero, incidentally, is the author of my favourite Latin quote: "Nihil tam absurde dici potest, quod non dicatur ab aliquo philosophorum" -- which may be roughly translated as "You can't think of anything so stupid to say, but that some philosopher has already said it". I get to use that a lot in faculty meetings).
GPS -- fascinating instruments -- one of my Department colleagues teaches their use. However, I noted a recent item on the Ananova site about an American tourist in Germany who drove through the glass doors of a shop because his in-car GPS navigation system told him to....