Holy days / Strange things in Finland, part 2 / Business idea? / Automatically screwed…
People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use. Sören Kierkegaard
Yesterday, oozing disappointment for not getting the job and getting lame excuses instead. Then, Olli, Tarmo, and Maritta came for a semi-surprise visit. After that, some disappointment still oozed, but then it ended. And I was like the fox in the Swedish proverb.
On Sunday, a walk, an attack on the machines at the gym, the Olympic ice-hockey final, a walk to the market square, idling.
Would there be market for a small consultancy specialising in (system/sw) architecture evaluations, re-architecting and related training? I think I have the necessary education and experience and some of the needed entrepreneurial spirit. In civil architecture, many architects have their own small companies. Civil architects design building architecture and then let other specialists to take care of electrical design etc. Similar division of concerns and labour should work well in systems architecting.
A thriving ecosystem of such consultancies, or small design workshops, would decrease the power of large corporations. It would also guarantee a number of jobs in Finland - to compete with cheaper labour of India, China, etc, we need to work smarter. Being small and thus threatened by extinction should increase smartness.
Any ideas? If certain things fail to materialise, I may start such a company. Just for fun, if nothing else.
A bank's automatic computer system screwed me. I had an empty, unused, and unnecessary account in the bank. The bank charges few euros per month for keeping the account in their system. My account ran empty and the system started to send threatening letters to me. I owed some 10 euros to the bank, and they seriously were sending the hounds after me and destroying my credit rating. Fortunately I was able to tame the beast and close the account.
Again, I have started to frequent the local Finnish lunch restaurant Heipan herkkulounas (Heippa's delicious lunch). They served simple Finnish dishes from fried herrings to minced meat steaks. They also serve fabulous Finnish coffee, so bitter that my hair stands straight if I drink it. A great place. Definitely worth visiting for every curious tourist.
If someone know any other authentic small Finnish lunch places, please let me know. I am so bored with fancy restaurants, in which I have to pay for extra space, decoration, and maybe even lavish lifestyle of the owners.
By the way, places like Heippa's are very common in Italy. I know many such places even in Venice, and visit them annually.
So, I got over it, and decided never to get under it again. And I will take note of Sami's and Kilvar's wise advice. See yesterday's comments.
Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs January to February 2006".
Holy days
Days with next to nothing to do are holy. So, I slept late, had lunch with S, wrote and read, took a nap, visited Kela, sat a while in Rytmi-bar, and later met with Maunu, my long time colleague.Yesterday, oozing disappointment for not getting the job and getting lame excuses instead. Then, Olli, Tarmo, and Maritta came for a semi-surprise visit. After that, some disappointment still oozed, but then it ended. And I was like the fox in the Swedish proverb.
On Sunday, a walk, an attack on the machines at the gym, the Olympic ice-hockey final, a walk to the market square, idling.
Strange things in Finland, part 2
- The extremely bitter filter coffee, bitter but not strong.
- Legally mandated coffee breaks at work (2 times 10 minutes per day, I assume).
- Popularity of bitching about the tax on cars.
- Claiming that "Finland is a land of long distances", when most Finns live in cities, and in the triangle of Helsinki - Turku - Tampere. On average, distances in France, Germany, and Sweden are longer, for they are larger countries.
- Efficiency and friendliness of the local bureaucracy, for example Kela.
- Avoidance of voice-mail: Finns use SMS and email instead.
- Serving grated carrots as salad.
- Efficiency of local power-plants: 85 percent or more.
- Under-ice fishing with nets and wire-hooks.
- Cross-country skiing.
- Smoking in cafes and bars - terrible!
- Lack of foreigners and ethnic restaurants.
- Prevalence of xenophobia.
- Cheap and good wine available in the state owned alcohol stores.
- Number of drunkards shouting to invisible people.
- Lack of free, open WLANs in Helsinki.
Business idea?
Would there be market for a small consultancy specialising in (system/sw) architecture evaluations, re-architecting and related training? I think I have the necessary education and experience and some of the needed entrepreneurial spirit. In civil architecture, many architects have their own small companies. Civil architects design building architecture and then let other specialists to take care of electrical design etc. Similar division of concerns and labour should work well in systems architecting. A thriving ecosystem of such consultancies, or small design workshops, would decrease the power of large corporations. It would also guarantee a number of jobs in Finland - to compete with cheaper labour of India, China, etc, we need to work smarter. Being small and thus threatened by extinction should increase smartness.
Any ideas? If certain things fail to materialise, I may start such a company. Just for fun, if nothing else.
Automatically screwed
A bank's automatic computer system screwed me. I had an empty, unused, and unnecessary account in the bank. The bank charges few euros per month for keeping the account in their system. My account ran empty and the system started to send threatening letters to me. I owed some 10 euros to the bank, and they seriously were sending the hounds after me and destroying my credit rating. Fortunately I was able to tame the beast and close the account.My lunch restaurant in Kallio
Again, I have started to frequent the local Finnish lunch restaurant Heipan herkkulounas (Heippa's delicious lunch). They served simple Finnish dishes from fried herrings to minced meat steaks. They also serve fabulous Finnish coffee, so bitter that my hair stands straight if I drink it. A great place. Definitely worth visiting for every curious tourist. If someone know any other authentic small Finnish lunch places, please let me know. I am so bored with fancy restaurants, in which I have to pay for extra space, decoration, and maybe even lavish lifestyle of the owners.
By the way, places like Heippa's are very common in Italy. I know many such places even in Venice, and visit them annually.
Sour, as the fox calls rowanberries
I have solved the job mystery by deciding to ignore it. It just does not make sense to worry over decisions of recruiting managers. Clearly, I would have been a near-perfect choice for the job, but if the recruiting managers cannot see it, it is their, and company's shareholders', problem. Clearly not mine. So, why to sweat such a small, almost insignificant thing.So, I got over it, and decided never to get under it again. And I will take note of Sami's and Kilvar's wise advice. See yesterday's comments.
Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs January to February 2006".
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