Thank You 2014 - Welcome 2015!

 The year in pictures and minimum words. Let's leave some space for your imagination! I kind of feel sorry for the ones who have not had the chance to be part of the trip. At least majority of you - I bet you recognize yourselves ;o)

Where did it all start from?

 From something unclear can be made something great!

 C'mon Baby Light My Fire!

 Let's check what's around and go for it!

 We gotta work for it - in the right places!

Let's enjoy the trip and have some fun!

 Enjoy the view and of course the company when ever possible!

 Remember to recharge the batteries - fill up the tanks!

 Celebrate the success and milestones!

 Challenge yourself!

 Enjoy the moment!

When you fill up the tanks, you can enjoy the ride!

And then work again, stop to think for a moment when needed!

 You can do it!

 It's not that high mountain to climb!

 You'll have friends to work with you if you are a team player!

 Know your hoods!

Take the moment!

Show your colors, commit to the team and the cause, everything is there for us to take! 

Welcome 2015, I'm looking forward to the trip with you!!!

Happy New Year - Hyvää Uutta Vuotta 2015!

The Second Coolest Sauna Break

Since all the >150.000 lakes in Finland are frozen and hence not that good for a sauna cooling break, I settled for the second best, more suitable for the season;

Let's enjoy the holidays!!!

Hyvää Joulua Maailmalle - Merry Christmas from Finland!

Joulupukki - a.k.a. Santa Claus a.k.a. Father Christmas has left the building. You know, the real Santa who lives at Korvatunturi, Finland. Forget the nonsense about North Pole, that is only in movies...

Sauna, rice porridge, glögi, salmon, caviar, cheeses, caserols, and of course the ham. Tree, family, friends, Joulupukki, presents. That makes Christmas!

Hyvää Joulua!

Who can change the world?

Some time ago I came across with the thought below. It hit me right away with the simplicity and the logic.

For the ones who might not be able to see the picture, let's recap...:

"The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones that do."

Itsenäinen Suomi 97 vuotta - Finland's 97th Independence Day

Today Finland has been independent for 97 years. Again Tuntematon Sotilas -movie is on TV and the President's reception is back in Helsinki now that the palace has been renovated.

To secure we can celebrate Finland's independence also in the coming years, there has been discussions if Finland should join NATO or not. I myself see more benefits than down sides or risks, or one could think joining would be the best insurance ever...

Regarding the NATO topic there is a good column at local newspaper - naturally in Finnish.

More about Finland's independence in my old posts.

Suomen mahdollisesta NATO jäsenyydestä on käyty yllättävän vähän rakentavaa keskustelua. Asiaa voisi ajatella siltä kantilta, että se olisi paras mahdollinen turvallisuusvakuutus, joka jo sinällään tuo rauhallisuutta. Uusi Suomi ja Arno Kotro pohtii asiaa eri kanteilta kolumnissaan:
http://arnokotro.puheenvuoro.uusisuomi.fi/181775-voi-halonen-ja-tuomioja-minka-teitte

Hyvää Itsenäisyyspäivää meille kaikille!

Why Nike, why?

The only thing that comes to my mind regarding the pic & shoes below is "WHY?".

In my fairly wide network of people I can think of only one person who would be a very potential  buyer of these shoes. Some of you know her as Tsupukka, not least due to her fantadtic blog st www.tsupukka.blogspot.fi

Go girl says a fan in 2nd generation!

I just find it hard to believe it has been a success production for Nike, far from Air Jordan levels...!

If you wish to spot these shoes, start strolling the streets either in Espoo Tapiola hoods or at Korso ghetto at Vantaa. Focus on 18ish year old basketball player look alike girls...

PS This is not the first time I can be blaimed for anti-shoe-fetish, check out the previous ones on the left column down at "Shoes"-keywoard. 

Currywurst in Helsinki, Finland

Ladies and Gentlemen, you can get good currywurst in Helsinki! Yesterday was the restaurant day when anyone can open a "restaurant" for a day. I was in Helsinki down town at Esplanadi park at 4ish pm. Weather was cold & wet a.k.a. standard for November. Still there were quite many options to choose from and I tried multiple.

One of them was not a pop up restaurant but a proper snack kiosk on wheels, serving great currywurst. You can find them normally at Narinkkatori or Rautatientori. Check out more on their website www.currywursthouse.net

If you wish to eat a bit better and to sit down, go to Zinnkeller at Meritullinkatu in Helsinki www.zinnkeller.fi

Fathers Day Sushi - Isänpäivä Sushi

For me the genuine fathers day is 365 days a year and sometimes 366. Today the lunch was
more than delicious sushi from Sushiart www.sushiart.fi at my hoods Tapiola, Espoo, Finland.

If you want to eat onsite, it is smart to book a table as the place is quite small. You should combine a dinner with a movie at next door Kino Tapiola, the classic place...

Happy Fathers Day to all of us, BIG smile and love to my children & wife who have made this possible!!!

Hyvää Isänpäivää!!!

Worth waiting?

Woops I did it again...! I mean the silence. It has just been again hectic in many areas and I am - just like many follow victims of North - trying to get along with the most depressing season of the year. It is wet, dark, cold and no week day holidays to give an extra break.

Luckily I had a chance for a break in a summer, Costa del Sol in Spain again. Sun, warmth, beach, swimming in the sea, great food, experiences and most important time off from normal routines. I miss it already...

One of the big ones was the basketball game og Malaga team, I can tell you guys that the Finnish fan culture is getting step by step there but we have maaaany steps to take. Dedication, passion and commitments are words that come to mind - and that is definetely what the guy on his bike has got on the clip you can find behind the link below. Worth to watch!!!

http://www.liftable.com/andreadcombs/ridge/

Have a great weekend you all!

PS We both did our parts in the aftermath of the weight project. Now the project has converted into ongoing process with ups & downs in compliance....

Weight project status - Done!

I did it!

As targeted I got my weight below 100 kilos again. Since it is not yet sustainable, we agreed with the young man I made the bet with about a compromize in "penalty": he starts our holiday with 1,5 days without Coca Cola etc soft drinks and I will buy us the huge portions in an ice cream bar.

The diets always start tomorrow and you can not trust a skinny cook...

Weight project status - 8 days to go!

This week has been again a tricky one with some sports and moments with a desire to do some more without a chance or a genuine energy/moment for it. Morning weight has been between +1.8 kg and +0,8 kg from target.

In principle all good and I will hit the target. Let's see what will I think after the big, fat brunch today...

Weight project status - 16 days to go!

3 days ago morning weight was +2,8 kilos vs target.

2 days ago morning +1,7 kilos.

Yesterday morning +1,0 kilos.

Today morning weight +1,8 kilos.

...ups and downs, while seems to be going into right direction. Sports and eating naturally influences the kilos so this is in theory a no-brainer exercise. If I only had more time to do sports...

Let's see what the weekend does again, 16 days to go!

 Bon appetit, have a great weekend you all!!!

Weight project status - 23 days to go!

Looking good - too good!

In few days I seem to have been able to squeeze liquids out from my body by doing sports and having my diet around protein and low fat diary products. This combined with avoiding carbohydrates and sugar does it.

Today's status after mild sports and snack, before dinner is 1,8 kilos. 

...let's see if I need to go towards a stretch target - or if the weekend with some salty chorizo and cheddar, pizza, beer etc compensates the fast start...

Weight project - Stats today

Current weight status after dinner, before basketball is +2,6 kg vs. target noting that my weight can go up or down quite a bit during a day.

Yes, I will target to go under the target leaving no room for speculation...

25 days to go, let's play ball! ...and burn some calories...

Weigh project: Lose 3,5 kilos in 26 days!

I like challenges and I just set myself one: I must lose 3,5 kilos from my body weight in 26 days.

I'M GONNA DO IT!

I'll try to keep you somewhat posted with the progress as it keeps the pressure on. Unfortunately I don't have as much time to do sports as I'd like, so I must keep the focus both on getting the exercise - the output - as well as keep focus on the eating, what and how much and when - the input. 

So today's number is +3,5 kilos from target!

Donuts or not for supper...

Silence is golden...

...speaking is diamonds! Sorry for the silence, no excuses.

Today is the day when basketball world will have a chance to make a revolution. In theory. It will not happen as USA will win the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014 in the final game against Serbia.

Why wouldn't Serbia win?
For the same reason that the sky is blue: It just is so and you can't help it.

Team Finland tried and failed - badly. If you look at the numbers behind the teams it becomes quite obvious why. Double-click the pic to enlarge it...

Source Helsingin Samomat 30.8.2014

In US is 29,3 million basketball players, that is 29.300.000, and in Finland 21.000.

US has got 14 Olympic gold medals and 4 World Cup wins. Finland's best rank in Olympics is positions 9-16.

In FIBA ranking US is #1, Finland #39.

Average player height US 201cm, Finland 199cm vs average weight US 100,5kg vs Finland 95,5kg. Interesting particularly if we think of average age US 24 years with Finland's 29 years...

Most national team games Finland's Tuukka Kotti with 170 games vs US Rudy Gay's and Derrick Rose's 19 games.

Yes, the US players are simply better, more skilled etc, hence no wonder their best paid player gets 14,7 million Euros per year vs Finland's best paid player - and best player - Petteri Koponen with his 0,9 million Euros per year.

Congratulations to team USA for winning the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2014!

Game Me - Pelaa Minua!

Most of us have seen the bad examples of so called Google translations. One would think that if you make a visible item with many languages on it to Heathrow airport terminal that you would bother to check with native speaker that all are proper language.

Great initiative, a piano on a hallway by the gates with a "Play me" recommendation on it. But why baby why didn't you check the other languages...? The Finnish one is a fantastically horrible example of the Google style translator; It says - converting it back to English - "Game me". And yes, I "gamed" it...

Eli lyhyesti;
Tollot ovat hyödyntäneet Google -tyyppistä käännöskonetta tarkastamatta tekstiä natiivilla ja lopputuloksena Lontoon Heathrown lentokentällä matkustajien soitettavissa olevaan pianoon on kirjoitettu "Pelaa Minua". Ja pelasinhan minä...

Ice Cream & Shopping @ Espoo!

I just had a great milkshake at Vohveli ice cream bar at Espoo. They have also wafers, or waffles or what ever you call them. On top of the delicious ice cream you can do some shopping. I found a broom for the patio deck and part of a 2 year birthday present for one special little Lady.

Go and check it out, it is worth the drive even from down town Helsinki.
www.vohveli.fi

Scheisse mit Mein Kampf!!!

Apologies for the mistakes in German on this post - or on the other hand not...!

In High school I studied German for 2 years and that is all the academic study with that beautiful-ugly-sounding-language I have for now. On top I have numerous hours and days of on-site visits with the-way-I-like-to-study-languages in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

While writing this the World Cup game between hosting Brazil and Colombia is on with 1-0 for B-team. As I have stated earlier, my favorite is Spain. Yes, it still is!!!

My second favorite is actually Belgium, my former home country, while I still not today trust the team. Sorry my Belge friends! I claimed they would be kicked out in the first qualifying round but luckily I was wrong - and team Belgium was lucky: they played against team USA and - despite of the stunning game by The Goal Keeper of the Year Tim Howard - they managed to go for quarter finals, that is in best 8. Go Belgium!!!

Germany...
Scheisse.
Wunderbar.
Warum?

OK, let's get to business;
"Entschuldigung, das ich zu spät kommen!" was the fist sentence I said in my German lession in the high school.

And the second one...?
"Das weiss Ich leider nicht!"

Sorry for the 99% of the American readers, JFG!!!

...anyway, to the point that I started writing this;
With 1 minute thinking I came up with 2 teams that I do NOT support if the French the team is playing them.

Yep, all of you know the ranking 1 is Russia, but for whatever reason the 2nd team is ...Germany from all the countries in the world. Why??? I can't really say! Likes and dislikes. Blonds vs brunettes. Meat vs veggies. Coffee vs Tea.

Let's remind the basics;
Finland is going to play in the next World Cup - in Basketball in Spain this August!!! Let's keep our eye on that my friends - and trust Brazil will take what's for them to take!

Have a fabulastic weekend you all!!!

PS Mein Kampf is the battle with not having my home country Finland in the games, my 3rd home country Spain out, my somewhat-dislike-Germany-continuing, my 2nd home country Belgium out at next round, while my childhood favorite Brazil just got away with a goal against them and now all of a sudden it is 2-0. Brazil continues!!!

Let the games continue!!!

Life after Midsummer

We had the Midsummer this weekend, Juhannus in Finnish. To get more info about it, check my old Midsummer posts or from Wikipedia.

Since we are in Finland, it quite often includes milder or heavier consumption of alcohol. If you are among the heavy consumers, you might want to check the tips to cure yourself - the 9 tips are in Finnish so I'll give you a short briefing;

1. Drink a lot of water
2. Get your blood sugar level up
3. Take a pain killer - medicine...
4. Drink coffee, not the de-caf stuff but the real thing
5. Sweat mildly
6. Get some fresh air
7. Take a shower
8. Go to bed
9. Take vitamin B

Have a great week you all, I know I will!!!

Adios España...

...hasta la proxima año!

So sad, so surprising after 3 titles in a row. Spanis team is about to be dropped out from the qualifying games in Football World Cup 2014.

Gotta say that both Holland and Chile deserved their wins, congrats!

So now focus is on Brazil - and Belgium until they are kicked out in quarter finals ;o)

Saludos!

Life is... GOOD!

I came across with the life learning below, thanks Seba for sharing!

Have a fantastic week you all,
it's Midsummer week!!!

FIFA Football World Cup 2014 - Let the games begin!!!

We have only some minutes to the kickoff of the football World Cup 2014 in Brazil!

There are so many interesting players to follow, some known to the big public and on top several rising stars. I'm really looking for the games - even though I will watch only some games from the 64 available ones...

The Finnish broadcasting company YLE www.yle.fi shows all the games in public TV channels in Finland and on top they have pretty good online services. If you understand Finnish, check the pages out.

My favorite is Spain. 6 years ago I was lucky enough to be in Spain when they won the EuroCup 2008 and I can tell you the party was BIG. And that was only the first one from the 3 championships in a row 2008-2010-2012.

If Spain fails, my second vote goes to childhood favorite Brazil, the hosting team. They have excellent players and home crowd, but also huge pressure to perform. 2nd is not enough for them...

The dark horse for me is Belgium with young stars. I hear Belgium is going bananas with the game fever and assumingly the (fool) Belge expect them to be in top 4. No way I say, max positions 5-8 so out from the quarter finals.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN, VIVA ESPAÑA!!!

70 years from D-Day - Normandian maihinnoususta 70 vuotta!

Attention - Huomio!!!

70 years ago, on the 6th of June, the allied forces - mainly Americans, British and Canadian troops - started the invasion in Normandy. BIG thanks for that, since the world would be a lot different without the efforts of those millions of soldiers involved, and particularly those who died on the battle field. About 400.000 of them in the weeks after the invasion, including the German soldiers.

I've been there, in Normandy, and I can tell you it is worth the visit no matter if you are at all interested in war or history or not. If you have a chance, GO!!! There are sooooo many angles to the area and history; museums, cemeteries - also German one, towns and villages, nature, beaches, people, culture, architecture, food, wine, cider...

Wikipedia info about the landings from here.
Other sources for info www.world-war-2.info and www.ddaymuseum.co.uk
For more touristic info check out http://www.normandie-tourisme.fr/
For pictures click the link - kuvia katsoaksesi mene tänne
https://www.google.fi/search?q=mont+st+michel+france&es_sm=93&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=AsWQU7joLYjBO5rigLAD&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=965&bih=581#q=normandy+landings&tbm=isch&imgdii=_

Picture: www.history.army.mil

Suomen kielen taitajille vinkkinä: 
Jos teillä on mahdollisuus mennä tutustumaan Normandian maihinnousun tapahtumapaikkoihin, suosittelen sitä lämpimästi! Olen ollut siellä ja voin kertoa sen olevan hyvin vaikuttavaa, huolimatta siitä oletko kiinnostunut sotahistoriasta tai et. Se on merkittävä osa maailman historiaa!

Alueeseen on monia näkökulmia ja koettavaa; museot, hautausmaat, kaupungit ja kylät, rannat, ihmiset, kulttuuri, arkkitehtuuri, ruoka, viini, siideri...

Aloita lukemalla Hesarin artikkeli aiheesta.

PS Älä unohda käydä tarkistamassa Mont Saint-Michel
Remember to check out Mont Saint-Michel

Ei Elvytystä!?!

Keskuskauppakamarilla ja Risto E.J. Penttilällä on mielenkiintoinen viesti Suomessa ajankohtaiseen aiheeseen, "minihallitusneuvotteluihin";

"Ei elvytystä!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyx-0oRdo6g

Jos video ei auennut, yritä Kauppakamarin sivujen kautta.

Mielenkiintoinen ja varsin yksinkertainen lähestyminen!

Hallituksen tekemä päätös on ollut, että kiristämme monesta suunnasta verotusta ja kierrätämme - tai yritämme kierrättää - eri välikäsien, toimintojen ja liiketoiminnan kautta nuo ansiotuloverotuksen korotuksesta kerättävät 155 miljoonaa (siis meiltä kaikilta veroja maksavilta työntekijöiltä - suomalaisilta, toisilta enemmän ja toisilta vähemmän) talouden elvyttämiseen.

...mitä jos...?
Mitä jos tuo 155 miljoonaa Euroa (155.000.000€) ansiotuloveron korotus, joka on tarkoitus kerätä valtion päättämiin elvytystoimiin, olisikin meidän itsemme käytettävissä omiin henkilökohtaisesti päätettäviin kulutuskohteisiin?

Tarvitaanko tässä ylimääräistä Verokarhun kierrosta...?

Tässä vielä Kauppakamarin saatesanat videolle:
"Yksinkertainen viesti minihallitusneuvotteluihin: Ei elvytystä! Jos hallituksella on liikaa rahaa, pitää veronkorotukset jättää tekemättä. Verotusta keventämällä parannetaan ostovoimaa ja kotimaan toimintaa."

Sateista päivän jatkoa - kyllä se aurinko vielä paistaa muutenkin kuin sadepilven takana!

Let's Change the World!

"Let's make the world into a better place - and enjoy the ride"

I guess all of us - or at least majority of us who have some sort of order between our ears - agree with the statement above. Any idea where it is from...?

Anyone?

Somebody?

Are you sure you have not seen those words somewhere...?

...if you think you have not, please scroll up the screen and have a look at the left column at the top.
Yes, I have said so some years ago and I agree with my statement still today - and most likely always.

The reason taking this up is the aphorism I came across with in Facebook - the unsocial media. It is along the lines of my own thought above.

Call me naive or stupid, but I trust the good guys will win at the end!
...and at least I have a bit better mind from doing the best I can!

Have a fabulous + fantastic = fabulastic weekend, it is unexpected summer in Finland!!!

Social Media makes us Unsocial!

Look up from you phone and LIVE!

As the name states, the video I linked is a video everyone needs to see - and think about the message. And act based on it! If you think of it - after seeing the video - this might be the most important 5 minutes of the rest of your life if you choose to change something in your behaviour.

Can you afford not to try?

Social media is something that is unsocial - it has become anti-social one since too often you see people, "friends", physically together but mentally so far apart. Mobile devices have made many positive things possible in social life. When internet, Facebook, games etc came along many addictive negative aspects were enabled.

Let's take a positive step towards living together, a good start is to invest the 5 minutes and then talk - you know like face-to-face in spoken words person-to-person - with a real human, not via electronic devices.

http://blog.petflow.com/a-video-everyone-needs-to-see/

...and now, put down your tech-device and start living ;o)

Have a fantasic life!!!

HBD2U+ME

Puzzled...?

Happy
Birthday
To =2
You =U
And =+
Me
...got it?

Many of us have mixed feelings regarding the Facebook birthday wishes. While I at myself highly appreciate each and every wish, greeting, thumbs-up and message I got today - over 100 of them so THANKS, there is still a good reason to question if it is worth all the fuzz.

For the record: You are NOT entitled to be annoyed or at any level be pissed with me for not recognizing your Facebook birthday! I prefer to greet face-to-face, on phone, with SMS, or if via Facebook it is mainly via private message. But no, I send those only veeeeery seldom so please do not expect one.

Still, I wish again to thank each and every one of you who sent a greeting one way or another! You thought of me and took the moment to tell it to me, highly appreciated! Special wishes go to Finland and Belgium to the ones who also celebrate today - gelukkige verjaardag!

As many of you have also noticed, many businesses use the information they have about us, including the birthday info. I got a message from SAS, the airline, where they in form of congratulations wish to sell me their services and if I buy, I am awarded with 1000 extra frequent flyer miles. Yippekayeeeee or something...!

Those of you who are in Finland, did you check the flagpoles? Yes, we have had the flags up for my Birthday!!!

To all of you who happen to have a birthday this year 2014:
Happy Birthday - Hyvää Syntymäpäivää!

Hyvää Äitienpäivää - Happy Mothers' Day!

I congratulate all the mothers around the world; Hyvää Äitienpäivää - Happy Mothers' Day!

My kids are already big and it was again joyful to watch my son play football! It is fantastic to watch your child do whatever they do, learning different things in life. If you think of it, it is foolish to watch a child sleep, but all fathers and mothers know what I'm talking about... 

This particular kid had a nap outdoors - what could be better than sleep in fresh air? Some of you think it is too cold, but I can tell you it is perfectly fine to let a baby sleep outdoors even at winter, you just need to dress properly. 

...the guys in Winter War didn't have an option, they had to live out in the woods for weeks hence you just need to equip and adjust. As many of us know, Finns were in better situation vs the Soviet Union soldiers.

Talking about our Eastern neighbours;

There is Finland vs Russia World Championships game going on and I am shocked and dissapointed about the lack of respect to other players by Russian Vadim Shipachyov. UGLY tackle, shame on you and no penalty! Few moments later a Finn is sent for penalty when Russian player dives... Finns play crap ice hockey at the moment so we can't expect too much from these games if this continues.

Still, have a great week you all!