The capital area in Finland sucked me totally. Helsinki and its neighbor cities Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen form grand-Helsinki which has more than one million people living there. Most of them have moved there from small cities around the country, so it's a kind of melting pot of Finns and other nationalities. Much like Stockholm in Sweden.
I have faced feeling of superiority in so many people coming from Helsinki area that it just can't be a coincidence. It really happens although most of them are born in the rustic regions of Finland. A sudden rise in the ladder make some lose their inheritance or something. You can sense the Helsinki superiority also on TV, even in the news.
Ok, I'm not here to mock Helsinki people. I lived in Stockholm for almost two years and acted quite the same way myself. It's just that I spent two days in Vantaa this week and all this resurfaced. It was a work-related trip so basically I had no chance to choose whether I liked going there or not. It was bearable this time, but anyway I was pretty tired afterwards.
I stayed in a hotel near Jumbo which is a ridiculously huge shopping market center. It's easily bigger than those I have visited in Stockholm area, at least it seems so. I didn't have much time nor strength to browse late in the evening, but I guess I will do that some day. With my wife. She likes those shopping centers. I like them too, but the most of the shops are not usually to my interest. They are good places to find Christmas presents however. All goodies in one place.
One thing I don't like about the capital area is the presence of traffic jams during working hours. It would be desirable to use trains and buses there, even subway, but they just don't cover the whole area. And taxis are expensive of course. At least I'd be in trouble finding a good way of travelling there, coming from outside the ring 3 highway, or what this 'kehä III' or 'ring-trean' is called in English. Frankly, I don't give a damsugare.
Driver download dilemma
I have been in pain with free downloads lately. Nerve-wrecking commercial business is trying to cut in on me. But I'm not buying, nor dancing for that matter. This has gone too far now. Everyone agree?
When you're trying to download a driver for your hardware, perhaps to update it, that should be completely innocent stuff. Manufacturers even encourage to do that. It used to be quite easy. Nowadays you google some pages to find a free download and get a list of several good-sounding links. Almost each of them are commercial. They show the true download link in a small, almost hidden place. The biggest 'download' link goes to a commercial site, where you can buy something. Something else.
Usually the small, real download link leads to another page, which has a similar kind of hide-and-seek download link there somewhere. Or there is no link for it at all; only commercial links. Sometimes the download should have started by itself, but if you have denied an access for active-X components or such, nothing really happens. Only this 'safety bar' appears on top of the page, where you can allow the component to be run. Usually you have to enter the download link again during the same session to continue.
When it comes to drivers, they seem to have a lot of driver detectives out there. None of them are free. The download is free however and the driver detecting is free as well. But when you want to do something about it, it will cost you. And it doesn't say it before you've reached the step three. I don't want to pay for downloading free drivers! Some of the detectives show which driver would be updated by which driver, so that way I can save some time and do it by myself. I agree that those detectives are useful (haven't tried them though) - for some.
When you find a good place to download drivers or other software, it's worthy of gold these days. Even many manufacturers, Microsoft included, have those commercial traps everywhere. Be warned, be worried, be angry.
When you're trying to download a driver for your hardware, perhaps to update it, that should be completely innocent stuff. Manufacturers even encourage to do that. It used to be quite easy. Nowadays you google some pages to find a free download and get a list of several good-sounding links. Almost each of them are commercial. They show the true download link in a small, almost hidden place. The biggest 'download' link goes to a commercial site, where you can buy something. Something else.
Usually the small, real download link leads to another page, which has a similar kind of hide-and-seek download link there somewhere. Or there is no link for it at all; only commercial links. Sometimes the download should have started by itself, but if you have denied an access for active-X components or such, nothing really happens. Only this 'safety bar' appears on top of the page, where you can allow the component to be run. Usually you have to enter the download link again during the same session to continue.
When it comes to drivers, they seem to have a lot of driver detectives out there. None of them are free. The download is free however and the driver detecting is free as well. But when you want to do something about it, it will cost you. And it doesn't say it before you've reached the step three. I don't want to pay for downloading free drivers! Some of the detectives show which driver would be updated by which driver, so that way I can save some time and do it by myself. I agree that those detectives are useful (haven't tried them though) - for some.
When you find a good place to download drivers or other software, it's worthy of gold these days. Even many manufacturers, Microsoft included, have those commercial traps everywhere. Be warned, be worried, be angry.
Bye bye birdie!
Wow, that was fast. My trip in the world of Twitter ended today. I got fed up with it because the celebs were basically talking to each other or advertising their products. If they were who they appear to be. Plus, in Finland the Twitter has not caught on fire, so there weren't any Finnish celebs to read about. This post is basically plainly informative and a kind of an apology to them who had started to follow my tweets.
Who likes birdland?
Memorize the date: the 14th of October. That's a meaningful day for me for another reason too, but I can't discuss that. Yup, it's today, LOL!
My comic strip was officially published today, in a net-blog of a newspaper. Because the release contains my true identity, I don't want to give you the link there. In addition, it's in Finnish, so it wouldn't be worth much for the majority of you. I have blogged about it anyway in my earlier posts. This character of mine may travel far, let's see; usually birds do.
However small an achievement this may sound, to me it's another milestone in my artistic career. And there ain't too many of them in the past. I think I'll have a drink today, cheers!
My comic strip was officially published today, in a net-blog of a newspaper. Because the release contains my true identity, I don't want to give you the link there. In addition, it's in Finnish, so it wouldn't be worth much for the majority of you. I have blogged about it anyway in my earlier posts. This character of mine may travel far, let's see; usually birds do.
However small an achievement this may sound, to me it's another milestone in my artistic career. And there ain't too many of them in the past. I think I'll have a drink today, cheers!
Gay man's an island?
Yesterday I heard the news about Obama's intention to let gays enter the army too. In the US, things get cooking. Some of the gays may be delighted to get an equal share of fighting in wars, but I guess not all of them are happy (although gay). It has been a good excuse for many rock stars to pretend being gay, just not to get drafted. For many true gays who have stayed in the closet, being afraid of getting stamped as homosexual officially, this may bring some consolation. But does it in the end? If you're in gay troops, aren't you stamped 'gay' all over your forehead? I don't know much about the news, but this kind of thoughts started haunting me immediately.
If I have watched and understood American TV series correctly, also junkies and criminals are not allowed to enter fields of war. A criminal record gives a shelter. I don't quite understand this. Of course some schizoid mass murderer might do more harm on his/her own side, and couldn't be trusted. A junkie might endanger the whole group of soldiers somehow. The Dirty Dozen is fiction, but could it have a seed worth sowing? I still don't get it, why a 'decent' citizen should suffer the most.
The gays are 'decent' citizens, as long as I'm concerned, so basically I do agree with Obama. He's got balls big enough to say it aloud - especially after his Nobel peace prize victory. If he were assassinated, I'm afraid we'd face the same kind of deep emptiness that followed after Kennedy's murder. Let's hope it'll never happen. There won't be another Beatles to comfort us.
If I have watched and understood American TV series correctly, also junkies and criminals are not allowed to enter fields of war. A criminal record gives a shelter. I don't quite understand this. Of course some schizoid mass murderer might do more harm on his/her own side, and couldn't be trusted. A junkie might endanger the whole group of soldiers somehow. The Dirty Dozen is fiction, but could it have a seed worth sowing? I still don't get it, why a 'decent' citizen should suffer the most.
The gays are 'decent' citizens, as long as I'm concerned, so basically I do agree with Obama. He's got balls big enough to say it aloud - especially after his Nobel peace prize victory. If he were assassinated, I'm afraid we'd face the same kind of deep emptiness that followed after Kennedy's murder. Let's hope it'll never happen. There won't be another Beatles to comfort us.
October in Smekland
Here we go again. Maybe you have to be married or in a serious relationship to get it, maybe not...
Good luck to Obama and Rio de Janeiro!
I'm a bit late with this, but better late than never. Congratulations to Mr. Obama for the Nobel prize. Peace is a wonderful thing and never too much appreciated. However, I was surprised they decided to give the prize to him this soon. I mean, he hasn't done anything concrete yet. And indeed, he was astonished about it himself. Let's hope he'll live up to the expectations he's now been tied to.
It's been almost certain lately that a president of the USA gets a Nobel prize - sooner or later. It feels like a scholarship for peace on Earth. It also occurred to me that when Mr. Obama and Chicago were denied to get the Olympics of 2016 to arrange, they had to come up with something. To compensate the loss, I assume. I was happy that a new continent was introduced to host the Olympics, finally. Party in Rio has already started, of course. These are only my speculations, but sometimes things may be as they seem, i.e. sometimes a Strat is just a Strat, LOL!
It's been almost certain lately that a president of the USA gets a Nobel prize - sooner or later. It feels like a scholarship for peace on Earth. It also occurred to me that when Mr. Obama and Chicago were denied to get the Olympics of 2016 to arrange, they had to come up with something. To compensate the loss, I assume. I was happy that a new continent was introduced to host the Olympics, finally. Party in Rio has already started, of course. These are only my speculations, but sometimes things may be as they seem, i.e. sometimes a Strat is just a Strat, LOL!
Here comes.... pea soup?
This may be of no interest to you, but it may amuse some still. Anyway, I'll keep it short.
The first sentence I spoke in Swedish was "Här kommer ärtsoppa". I had heard that "här kommer" means "here comes". Then, as a clever boy of eight or something like that, I discovered the word "ärtsoppa" in a pea soup can. It probably was a can, I'm not totally sure of it. I could read by then of course. I merely linked these two Swedish lines and came up with an immortal line mentioned above. It's not much of use to anyone, though.
My uncle heard me saying it. He readily admitted that it was genuine Swedish. It was my luck that those words in that line were pronounced as they were written, which is somewhat rare in Swedish. Man, I was proud. I could speak Swedish! Little things can be wonderful, when you're a boy. What happens to us when we grow up?
The first sentence I spoke in Swedish was "Här kommer ärtsoppa". I had heard that "här kommer" means "here comes". Then, as a clever boy of eight or something like that, I discovered the word "ärtsoppa" in a pea soup can. It probably was a can, I'm not totally sure of it. I could read by then of course. I merely linked these two Swedish lines and came up with an immortal line mentioned above. It's not much of use to anyone, though.
My uncle heard me saying it. He readily admitted that it was genuine Swedish. It was my luck that those words in that line were pronounced as they were written, which is somewhat rare in Swedish. Man, I was proud. I could speak Swedish! Little things can be wonderful, when you're a boy. What happens to us when we grow up?
Lingonberry twist
It's the time of the year when it's worthwhile to go in the woods. When the night temperature has reached below zero (Celsius), the most of the mushrooms are dead. Only some of them, the driest ones like funnel chanterelle (suppilovahvero), survive in a modest freeze. When it comes to lingonberries, the freeze makes them more tasty. That's an old legend told from a father to son, a mother to daughter, and I can't help but agree. 
It doesn't however end when the picking is done. There must be a twist in my story, especially if the title suggests so, but this time it isn't a Smek twist. When the berries have been cleaned, i.e. all leaves and other impurity that doesn't belong there have been removed, it's time to smash them. Yes, the picture number 2 demonstrates how it's done. You push and twist it (there you go) with a smashing device, until it's mostly paste-like. You can use the same "weapon" smashing lingonberries as you do when smashing potatoes. Then you put a lot of sugar (it's not necessary, but the taste is pretty acid (hapokas) without) and mix it while still twisting. That's how the lingonberry jam is done. No extra ingredients, no food additives! Easy as pie and healthy as hell!
We have a "sure-fire" place for picking lingonberries. It's been there for years. Only this time it wasn't that full of berries. Admitted, there was a lot of them, but yet not as much as I recalled there should have been. Me and my wife picked a little less than 10 litres together and my mother did about 7 litres. The weather was favourable; it was not that cold and windy, LOL! Ok, there was a small rain shower in the end, but otherwise it was a good berry-picking weather.
I didn't take pictures in the woods, so I'm supplying one taken in the yard of our neighbours! They had a lovely set of lingonberries there, waiting for someone to pick 'em. The picture was taken in fair sunlight, so once again the course of events has been manipulated and falsified. In reality, the berry-picking day last Saturday wasn't this sunny and warm. Read more about faking the history in my previous post, if still interested.
It doesn't however end when the picking is done. There must be a twist in my story, especially if the title suggests so, but this time it isn't a Smek twist. When the berries have been cleaned, i.e. all leaves and other impurity that doesn't belong there have been removed, it's time to smash them. Yes, the picture number 2 demonstrates how it's done. You push and twist it (there you go) with a smashing device, until it's mostly paste-like. You can use the same "weapon" smashing lingonberries as you do when smashing potatoes. Then you put a lot of sugar (it's not necessary, but the taste is pretty acid (hapokas) without) and mix it while still twisting. That's how the lingonberry jam is done. No extra ingredients, no food additives! Easy as pie and healthy as hell!I didn't use to like lingonberry as a child, but during my ever-lasting years of adolescence, LOL, I have grown to like it. A lot, actually. Lingonberry is good as jam, used with game (riista) and food made of blood, liver and other internal organs. Furthermore, it's delicious with quark, yoghurt, in a pie, ... my personal favorite is lingonberry porridge. It's basically a semolina pudding (mannapuuro) with lingonberries. I have variated it with (red) currants and apricots. It's also easy to prepare, and the taste is beyond your wildest imagination!
Another aggravation?
I have noticed that many women want to look good outwardly. They put on make-up and wear clean smart clothes when they go to work. It's important to many. I don't have complaints about it.
When a man goes to work, he's more concerned about looking good internally. He doesn't want to screw up anything. The dressing is of second priority. Shaven or not, as long as the job gets done.
Usually at the work, the internal goodness overrides good-looking appearance. Well, at least in the field I'm working. That makes men getting more respect than women. But: when a woman is both sharp and sharp-dressed, she's the ultimate winner. No man could ever top that.
This all was just gazing from a traditional men's eye view. Meaning when men rule the world and all that jazz. When a woman is a boss, the rules may be turned upside down. Pretty boys with brains get the most respect.
I may be wrong, but this idea occurred to me today, and I decided to try it out in my blog. My observations haven't been that triumphant before and I don't expect it to happen any other way this time either. Something to think about at least?
When a man goes to work, he's more concerned about looking good internally. He doesn't want to screw up anything. The dressing is of second priority. Shaven or not, as long as the job gets done.
Usually at the work, the internal goodness overrides good-looking appearance. Well, at least in the field I'm working. That makes men getting more respect than women. But: when a woman is both sharp and sharp-dressed, she's the ultimate winner. No man could ever top that.
This all was just gazing from a traditional men's eye view. Meaning when men rule the world and all that jazz. When a woman is a boss, the rules may be turned upside down. Pretty boys with brains get the most respect.
I may be wrong, but this idea occurred to me today, and I decided to try it out in my blog. My observations haven't been that triumphant before and I don't expect it to happen any other way this time either. Something to think about at least?
Over(s)lap in my face(t)?
The company I work for was merged into a bigger company with two other companies last month. Yes, we are going for global world domination, LOL! Seriously, we got bigger threefold, which leads to some questions. It always does.
In an info session, we were notified that the fusion will not affect anyone. How come I knew that? After followed a number of merges in the newspapers, they have always told that it won't lead to any changes in the company. And after six months or so, they always tell us that of course we had to cut down overlapping resources and thus some of the personnel has to go. It happens every time. I can't see why it wouldn't occur with our case.
It's perfectly understandable that when three companies become one, there must be a lot of overlapping around. Rarely the management gets affected by it though. But this lying about it really pisses me off. Why do they pretend as the merge wouldn't affect anyone? Are they the only ones in the world who don't know the truth? Are they so pompous that they think they can make it, not giving room for reasoning, or a reason for that matter?
I think they are only buying time. The workers must keep working. It's easier to work under an illusion that there will be work for years to come. And a worker doesn't know if he/she's the one to go in the end. Personally, I'm expecting to hear from our management the sad, "unexpected" news not later than right after this Christmas. Then, I can write "What'd I say?", which is just about the only consolation I can think of right now.
In an info session, we were notified that the fusion will not affect anyone. How come I knew that? After followed a number of merges in the newspapers, they have always told that it won't lead to any changes in the company. And after six months or so, they always tell us that of course we had to cut down overlapping resources and thus some of the personnel has to go. It happens every time. I can't see why it wouldn't occur with our case.
It's perfectly understandable that when three companies become one, there must be a lot of overlapping around. Rarely the management gets affected by it though. But this lying about it really pisses me off. Why do they pretend as the merge wouldn't affect anyone? Are they the only ones in the world who don't know the truth? Are they so pompous that they think they can make it, not giving room for reasoning, or a reason for that matter?
I think they are only buying time. The workers must keep working. It's easier to work under an illusion that there will be work for years to come. And a worker doesn't know if he/she's the one to go in the end. Personally, I'm expecting to hear from our management the sad, "unexpected" news not later than right after this Christmas. Then, I can write "What'd I say?", which is just about the only consolation I can think of right now.
Smek joins the Twitter community [edit]
The world is full of... compromises? I wasn't too keen on starting to write this blog in Finnish, in spite of its pros (and cons). The readers consist however more and more of Finns. My answer to that may be stupid and temporary, but now I joined the Twitter too. And there I'm writing only in Finnish. You can see my latest twitter post at the end of this blog page, so you basically don't have to visit the Twitter at all. That is, if you don't mind staying out of progress. Progress, my ass, you might say. I'm just finding it out, so I can't really tell.
If you really want to know, I'm bored. But the boredom is the word sometimes. Without it, I probably would never have started Facebook nor Twitter, never got introduced to P2P or Skype, not to mention Messenger; hell, I would never have even blogged! And I have felt mostly good about blogging. No-one knows how long these hype-smelling pastime products will live, but right now that isn't the question. It's more about sharing your thoughts with people who are interested in them. Arguing perhaps, commenting, encouraging, exchanging opinions. Broaden our visions and attitudes to life, at its most optimistic way of seeing it.
I'm not a mentalist, but it seems obvious even by now, that these gadgets, toys for socially active people, will be gathered under one portal application, if you will. From there you can control all of these 'needs'. And from there your 'needs' can be controlled. That application will be used via mobile phones. I'm not a fortune teller either, but mark (read: mock) my words!
Alright, I removed the Twitter link in my blog, because I simply couldn't make it fit and look stylish enough. If you wish to visit there however, you can find in here.
If you really want to know, I'm bored. But the boredom is the word sometimes. Without it, I probably would never have started Facebook nor Twitter, never got introduced to P2P or Skype, not to mention Messenger; hell, I would never have even blogged! And I have felt mostly good about blogging. No-one knows how long these hype-smelling pastime products will live, but right now that isn't the question. It's more about sharing your thoughts with people who are interested in them. Arguing perhaps, commenting, encouraging, exchanging opinions. Broaden our visions and attitudes to life, at its most optimistic way of seeing it.
I'm not a mentalist, but it seems obvious even by now, that these gadgets, toys for socially active people, will be gathered under one portal application, if you will. From there you can control all of these 'needs'. And from there your 'needs' can be controlled. That application will be used via mobile phones. I'm not a fortune teller either, but mark (read: mock) my words!
Alright, I removed the Twitter link in my blog, because I simply couldn't make it fit and look stylish enough. If you wish to visit there however, you can find in here.
Nokia for dummies, part 2: Kuuma koira
This is not a Finnish, but a Nokian culinary dish. It's called 'kuuma koira' which is a translation of 'hot dog'. However, it has very little to do with a hot dog as we know it. It's a grill kiosk product invented by a man called Teutori in early 70's. He served this 'kuuma koira' along with basic grill products, such as meat pies, hamburgers and, I assume, genuine hot dogs too. Nowadays some other people have taken over, but the name of the grill kiosk is still 'Teuto grilli'. See the small picture of it, lying close to Nokia's railway station (PIP).
I hadn't tasted it before I moved to Nokia, so it wasn't that famous even in Tampere which is located right next to Nokia. Actually, my then-future wife wanted to introduce it to me. She didn't care for it that much herself, but I liked it from the first bite on.
I hadn't tasted it before I moved to Nokia, so it wasn't that famous even in Tampere which is located right next to Nokia. Actually, my then-future wife wanted to introduce it to me. She didn't care for it that much herself, but I liked it from the first bite on.A picture tells more than a 1000 words, they say, but I still want to describe it textually too. The basic idea of the 'kuuma koira' is that it contains a standard doughnut (munk/munkki) with a large steamed sausage. In addition there is cucumber salad, ketchup and mustard - standard grill spices as you like it. It used to have doughnut jam there too, but it was removed later, due to the extreme heat is gathered while re-heating it.
The taste is confusing. It tastes both sweet (the sugar of the doughnut) and salty (the sausage and the spices). There is a plenty of eating in it, and it's relatively cheap too. It's not a healthy meal, and that's why I can't have it that often. Still I can recommend it to anyone. Actually, I introduced it to my by-now-very-Swedish uncle a few years ago, and he said it was interesting. That could be interpreted that he didn't really like it. But I'm sure it was worth trying for him too. Even now, as I write this story, I get hungry even by thinking about it. The picture though may not look that tempting, LOL!
Today, the 1st of October, 2009
Today Tampere celebrates its 230 years of being a city. Gustaf III founded it in 1779. It's a long way from those days, a lot of water has run down in Tammerkoski, the falls in the heart of the city. Yesterday, a radio reporter claimed that Tampere was now 320 years old. Some journalism, some math brilliance. Happy birthday, my old home town, however old you are!
Today the grocery tax was lowered finally. The reducement is so small that it's hardly visible. When rounding cents (hundredths of an euro) to the nearest 5 cents as we do in Finland (1 and 2 cent coins are not in use, although they exist), the gain may be totally lost sometimes. They have calculated that a family saves 100 euros per year after the tax reducement. It's a temporary relief though, because the tax will go up again next Summer, by one per cent. A lot of price tag changing for so little amount of money.
Today the alcohol tax was raised. This will not concern me that much, since I have started to cut down my alcohol consuming. The point of getting drunk, if there ever was one, has never appealed to me. Instead of strong liquor, I have plans to concentrate on wines. My wife has come to the same conclusion. Hell, 15 years ago I didn't even like wine. Well, now I do. It's not that dangerous nor expensive to open up a bottle every once in a while. It may be even healthy, if you believe what they have found out about redwine.
Today it's official: the great Finnish formula driver Kimi Räikkönen leaves Ferrari. It's not yet sure whether he will carry on racing in Formula 1. He has lately been participating in some rally racing competitions, with promising results. If I received 42 million euros as a golden handshake for leaving my job, I wouldn't hesitate to retire. Then again, my career hasn't been as glorious as his. So far, LOL!
Today the police starts giving speeding tickets after you have been caught speeding 11 km/h. After speeding 6 km/h, they will give you a warning. Until today, the decision has been under policemen's consideration, when the speed limit has been exceeded worth giving a ticket. Now the rules are clear and there's no room for speculation. However, I'd like the speedometers to show the precise speed of the vehicle. As far as I know, every car's speedo shows too much. How can I drive and speed 10 km/h and thus avoid the ticket, if I don't know my exact velocity?
Today I started using ads in my blog. I hope to see the hit count that way. It would be great to know are we talking about dozens or thousands of readers here. Funny, those ads reflect my posts. Now there seems to be a lot of links to criminal TV series on DVD available. It'll be quite interesting to see if the bot detects and solves any of my multiple quotations and other twisted jokes I plant in my blog. I'd better not let it affect my blogging anyway...
Today the grocery tax was lowered finally. The reducement is so small that it's hardly visible. When rounding cents (hundredths of an euro) to the nearest 5 cents as we do in Finland (1 and 2 cent coins are not in use, although they exist), the gain may be totally lost sometimes. They have calculated that a family saves 100 euros per year after the tax reducement. It's a temporary relief though, because the tax will go up again next Summer, by one per cent. A lot of price tag changing for so little amount of money.
Today the alcohol tax was raised. This will not concern me that much, since I have started to cut down my alcohol consuming. The point of getting drunk, if there ever was one, has never appealed to me. Instead of strong liquor, I have plans to concentrate on wines. My wife has come to the same conclusion. Hell, 15 years ago I didn't even like wine. Well, now I do. It's not that dangerous nor expensive to open up a bottle every once in a while. It may be even healthy, if you believe what they have found out about redwine.
Today it's official: the great Finnish formula driver Kimi Räikkönen leaves Ferrari. It's not yet sure whether he will carry on racing in Formula 1. He has lately been participating in some rally racing competitions, with promising results. If I received 42 million euros as a golden handshake for leaving my job, I wouldn't hesitate to retire. Then again, my career hasn't been as glorious as his. So far, LOL!
Today the police starts giving speeding tickets after you have been caught speeding 11 km/h. After speeding 6 km/h, they will give you a warning. Until today, the decision has been under policemen's consideration, when the speed limit has been exceeded worth giving a ticket. Now the rules are clear and there's no room for speculation. However, I'd like the speedometers to show the precise speed of the vehicle. As far as I know, every car's speedo shows too much. How can I drive and speed 10 km/h and thus avoid the ticket, if I don't know my exact velocity?
Today I started using ads in my blog. I hope to see the hit count that way. It would be great to know are we talking about dozens or thousands of readers here. Funny, those ads reflect my posts. Now there seems to be a lot of links to criminal TV series on DVD available. It'll be quite interesting to see if the bot detects and solves any of my multiple quotations and other twisted jokes I plant in my blog. I'd better not let it affect my blogging anyway...
Nokia for dummies, part 1: The introduction
Now that I have re-inhabited myself back to Nokia, I received a 'Welcome' post from the city. Nine months overdue! Well, at least I'm welcomed now; it didn't happen in 1995 when I originally moved to Nokia. The brochure contained information where the name 'nokia' comes from. I did not know that, and neither did my wife - a native Nokian. Actually, no-one really knows, but they speculate it's from sable, a furry little animal. The brochure is worthy of a free entry for two in the swimming hall of Nokia. Just how lucky can one get?
Nokia used to be a part of Pirkkala, until it was dealt into Northern and Southern Pirkkala, Nokia being the Northern. When Nokia name was taken into use in 1938, the people in Nokia actually wanted to have 'Pirkkala' as the name, but the president of Finland decided otherwise. 'Pirkkala' name was given to South-Pirkkala. The Nokia manor may have been the cause for the name change. It had existed since the 1600th century, at least. Read more about in wiki pages.
The company called Nokia has its roots in the city alright, although they have never manufactured one single cell phone there. That is something that seems to bite many Nokians. Of course they'd like to gather all credit for it, but it simply isn't up for grabs. When there have been plans to unite Tampere, Nokia, Pirkkala and Ylöjärvi, and call it Tampere, some Nokian have said 'Why not call it Nokia? It's far more famous all around the world!' Well, that someone is right, but clearly doesn't want to remember that Nokians didn't approve 'Nokia' for the name of their town in the first place. In addition, Tampere is still one of the key places where Nokia's mobile development takes place.
The city of Nokia is somewhat pathetic. Most cities own their name for a web site, e.g. http://www.tampere.fi/, http://www.helsinki.fi/. But http://www.nokia.fi/ leads to the company pages. Instead they have a difficult http://www.nokiankaupunki.fi/, which means thecityofnokia. In 1977, Nokia became a city.
I have wondered for a long time, which one of these has used this font for 'Nokia' first. There is a paint shop in Nokia that has a name 'Nokian väri' (Nokia's colour). Well, Nokia's colour h
as always been red, LOL, except lately when the right-wing took over. In political wise, nothing has still changed because the same old farts are in the same old positions, doing the same old decisions. And the same old mistakes, I might add. Back to the logo and the font: see for yourself the similarity! I'm surprised that this kind of news has never reached the media's attention. They may have some kind of agreement made in the background, who knows. The paint shop, by the way, is a good place to do shopping. Good service, although the prices are bit high for my taste.
as always been red, LOL, except lately when the right-wing took over. In political wise, nothing has still changed because the same old farts are in the same old positions, doing the same old decisions. And the same old mistakes, I might add. Back to the logo and the font: see for yourself the similarity! I'm surprised that this kind of news has never reached the media's attention. They may have some kind of agreement made in the background, who knows. The paint shop, by the way, is a good place to do shopping. Good service, although the prices are bit high for my taste.The cat's gone
Where is the cat? The cat's in the Moon. The cat's in the cradle. The cat's gone.
There is a district of Nokia called Haavisto. I live not so far away from it. I have heard rumours from wife that there is a man (let's assume it's a man) who hates cats so much that he even lures them into his yard and then catches them. He sends them to a lost-and-found office for animals. That's quite nasty of him. Of course loose cats are a problem to an extent, but this is almost cruelty to animals. And to cat-owners of the district.
Personally, I don't like cats. I prefer dogs. Cats scratch and will never be tamed. My wife hates them both and our daughter loves them both. The conclusion is that we don't have furry animals in our house. There are allergies involved too.
However, I kind of like those wild or loose cats walking around our yard, because they catch mice. At least they keep them away quite succesfully (That reminds me of having to set up mouse traps; it's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it).
Then again, I don't like cats killing birds, pheasants (fasaani) in particular which used to be widespread all around Haavisto and its neighborhood. Also one of the most sympathetic animals, hedgehogs, are a rarity around there these days. Hedgehogs eat snails; we'd welcome one anytime in our yard. Cats do love to piss and shit in the sand, which we have all around.
That being said, I still wouldn't harm a cat. None of us would. For weeks ago, we received a note saying that someone had lost their cat. The print-outs were in lamp-posts, basically everywhere. Then the former cat-owner must have gotten an angry, almost threatening letter, presumably from the kidnapper of the cat. The letter implies that the cat will be killed the next time it crosses their yard. Maybe the next time was at hand? If the execution has taken place already, what's the use of spreading leaflets? Shouldn't the police be notified?
Now we, along with other inhabitants, got a printout of the threat and information about other several similar cases. The note says that their cat had been searched everywhere, lost-and-found office included. Someone in there really doesn't like cats! Ok, I'll do the same to the mice, but those are not anyone's pets. I wouldn't lure them into our house just to kill them.
Indeed, I haven't seen any cat walking around our home lately. Someone has been efficient, I must admit. But that someone hasn't everything in order at his home. Beware of the catman!
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