Mane

When God hands you a gift, he also hands you a whip; and the whip is intended for self-flagellation solely. Truman Capote Why Pepsi-Max and Dr Pepper are necessary They contain aspartame, which decomposes into dopamine, which is good for my mental state. Nice to have such good tasting, cheap, and commonly accepted medicines. Some people claim that aspartame will kill me, softly and slowly, but I say, screw them. There you go. Confusions Today, I got totally confused. I first took the tram to Munkkiniemi, but then I did not feel like walking. Instead, I bought a lot of chocolate, too another tram back to the city center and then a bus to the countryside, where my office is. But I threw some chocolate away. Healthy, eh? In the evening, we organized our CDs. We have too few of them and too many of them are from China, thus not exactly original or something. Maybe I will buy some more CDs later. Now I realized that my financials would not mind me not buying too much anything but wi...

I have been underestimated for decades. I've done very well that way. Helmut Kohl A mutiny ? According to Gulfnews, a resigned major general accuses Rumsfeld of getting US soldiers killed in vain in Iraq. The general, John Batiste says that Rumsfeld "strategic blunders of enormous magnitude". Quite interesting. Of course, tomorrow Mr. Bush has a press conference and tells that Rumsfeld has never done anything wrong. And the soldiers will be killed, in vain, in illegal war. Just to make sure that there is someone to remember on Memorial Days for decades to come. Renting an office Should I rent an office? There are free office spaces (or barbershop places) for rent near my home. Such a place would be nice to have, a place for pinball machines, for computers, for starting a small consulting company or something, or maybe a cafeteria. Let's see. If anyone is willing to participate in the rent, let me know. We will then start the company/cafeteria/whatever together...

Expecting is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today. Lucius Annaeus Seneca A new book I took a book for a walk and ended up in the Academic bookstore. I bought a present for Mika, who has his 40th birtgday (party) today. For myself, I bough How Mumbo Jumbo Conquered the World by Wheen . At least parts of it (bashing the faddist management self-help books) appear on target. Team players The other day, I was reading Cobra II . It told about a general, whom Rumsfeld chose for Chairman of JCS. His main qualification was reputation of being a team player . Later, as the chief of JCS, he never questioned Rumsfeld's incomplete plans for occupying Iraq. It seems that being a team player is not what I have assumed it to be. I have assumed a team player to be someone, who can work with other, express his own views and bring his own expertise/skills/knowledge to the team. Now, it seems that being a team player is just an euphemism for being brow...

In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that He did not also limit his stupidity. Konrad Adenauer War Nerd For those interested in military issues and history, War Nerd 's blog is quite interesting thing to follow. The others may well check out Salon.com . Now I am off to the party. Some progress The US marines are learning. They understood, that just torturing Iraqis is not going to do it. It is much better to adopt the old Western habit of shooting first and answering to questions of the military court later. As we all know, the court will be lenient, find mitigating circumstances, and protect the leaders up in the command chain. This is the only explanation for slaughtering 24 civilians , unarmed, peaceful, women and children. This incident was at least 3 times more criminal, cowardly, and disgusting than the 7/7-bombing in London. It was a terrorist act by regular military, an ultimate example of state supported terrorism. I just hop...

Happy, satisfied customers mean profits, gentlemen. Old saying. Last few days Yesterday, the ascension day, was quite quiet until late afternoon, when we had to clean up before Olli and his family called us for a short visit. Nice to have friends over. Good food, decent wine, and interesting discussions. What else can one ask for? Well, maybe Cuban cigars, which I have. So, life was perfect for a while. On Wednesday, rushing to work, but the tram got lost. I still made it to the office in time, but I had to ride the tram around the whole cit center. At work, interesting meetings, reading. After work, a beer in Rytmi with Aaro . He told me that I look wise in my new beard. I have the beard, because I cannot let Kauko Röyhkä to sport the longest beard of the bar. He seems to frequent the bar. Too bad for me, I cannot visit the barbershop. This is getting crazy. 1/80000 of the mob I was about 1/80000th of the mob listening to Lordi today in the Market Square. S was another 1/80...

When I grow up I want to be a little boy. Joseph Heller Lordi and anonymity Lordi wants to keep his and his band members real faces and identities secret, for they do not add anything to the show. Or they actually take away the magic. Of course, the yellow press here in Finland and elsewhere tries to break the magic and publish pictures. I am not linking to the stories, because I find them stupid. Real anonymity is possible, however. The band called The Residents (another site ) has been able to conceal the identities of its members for more than 30 years. According to wikipedia , their reasons are philosophical: The Residents have always cloaked their lives and music in obscurity. The band members, always shown as being four in number, refuse to grant interviews, and do not identify themselves by name or even individual pseudonyms. Concerts and photo shoots are always performed in full disguise, most recognizably in white tie tuxedos, top hats and giant eyeball masks. For their...

On the Day Of Rockening, it's who dares wins. Lordi Taxis in NYC Accordign to an article in NY Times, the taxi drivers rent the car by the day from the fleet owners. The driver pays for the gas, the fleet owner for maintenance of the cabs. Thus, the driver has the incentive of not using much gas, or renting an efficient car, while the fleet owners basically do not care for fuel efficiency. Now, the taxi commission has approved a few hybrid cars in addition to the Ford Crown Victorias (about 25 l/100 km). It seems to work: drivers like to cars and the cars have not yet broken down. There is a nice opportunity for a new fleet owner in NYC. Just buy a small fleet of fuel efficient cars, include the gas to the rent and make sure that the total expense for the driver is smaller than that of Crown Victoria and gas. The business should work. Or, the taxi commission could change the rules and mandate the fleet owners to pay for the gas (up to commission specified, decreasing, amount)...

Limited information resources produce information of limited value. Michael J. Spendolini Blogging and jobs If I apply for jobs, is this blog a liability or an advatage? Do I come across as a nice teamplayer, whom any employer would be happy to employ, or a stubborn individualist. And does it matter that I am a liberalist? Some interesting links Is it OK to fly by Leo Hickman discusses pollution caused by the 20000 airliners up in the skies. Water shortages in UK are acute, but according to the "When rivers run dry" they are much worse in Pakistan, India, China, Mexico, etc. And the some free books (but not all of them are free), and some abstracts of business books , not free, but still a good service if your get someone to pay for it. A list of blogs on politics , on both sides. The best bars in Helsinki Yesterday, I had a few beer with Petri in the two best bars in Helsinki. First we visited Rytmi and enjoyed the company of young and artistic clientele...

Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience. George Washington Reading I walked 1h30 minutes to work and back today. I managed to read 75 pages of Competitive Intelligence" while walking. It is very surprising that I can walk winding path without looking anything but the book. I do not know I manage that. Bookshelves I bought some new Lundia -bookshelves. They are very versatile and durable. Brand new ones are very expensive, but since they are virtually indestructible, there is a lively second hand market of Lundia-shelves. Today I got a shelf with doors (for clothes) for 50 euros. Excellent. Now we have Lundia-shelves in every room except bathroom. Soon I will find a way of putting Lundia there as well. Revolution, please According to some news, Mr. Rumsfeld wants to rewrite USA's interrogation rules. He emphasizes that the new rules will not comply with the international treaties USA has signed and ratified. Would you...

Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Daniel 12:4 I have an affair I have an affair. With trams that is. I just love them, I feel very down if I cannot take a tram somewhere daily. It is so nice to ride a tram. It glides so smoothly, the passengers are always on a good mood. Not like a bus, where the passengers are angry, sad, and moody and about to throw up for the ride is not pleasant. The 3-tram goes by our home. I can observe it from our balcony. I can even check if some of my friends is inside. What I see Opposite our new home is a watering hole for local underclass. One day we were drinking beer in our balcony and keeping our eyes on the watering hole. Suddenly the owner carried a drunkard out of the hole. The drunkard had lost his trousers, but soon they were also thrown out. It took him well over 20 minutes of dress up, after which he was lifted back on a chair and his bag of bottles was returned to him. His friend came out also, with some help of ...

Politics is like driving: select R to go backwards, select D to go forwards. Anonymous Quick update A quick update. Life has been busy. First, we celebrated the Mayday with friends and few tens of thousands others in Kaivopuisto-park. Oh, before that OV and his family threw a party, a very nice party. Except that almost everyone got sick (in addition to the normal tiredness and hangover). High fever, a few dashed to the toilet seat and few days off from the office. So passed one week. Next busy thing was to pack all our books and other things and invite good friends to haul them to our new home. It took 3 full days and since that we have busy unpacking the books etc. Now, too tired to write more. Hang on, I will write a lot next weekend. Meanwhile, read Antiwar.com , do what you can to prevent the nuclear criminals from massacring millions. April Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs March to June 2006".