Mane

Resting on your laurels is as dangerous as resting when you are walking in the snow. You doze off and die in your sleep. Ludwig Wittgenstein Cubic mile of oil The world consumes about one cubic mile of oil every year. It is quite much and replacing the cubic mile with e.g. ethanol is simply impossible. We really need to address the demand side, not only the supply. No other source of energy will be enough for running a fleet of automobiles such as the current one. On the other hand, burning all that oil and much else yields warmer climate. Union of Concerned Scientist have published a good summary of IPCC findings . Worth reading. Working Again, a day full of work. How wonderful it is to work like this! I suffered so much last year when I had to be present in the office, but was given nothing to work on (for the first 3 months) or something way too trivial for me. Now, I am involved in a project, which is very important for the corporation, and which is hard enough for me. And ...

Time waste differs from material waste in that there can be no salvage. Henry Ford Today A quiet but productive day. I spend all day writing some plans for my project. I also studied data warehousing, something which I need to excel in very near future. It is fun, it is always fun to learn new things. I even managed to write something in the early afternoon. I was very surprised. But I did surf the net quite much, as I always do when the thing I write is not that creative, but contains some administrative stuff. I just cannot help it. In Guardian Weekly, Marcus Buckingham once again emphasizes the importance on working on one's strengths and trying to avoid one's weakness. He proposes a way to find out one's strengths: keeping a diary on things one like to do and those one does not. Those one likes are likely to be those one should spend more time doing. Doing this exercise at work would be beneficial for the company and the employee. I will try it in the next two wee...

Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so. Bertrand Russell Weekend Been busy, lazy and ill, not in the mood for writing. Now feeling better. On Friday, a very short day at work, absolutely no energy to the nominal 8 hours. But since nobody but me is counting, who cares. Later, picking up Taiichi Onho 's Toyou production system from the post office. Such a nice and important book - worth the time and money, being even very well written. Funny also. Reading it in the nearest cafe for hours. On Saturday, my annual name day, cleaning the house, before my brother and mother arrived from Tampere. Some drinks, then shopping in the Asian foodstores, having an excellent late lunch in Dong Bei Hu, cafe and a superb white chocolate sea buckthorn pastry in Cafe Engel. Even later, the monthly game night at Lemmy's. See Lavonardo 's account. S took part as well and turned out to be surprisingly good in pinball. On Sunday, just idling at home. A visit by Ruby, ...

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. Albert Camus Flying Yes, I have flown a lot. I have been to many places, visited all continents except Antarctica. If travelling were not so addictive, it would be easy to stop flying, and if there would be some other regular transportation to Americas. But I will cut down flying, for I think it is not necessary for me anymore and for I do not like it anymore: all glamour, adveture, pleasure is gone now, replaced with security theater, smaller leg room, etc. If I had extra money, I would invest it in Zeppelin manufacturers. I am quite sure that in some 20 years, Zeppelins will be back. In general, we are about to witness and go through another energy revolution. There will be huge business opportunities, fortunes will be made and lost. The overall wealth will go down, but what remains, will be distributed anew. Maybe this time I am clever enough to get more th...

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. Thich Nhat Hanh My 20% cut in CO2 emissions So, the EU has agreed. I will do my part by Not flying that much anymore - I can easily cut flying down by 80%. Eating less fish, eating more local food (vegetables of season). In general, eating less. Walking to the office, and in general using only electric public transit. Buying less stuff — I have almost anything I need, anyway Taking shorter and cooler showers, maybe even less frequently. Later: moving to a better insulated apartment, or getting my own built. At work: inventing ways of running the business with less energy, or energy from renewable sources. Recycling more, since not all waste can be avoided. I think I can cut my personal CO2 emissions by way more than 20% and even sooner than 2020. But I need to get more active in politics as well. Any other ideas? Local cooling Nature thanks us for our good intentio...

Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it. Plato Wikipedia XKCD.com has found out why Wikipedia is problematic . The same applies to the whole Internet as well. Antiwar.com needs some help Antiwar.com is still lacking some money. Consider donating . Antiwar.com is a worthy source of news and comments. Exercise Ok, it is time to leave the internet on its own. I assume it will not disappear, if I have some physical exercise for two hours daily. I will still have enough time to please the gods of the internet, to worship them with my browser and by my endless looking for hidden meaning. The meaning of life, or anything, is not in the network of computers, it is in a network of comrades. Since I like to keep statistics of anything, I have a new exercise page . Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs February to March 2007".

I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely. Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr. Sunday links Science vs Faith . Subways of the world on the same scale via Pia's blog The second most expensive war by Eric Margolis. Microsoft trying to recruit Eric S. Raymond . What happens if one makes fun of a certain man via Antti K . Why supporting crap is stupid — such crap as the newest gadgets. Conflicts forum . Sunday I need to cut down the time I spend online. I get depressed and angry and become fat. Not good. Today, after hours of anxiety, I managed to get out for a walk. Walking was fun even though I could not read Foreign Affairs while walking. So, I had to think myself, my own thoughts. Quite scary. Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs February to March 2007".

As a teenager I was more of an anarchist, but now I want people to thrive and be harmonious. Nicolas Cage Two interesting articles Why the U.S. Can't Win Iraq's Civil War by James D. Fearon What Iraq Tells Us About Ourselves by Col. W. Patrick Lang, Jr. Busy Kind of busy, or avoiding excessive time for self-reflection. Sometimes it pays not to think too much about personal issues, just live for the moment, and not to worry. Or something. On Thursday , working as usual, later listening to a lecture on 9/11 conspiracy theories. Just crazy to think that the US government would be competent enough to come up with and implement such a conspiracy! Just look how good they are both in secrecy and getting things done elsewhere. I think they did know that the 9/11 attack were about to take place, but were just too complacent and incompetent and afraid to do anything. Just like Stalin was before the Germans attacked in WWII. On Friday , work (and good work indeed - I invente...

A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud. Ralph Waldo Emerson Fonecta: please take your books away! As Lazu points out, delivering phone books to each home is irresponsible. It wastes natural resources and annoys everyone. If you thinks as I do and do not want the books, consider following Lazu's advice and send email to Fonecta. Maybe they will come and get their books. Some companies are advertising on the phone book cover. Maybe they would like to know, that since they are spamming my home, I will never buy anything from them any more. Hansen on climate change James Hansen, NASA's leading expert on climate change, gave a speech on climate change a few months back. We may still have time to save a livable planet for the coming generations, but we must act now, decisively and fast. Each of us individually, as countries, as nations, as members of humanity. And we need to get this topic on the agenda of each and every political debat...

In war there is no substitute for victory. Douglas MacArthur Some links Transportation: from trucks to trains Conflicts forum — another blog and news site on Islam, Iraq, etc The best of Pepe Escobar — collected stories and articles by a brave journalist Rape in the US prisons — how raping is rampant in the US prison system. It seems that the system just prevents the prisoners from escaping, not from hurting each other very badly. Maybe it is deliberate, a way of outsourcing torture on the victims themselves. Vicious, anyhow. Please, consider also donating some money to the Antiwar.com . They may have rather libertarian views on some issues, but their work is of huge importance. Weekend A long weekend, or at least long time no sitting at my desk at the office. Some supplier meetings have kept me busy lately, even in the evenings when I have had dinner with suppliers, at their expense. Well, nothing more to tell about it in public. On Friday, after work, we had the mo...

A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do. Bob Dylan Free nutrition It is well known, that free booze tastes better than booze one has to pay for and that for this reason free booze makes one so drunk in no time. Today I found out that free food also has similar effects: making one eat too much and thus causing not so much additional well being. Walking I had to take a bus to work today. I was just too late, could not have made it by foor in heavy snow fall. So, I have not woken up properly and my back is tired. It really makes sense to walk 30 minutes to work. Not doing so spoils the day. Those who commute by car must feel terrible all the time. Poor souls, poor because of the car and sick because lack of exercise. Way too early Quite inhuman to wake up early enough to make it to the office at 9am. I just do not get used to it. Luckily, I normally can start working at 10am. It is the earliest time I a...

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained. Marie Curie M.A Numminen M.A Numminen and his band (for the occasion) performed songs he has written for Heinrich Heine poems. Quite peculiar. Mr. Numminen also refused to speak Finnish, for the most part of the concert. He spoke funny German. The band has a DJ, a string quartet, vibraphonist, and pianist, and even a female singer, who voice was present. She was not. The songs were compose in Schubertian manner, although they reminded me most of the Residents. One of the weirdest concerts I have been to ever. War with Iran The clock is ticking. Some more speculation has surfaced in the web. 12 consequences of attacking Iran Day one in the Iran war It seems that the analysts somewhat agree on this issue. Let's see whether they are writing in vain. Let's hope so. If I h...

If you're depressed, change your focus. Quit wishing and start doing. The best way to feel hopeful about the future is to get off your ass and demonstrate to yourself that you are a capable, competent individual resolutely able to face new circumstances. James Kunstler Experiment in cold weather I made an experiment. I walked from office to the restaurant Juttutupa (for the monthly Tuesday meeting) and decided to try whether I can make it without gloves. It was easy, no problems at all, no freezing, all fingers completely functional. It was -19C. The walk took 46 minutes. Tomorrow, it should be colder still, maybe -25C in the morning. I will try whether I can make it without gloves to the office (30 minutes). I may be a bit nuts. Hard to keep quiet It is hard for me not to make many questions in work related information meetings. It is not that the presentations would be unclear or presented sloppily. It is just me: when I am working and in a good mood, I always find so man...

Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. Soren Kierkegaard Something insane Trying to mount an engine from a WWII Sherman tank on an old Ford Mustang is quite something. Rather interesting, it would be nice to see how such a car will move. Fast, I assume. Anti-Bush music from Kuwait Juan Cole posted a link to a anti-Bush song by a Kuwaiti singer Shams. Helena Cobban picked up the story and wrote a longer commentary on the song . Much better to sing than bomb, I assume. And more effective, for dictators (even aspiring ones) do not like to be laughed at. Direct link to the video . Mysteries Daily Kos is perplexed by the changing views on Iraq: Are you losing track of the good and the bad in Iraq? We're told the Sunni insurgents are bad, but they're backed by Bush...

I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war. Albert Einstein Climate change The report came out yesterday. Let's see what kinds of excuses our politician come up with this time. We have elections coming, with almost no serious discussion on energy conservation etc. More later, now I try not to become depressed or possessed by this problem. Some links Kick the oil habit — another view on the oil conundrum Orders of magnitude — list of things of different size, weight, power, etc. Very surprising, for an ignorasmus like me. Megaproject — a list of project of great size, difficulty, or importance. Those who worked as systems architects in these projects are my hereos and idols. I would like to meet many of them. Secret Worlds: The Universe Within — series of pictures from the Milky way to electrons. Worth several viewings. Trapeze for turning pdf-files to something...

I think a man ought to get drunk at least twice a year just on principle, so he won't let himself get snotty about it. Raymond Chandler Sleep deprivation No cure for my sleep deprivation. I try to sleep longer last night, even went to bed early, but a book kept me awake for a few hours. Contrary what Richard C. thinks, I even remember what I read, and what I read before that. Maybe memory needs exercise as well as the body, or other faculties of mind. The plan is to read several books before Sunday is up. And walk some 15 miles at the same time. Alun perin julkaistu kuukausikoosteessa "Blogs February to March 2007".

Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. Benjamin Franklin A new diet The reading diet: try to read as many books in a year as you weight by the end of the year. Somehow, you will lose your appetite already in January. Very efficient, very pleasant way to lose some fat and gain some wisdom. Reading too much I have been reading too much, or at least too late in the night. It seems that I can function with 6-hours sleep for a week, but then I collapse. I have to cut down reading nonsense from the net. Or at least producing it. Institutional theory of books Regarding my new year resolution , I consider any novel, collection of short stories, or longer essay published by a legitimate publisher a book. In addition, I of course consider profession related books on technology, politics, etc as books. The number of pages the books have do not matter. Adapted from Danto's theory of art: anything the art world considers as a work of art is a work of art. Nokia movie ...