I'm not on the Internet

Due to some firewall updating where I'm currently at there are a number of pages I can't access right now. Pages like Facebook, MySpace, part of Aftonbladet(Swedish news site)... I have also problems publishing writings on pages with flash and autosave. I'm on the Internet but not all of it. But hopefully they will get it fixed soon. At least Blogger is working and I'll be out of here in 5 hours...

Next Blog

Do you see where it says "Next Blog»" on top of the page? I sometimes click that link and suddenly I'm in some unknown person's blog. A lot of times that blog is written in some language I don't understand but luckily English is the lingua franca of the blogosphere or anywhere else online or irl for that matter. Other times the next blog redirects you automatically to some... well let's just call them the shadier back alleys of Internet.

But the next blog is often enough so well written and/or that interesting that it's worth going trough a few bad blogs and the questionable ?free?/commercial side of the net.

Yes it happens that I'm bored when I'm here...

Hallucinations

When you start seeing things that other people don't see it's time to clean your glasses ;-).

Next stop Ikea

We're going to Ikea on Friday. This time we are going to Raiso just north of Turku. It's the closest Ikea we have. It's a four hour drive without breaks, which we will have, at least one, probably two. I'm not sure when the new Ikea in Tampere will open but I think it later this year, maybe next year. That will only be 3 hours away.

However we will not buy furniture, we are already over furnitured. It's the small stuff, the little things, like maybe a new lamp, a kitchen tap and some kids stuff and we are not forgetting meatballs. The Ikea restaurant may not be a top of the line restaurant but they know their meatballs and mashed potatoes.

And as a good rule it's not a good idea to write in your blog that you are going away and leaving the house all empty. Because we are not, we are leaving behind our four dogs to guard the house and the city is digging and laying down a new sewer line right next to our house for the next few weeks every day.

2 hours

2 hours left before my first night shift out of 4 ends and I can go home and get some sleep. The nice thing about this winter (which affects my job) is that it's stable. The same temperature, a bit of snow on the ground and no surprise weather. It's nice...

I'm nice to Jehva's Witnesses

I've sort of avoided the question of religion in my blog. Simply because one man's faith is another man's delusion. The risk of offending someone is substantial.

But I'm fairly sure that I can write this post without upsetting too many people. Because I'm actually nice to Jehova's Witnesses, yes I really am. They knock on the door and the dogs go crazy. We have 4 dogs, we don't need a doorbell. So I slip trough the pet gate between the entry hall and the hallway and open the front door. I stand on front door's threshold and with 4 dogs barking 1 meter behind me trough a pet gate and an open front door I can't really hear what they are saying but one of them is holding a "Watchtower" so that suggests that they are in fact Jehova's Witnesses. We talk for a while, about a minute or two. But we can't really hear each other because of the barking dogs but I think it's small talk. They eventually hand over the Watchtower and leave and for some strange reason I haven't seen them again. I talk to them and I actually read they Watchtower they give me.

No I don't think this is upsetting to my readers because our dogs have already scared away the people that this could be offensive to ;-).

It's me

I can't help to think that this is my favorite place on the web. It's me, the letters of my keyboard, my readers (who's writings I also read) and nothing else (well maybe a camera). I admire those who have spent the time to learn html-coding or javascript but like everyone else they have to sit down and write something that was created in their mind every now and then. A graphically advanced web page or blog is nice thing too see but your words and pictures are the thing that is truly you, that is truly interesting.

New range hood and frying pan

We do not need to go into details but my attempt today with preparing lunch ended with a visit to to an electronics store where my girlfriend picked out a new frying pan and a new range hood which I will install later this weekend. I paid for them. We had lunch at McDonalds.

First evening

After my 6 days off I'm doing the first out of 4 evening shifts. The winter is here, a bit of snow and not that much melting in between. The weather is warm but not on the +°C-side. So this is the winter I like =)

Don't feed the trolls

Trolls are on the move, whatever you do, do NOT feed them...

-18 °C

This morning when I left for work it was -18 °C outside. One of the coldest places in the city is where we live. I think it's because it' not by the sea, it's about 2 kilometers away and there's a lot of islands out there, you can almost jump between them. My workplace is right next to the sea so there it was -9 °C, we also have another place, the other side of the city which is not by the sea about a kilometer away, where we measure the outside temperature and this morning it was -15 °C. Snow is nice but if you really want something called a winter it needs to be cold and it's cold.

Mirella was on her monthly checkup yesterday and got her first vaccines. I wonder when you stop doing monthly checkups? Don't get my wrong, it's good that they get that; I just wonder at what age the become every second month checkup and every half year checkup. And the results where: a healthy growing happy baby =).

And now for the last part of this post, our weekend plans. We are going to Kajaani in northern Finland for a dog show and we are hiring a cabin for three nights in nearby ski resort Vuokatti. This is the first dog show since Mirelle was born and our first "vacation". The dog show is just Saturday morning so the rest of the time will probably be spent in Kajaani or in the cabin or admiring the beautiful(I'm not sure it is since I've never been there before) landscape.

I should blog

I've noticed that the last time I wrote in this blog was before Christmas. I think it's time to write another post. And this is the moment when my mind goes blank. But I'm doing my third evening shift out of four for those of you who are wondering. Peace and a Happy New Year...