Saturday, February 25, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Hard-yakka, VB, and Valvoline
All that snow clearing, it's hard-yakka.
"You can get it any old how, matter-a-fact I've got it now"
I know I'm mixing up two Aussie brands in one post but the Aussies reading this, "you know, what I mean"
Haha, that's three.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Northern Lights
24th of January 2012
Going to bed, and thought i would check the sky, amazingly it was clear. Having the 3D sun app on my iphone and some helpful reminders from Neil, i knew that there was good solar activity. A CME (coronal mass ejection) had occured a day or so earlier and today was a good chance of Northern lights. So at -18 i head down to the water with my tripod but not much clue how to configure my camera and see what i can see.
At first there is nothing to see, but then if you know what you are looking for, there is a slight vertical line up into the sky that is not light pollution from Storheden (area with big-box shopping centres). It is a streak of northern lights.
As i wait the green builds into a long snaking green band from one horizon overhead to the other. The green northern lights is very slow moving.
But after a while something really amazing happens, suddenly there are white and purple tangential streaks of color shooting along the green band, and everything is moving fast, the sky is dancing. I fall over on my back trying to see everything that is going on overhead.
My hands are freezing trying to get the camera to work. Next time i will try the fireworks setting. But the photos i get are as i have an ISO3200 speed camera. With some heavy enhancing in picassa you can get an idea of the color.
Going to bed, and thought i would check the sky, amazingly it was clear. Having the 3D sun app on my iphone and some helpful reminders from Neil, i knew that there was good solar activity. A CME (coronal mass ejection) had occured a day or so earlier and today was a good chance of Northern lights. So at -18 i head down to the water with my tripod but not much clue how to configure my camera and see what i can see.
At first there is nothing to see, but then if you know what you are looking for, there is a slight vertical line up into the sky that is not light pollution from Storheden (area with big-box shopping centres). It is a streak of northern lights.
As i wait the green builds into a long snaking green band from one horizon overhead to the other. The green northern lights is very slow moving.
But after a while something really amazing happens, suddenly there are white and purple tangential streaks of color shooting along the green band, and everything is moving fast, the sky is dancing. I fall over on my back trying to see everything that is going on overhead.
My hands are freezing trying to get the camera to work. Next time i will try the fireworks setting. But the photos i get are as i have an ISO3200 speed camera. With some heavy enhancing in picassa you can get an idea of the color.
Race to the sun
One morning (29th Jan) the kids and I raced down to the water to catch the sun. We hadn't seen it for a few weeks, and we got there just in time before it disappeared again for the whole day, and a few more days.
Like a bullet
Went skiing with the kids while Cathy is on the way to Cape Town.
Night time skiing on a Monday night, and we haven't been downhill since 2010.
They are really independent, Calvin was off with Nikolaj, and I followed Maya. It was so cool. Thanks for the idea Mats.
Night time skiing on a Monday night, and we haven't been downhill since 2010.
They are really independent, Calvin was off with Nikolaj, and I followed Maya. It was so cool. Thanks for the idea Mats.
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
What should you pay
What should one pay for something that is done with care and craftsmanship?
It's an enormous contrast between the price of a haircut in Sweden and Australia at the everyday level. We are not in a fancy suburb of a big city, we are in a rural centre of 50-70,000 people.
A friend of mine was a teacher at the senior high school. He said the entrance score to train as a hairdresser was very high. If you got into hairdressing you could get into just about any other training program or university degree.
I hope that doesn't mean we get fewer potential scientists, engineers and doctors, but what does it mean for valuing craftsmanship? If people value their appearance, and most do, then why shouldn't it the craftsman be appreciated and paid well.
Tradesmen are paid well, I think in both countries, teachers perhaps not so well.
Value the craftsman, or anything made with care, and love
It's an enormous contrast between the price of a haircut in Sweden and Australia at the everyday level. We are not in a fancy suburb of a big city, we are in a rural centre of 50-70,000 people.
A friend of mine was a teacher at the senior high school. He said the entrance score to train as a hairdresser was very high. If you got into hairdressing you could get into just about any other training program or university degree.
I hope that doesn't mean we get fewer potential scientists, engineers and doctors, but what does it mean for valuing craftsmanship? If people value their appearance, and most do, then why shouldn't it the craftsman be appreciated and paid well.
Tradesmen are paid well, I think in both countries, teachers perhaps not so well.
Value the craftsman, or anything made with care, and love
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Innovative Economic Thinking
A seminar from an innovative economic thinker about what is unfixable with our current global economic model, and the facts and data on resource depletion, and the start of the global battle for resources.
Melbourne winter in Northern Sweden
On the way to ice skating
Which was great fun, Maya is so focused on figure skating, one has to admire her determination, and Calvin and i had a great time chasing each other around.
But lets talk about the weather. These two graphs say a lot
November 2010 - by the end of this month we had 1 meter of snow and 1 meter of ice in the harbor and they were getting ready to open the ice roads. This was a bit colder the average.
November 2011 is totally different and about 10 degrees warmer than average, it is ridiculous.
So this is the view today at the ice skating stadium, grey, drizzle, windy, admittedly the degrees is less that Melbourne, at 3, but it doesn't really seem to matter if its 3 or 10, it's the wet, windy that makes is unpleasant.
Which was great fun, Maya is so focused on figure skating, one has to admire her determination, and Calvin and i had a great time chasing each other around.
But lets talk about the weather. These two graphs say a lot
November 2010 - by the end of this month we had 1 meter of snow and 1 meter of ice in the harbor and they were getting ready to open the ice roads. This was a bit colder the average.
November 2011 is totally different and about 10 degrees warmer than average, it is ridiculous.
So this is the view today at the ice skating stadium, grey, drizzle, windy, admittedly the degrees is less that Melbourne, at 3, but it doesn't really seem to matter if its 3 or 10, it's the wet, windy that makes is unpleasant.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Christmas Carols
The kids have started practicing for their school choral concert. This year Maya wants to be a 'tomte' (Santa Claus) which will make a nice change from a lucia or gingerbread man! Here is Maya practicing at home tonight. She insisted on putting on the right dress ups to match the songs! A lovely time of year!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, November 05, 2011
More hockey
At the last minute we bought tickets for the game tonight at coop arena. Finished dinner at 6. Decided to go at 6.05. Tickets bought and printed by 6.15. At the rink by 6.27. Back home by 6.32 to pick up forgotten tickets. Back to rink and in seats having only missed the first 7 minutes. Not bad! Maya spent the first two periods making this flag. She spent the third cheering furiously and waving it. Luleå turned a 0-0 game into 2-0 in the third. We all think it was the power of her flag :) Go girl!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
More hockey
At the last minute we bought tickets for the game tonight at coop arena. Finished dinner at 6. Decided to go at 6.05. Tickets bought and printed by 6.15. At the rink by 6.27. Back home by 6.32 to pick up forgotten tickets. Back to rink and in seats having only missed the first 7 minutes. Not bad! Maya spent the first two periods making this flag. She spent the third cheering furiously and waving it. Luleå turned a 0-0 game into 2-0 in the third. We all think it was the power of her flag :) Go girl!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Hockey!!
It started with us going to a few of the elite games together as a family at COOP Arena. We always enjoy cheering on Luleå. Then through one of Calvin's friends found out about a training he could go to. Well, that one training turned into three times a week training and a little fellow how absolutely loves it! They even got to play a three period stop time practice match against Boden, the neighbouring town. I didn't get to do that unless playing at National or International level! As if that wasn't enough then Maya found out through a friend about skating school so we took her along to that. She had an absolute ball. Only problem was that it is the figure skating association that runs it so there are older girls at the other end of the ice spinning around looking pretty. So of course she now wants to be an ice dancer rather than a hockey player. Hmmmmmph. " Mummy just so you know I am learning to skate so I can be an ice dancer not a hockey player". Pretty clear I guess where her loyalties lie right now. Anyway spending so much time on the sidelines watching the kids started driving Matt and I bonkers. So we decided to find a training for ourselves. He, he, he. We found a Monday morning hockey club. So now every Monday we wake the kids at 6.30, bunddle two half awake boffins into the car with a packed breakfast and two happy grown ups head off to play scrimmage for an hour. And if the kids say they are bored we remind them of the deal. We are happy to sit on the sidelines bucket loads of times a week while they do their activities so long as we get our one training a week. Usually quietens them down for a bit ;)
Halloween Party
Maya wanted a Halloween Party this year so out with the princess dresses and in with witches, vampires and skeletons. We decided to invite the whole class to help them get to know one another plus her friends from the neighbourhood so ended up with 20 kids! We started outside with a treasure hunt to find ingredients for the cauldron so Matt could cast the spell to get us into the house. Then it was fika and birthday cake. Then it was time for games. We had a tall box covered with cloth and the children had to put their hand into it and guess what was in there. It was a roaring success. We had warm spaghetti which brought screams of surprise/horror. "Is it alive?" Then came a very real feeling rubber rat. "Can it bite me?" And then a lump of that play putty that makes farting noises. Anyway they had a ball. Then they had to wrap each other up with toilet rolls to become mummies before taking it in turns to knock down the two ghost pinatas that Maya had spent the previous month making from paper mache. I don't have a lot of photos of the actual event but we will post more as we get them from friends.
The kids did so many of the decorations themselves. Also note Maya putting on a scary witch face with her pet bat on her shoulder! And Matt putting his academic gown to vonderful use as a vampire!
The kids did so many of the decorations themselves. Also note Maya putting on a scary witch face with her pet bat on her shoulder! And Matt putting his academic gown to vonderful use as a vampire!
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