OK, this one closes...

Blogger is dropping it's FTP publishing - so I either have to jump through some hoops to fix that or do something else completely.

As this place has been somewhat dormant *idly brushes away some cobwebs*, since I had this idea from the very beginning that this blog was a temporary practice zone and since I do have some ideas up in the back of my brain to do the writing and photo blog I have dreamt of for a while anyway ...

*phew

I'll close up shop here.

Someday a new shop will open :)

Feeling at home

Today, I went two hundred kilometers and back.
To and from a place which is 10.365 kilometers or 6441 miles away from home.

This evening, I realised what it was I felt.
I felt at home.

At home?

??

I've always thought of home as a place. Somewhere you can mark with an 'X' on the map. Somewhere special. Real. With a dimension of geographical presence.

I've also heard the version that 'Home is where I lay my head'. Or my hat, for that matter.

Home is both more and less than those things. Less than a specific place in space. More than a feeling.

Home is a state of mind.
And that particular state of mind can be reached in probably a handful of ways.

My very near ones, my loved ones, can induce it in a wink of an eye. Yes, here I belong, with you, us. That is home.

Books can do it. I'm so much always home in a book that it is such a disappointment when I dive into one and find out that, no, in this one, I'm not. But generally, I enter the book's universe and I'm at home. Magic of books, that is.

Nature does it to me. A steep slope of a mountain, the lush greenness of a spring forest, the moon or a clear star shining to me from a dark night's sky, a sudden buffeting of strong winds on a steep sidewalk in Brazil. I'm at home in nature.

Friends, friends really can do it, too. And music can do it. Like both did today. On a long road where I had no business feeling at home.

Yet I did. Very much so.

And oh, how I feel lucky for it.

- - - - - - - - -

Here is the start of this - rapidly jotted down at the corner terrace table at the Catedral do Chopp in Campinas, Brazil:

...at some point, the waiter's pen stopped working. And given that he didn't speak English and I surely don't speak Portuguese and that I had literally stolen it out of his breast pocket, I chose not to try to get another pen...

And sometimes I bloody well know!

Refers to this one.

Today, 6 was 9 did the trick. "Drop dead beautiful". Yeah.

Sofas

...then imagine them in off-white fabric rather than black leather.

Well worn dancing shoes

It's probably a good thing that my phone camera is not very good - these shoes look even worse in real life…

Dusty, stepped on, looks very very tired. Roughly like myself after the company Christmas do on Friday. But a h**l of a party it was!

Fun with Danish names

Here’s a map of Denmark showing how many with that name lives in each postal area code – the redder, the more:

…and the same map with my wife’s family name (yes, we kept our individual family names when we were married – long story):

My family name is a tad more common than hers ;)

Navnekort – if you’re Danish and want to have a go :) I got the link from Blogbogstaver…

A thing I miss

Several otherwise unrelated things - the US primaries, upheavals some months ago in the Danish political world, some friendly teasing of a (now ex-) colleague as well as a general wish to procrastinate over a cup of coffee after lunch - made me re-read the ChangeThis manifesto.

And right in there, it says:

"We're unique in our ability to consider thoughtful arguments and change long-held beliefs. This flexibility is at the core of our democratic ideals. All too often, though, we're led to change our minds on the basis of charisma, not facts. People are so easily influenced by a charismatic leader, the kind of person we'd be eager to befriend, to have dinner with, to follow. We choose someone based on his personality and then do whatever he tells us to do.

It seems easier that way, and we all do it. We do it for the right boss or the right mate or the right political leader. We go to war or create a new product or move to Jonestown."

Isn't that - on average - frighteningly true? Didn't we use to have at least some voices who stood up and said: "Could you please explain that? Again? So that we all really understand?" Some more of the wee boys in 'The Emperor's New Clothes'?

I miss them. I miss some with the audacity to stand up and say "Hey, we won't let you get away with a soundbite. We want to know what you want/are there for/plan/think...!"

I want the ones asked to give answers. I'd actually not mind at all if they were to show doubt or a need to consider. I want us all to take time to read, ask and listen.

I wholeheartedly like and support the ChangeThis cause. But somehow I (cynically?) also think that despite the intentions, they'll end up preaching to the exisiting choir. Because the ones - the very many ones - that need to change are so far out of the habit of taking time to read, ask and listen that they wouldn't know the existence of ChangeThis.

So how do we get someone with bandwidth and credibility and - hell, yes, - charisma enough to make people drop just following the (very same) charisma and restart reading, thinking, asking and listening?

Now I've asked and you've read. Is that a beginning?

-----

http://changethis.com/

(cross-posted with some delays from H2G2 Journal Entry)

Wikipedia day-of-birth meme

Recipe:

1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. In the Search box, type your birth month and day (but not year).
3. List three events that happened on your birthday.
4. List two important birthdays and one interesting death. ´
5. Post it.

So, for February 27:

Three events:

• 1860 - Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.


• 1933 - Reichstag fire: Germany's parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, is set on fire.


• 1940 - Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14

Two birthdays:

• 1902 - John Steinbeck, American writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1968)


• 1923 - Dexter Gordon, American jazz saxophonist (d. 1990)

One death:

• 1936 - Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1849)

Decided against tagging anyone – the world’s politest self service right at ya’…

Once a scout

…always a scout, I guess.

On this rather ordinary Tuesday – apart from being a vacation day – as I was doing routine stuff in the kitchen, I could let my mind wander a bit. And after a little while found it planning the start of the autumn scouting season.

OK, I did get some inspiration from the DDS leader magazine ‘Broen’, which came in the mail today and had a section on a recent development session in the organisation. ‘TeenSpot’ it was called and was about today’s teenagers, what is rummaging about in their minds, how do we keep them or get them caught in the scouting and so on.

Many people – very surprisingly to scouts – think of scouting as nerdy. One major finding in the study is that one of the core values is the team spirit or solidarity (good English word for ‘sammenhold’, anyone?). That is what scouts again and again name as the most important bit of all the important bits.

And, surely, one that is most enjoyable. Which is why I’m planning on starting right out of the blocks with emphasis on building team spirit in the five new patrols after the summer holidays.

If the rest of the troop leader patrol agrees, of course. Because we need a good team spirit behind it!

DDS TeamSpot  (Danish only, sorry)

Seven weird things about me

Well, we did “8 random things” and here’s then the “7 weird things”. At least I read Reed’s and apparently her words carry weight enough for me feeling tagged

Let’s see if I can avoid duplicating too many things from the random list:

1. I count steps. Going up any staircase, I count ’em – and if it’s one I go up or down regularily, I do know how many steps there are. Not a clue why. But my father also did and since I don’t remember him teaching me the importance of this, I consider it hereditary.


2. I’ve grown to like Chinese green tea – a teaspoon of dried leaves in a glass and not-too-hot water over. Quite frugal, too, as you can add water several times to the same leaves. Weird? I don’t know, lots of Chinese wouldn’t think so, but my wife certainly does. So it qualifies.


3. I like bicycling uphill. One of the things where I get to value that I am thin and lightweight.


4. Not liking Bailey’s to me is very normal indeed – in this area of things, I have been vaccinated against rum. Thoroughly. Many years ago. And I still do not touch it. They say it can be good though. If anyone suggests a Mojito, please make mine a Caipirinha instead.


5. I am unable to speak Norwegian. This is a language very close to Danish – but if I try, what comes out becomes Swedish instead. If you can call it Swedish – I do. Apparently I can only hold two closely related languages in my head at any one time.


6. Not that I pursue it a lot, but I like classical musical. I enjoy opera. But I just never got the hang of liking ballet. On the few occasions where I’ve been to see one, I’ve enjoyed the music.


7. As a ‘cuddly bear’ I have a small stuffed animal that I often take with me on travels just to have a little bit of home along. It’s a much-enlarged Ebola virus that my dear wife gave me… It is very cute, believe me!

My type(s) - for what it's worth...

MBTI/Jung type – has always been ESTP! This description seems a bit on the “special effects” side of things, though.

ESTP - "Promotor". Action! When present, things begin to happen. Fiercely competitive. Entrepreneur. Often uses shock effect to get attention. Negotiator par excellence. 4.3% of total population.

Enneagram – last year this time, I was a type 7…

Main type	Variant

I think I like 7 better.

Link:

Take Free Enneagram Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Wine and me - or me and wine?

You Are Chardonnay

Fresh, spirited, and classic - you have many facets to your personality. You can be sweet and light. Or deep and complex. You have a little bit of something to offer everyone... no wonder you're so popular. Approachable and never smug, you are easy to get to know (and love!). Deep down you are: Dependable and modest Your partying style: Understated and polite Your company is enjoyed best with: Cold or wild meat

What Kind of Wine Are You?

As usual, I saw one of these quizzes at azahar's - wasn't too keen on that one, so I looked down the list of options. No - I didn't quite test which kind of lipstick to wear or whether I'm a fake girl ;)

But as I do like a glass of wine, this one seemed interesting. I'm not too unpleased - though for whites I do prefer a glass of Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.

(For reds, if anyone should want to know - hmmm, many options. But a good Primitivo is always a nice one. Given food or occasions with a little more uumph, Barolo, Amarone - or for something not Italian, a good Bourgogne. And then I haven't even started on the rest of the world. >>hic<<)

A new honourable intention

I know that "The road to hell is paved with good intentions", even though it may not be Samuel Johnson who said it.

But this one seems to merit a good look-at: The Personal MBA (see the PMBA Manifesto).

More - I hope - when I've pondered.

I think that's quite OK :)

Your English Skills:

Grammar: 80% Punctuation: 80% Spelling: 80% Vocabulary: 20%

Does Your English Cut the Mustard?

As usual, a quiz I found by way of azahar.

I'd admit that I did some guessing on the words - neither of which I'd ever seen before (and I'm rather calm about them as I don't think I will see them again...). The 80% in the three other categories I am quite content with, Dane and non-original English speaking as I am :)

Now, why is it I blog?

A very relevant question, asked be Aphra - and I shall hurry firstly with my apologies by the rather late answer. Mostly caused by being in the deep of Southern Sweden with my Scouts for the last week.

The original and fundamental reason, I believe, is that I'm sometimes something of a nerd. There, out it came. So I like trying out these new things and such a lot of them have happened on computers in our lifetime, hasn't it? I started nerding for real at around 15 with programming in Comal and Basic and have had a good time with computers ever since. So when weblogging came around, of course I had to try.

Having a presence on H2G2 for soon-to-be 8 years have made it clear to me that whatever, I must write. So I praise my luck for living in a time where writing and putting it out for someone to read - many or precious few - is so much easier than when you had to do battle to find someone willing to master Gutenberg's innovation with lead, ink and paper for you.

I might be rationalising here, but the next reason is that I always also has had a wish to "show off" my photographies. At least I can claim honestly that around the age of 15-16 (gee, much happened then, huh?) I had several pictures accepted for a local exhibition - some black & white work including a rather strange dark room experimental one. At least with digital, you're through with getting chemical stains on your fingers and blocking off access to the spare bathroom.

When I started this blog, I had in mind to take all three of the above and combine it with wrestling with webdesign. Which is why I wrote:

"Lets see how it goes. Once this blog finds its feet and stands on less shaky ground, it may be made obsolete and cast aside to make room for The Real One. Or it may not."

I honestly must say that I haven't got around to do that one yet... I have a name for it I like and sketches of the graphical layout I want - but quite simply haven't taken the time actually do it. Partly because I have had our scouting group's website to immerse myself in. Recently made it into a - non-public - wiki for ease of updates. More nerdiness :) Link, if you should be interested to have a wee look (it's all in Danish).

That was four. The fifth? I guess, quite simply, that it's become something in the continuum from a nice habit to an addiction. At least, it's a more socially acceptable one than a lot of other addiction I can think of ;) Although it does raise the question of why I don't do it all the time but somewhat sporadically, I guess.


I'd like - have liked - to take the tagging business with this one out of the rather closely knit group of people I hang out with on the 'net . But I haven't yet found the candidates. Will update if I do.

8 random things about me

Reed apparently has found me to be tagged - I have been a little too busy enjoying Rome with the family to notice. Sorry.

And after reading Aphra's as well as The Singing Librarian's and the good FtMDoctor's, here goes:

1. I am an only child.
   You choose whether my dear parents gave up because they possibly couldn't repeat the good work or because they got scared ;) Clue: An Aunt said when she first laid eyes on me "Oh poor little you, you look like your father!"
2. I only have one mobile phone.
   On the other hand, it's used very much!
3. Both backpacks I have for hiking are red.
   I actually haven't used the newest one, bought in Argentina for a very decent price, yet. Look forward to doing so this summer!
4. I drive a French car.
5. The walls of our house are decorated with all sorts of things - from Corto Maltese and Moebius (the cartoon/Bande Dessinée one) drawings over Vaserely and own photos to Korean masks, Dutch porcelain and Australian boomerangs.
   There is still space left. Or so the Mrs say...
6. I've been to all continents apart from Antartica.
   Mostly on business trips, sadly, so I surely have not seen what's worth seeing. But I do do what I can to get some good impressions, sights and smells wherever I go. Honestly!
7. I like almost all food - major exception is chewy-bwadr things like squid, mussels, snails and the like. Mostly due to the texture.
8. I like wearing a hat - but don't do it quite as mush as I would. Go figure.
   One reason is that my beloved Stetson felt hat is too warm for summer use, even in Denmark. And I haven't found a summer-compatible hat I like yet.

And I seem to have run out of tagging possibilities. Must go and persuade friends to start blogging, I think ;)

Quick and dirty IQ

I like the term "dirty IQ" ;)

Anyway:

Your IQ Is 120

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional Your General Knowledge is Above Average

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

I'm a little disappointed by my logical score. But hey - it's Monday morning and one that started by me having to do the spare tyre exercise...

I'm rather disappointed that I couldn't see my answers vs the right ones, though. Would make getting an Einstein good score on 2nd attempt a little easy, perhaps.

(as usual, I picked this up at az's)

Me expressed in 5 factors

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have medium extroversion. You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party. Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences. But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time." Conscientiousness: You have low conscientiousness. Impulsive and off the wall, you don't take life too seriously. Unfortunately, you sometimes end up regretting your snap decisions. Overall, you tend to lack focus, and it's difficult for you to get important things done. Agreeableness: You have high agreeableness. You are easy to get along with, and you value harmony highly. Helpful and generous, you are willing to compromise with almost anyone. You give people the benefit of the doubt and don't mind giving someone a second chance. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

My evaluation of this would be -

• A few things are a good part of the way off
• A lot of it is reasonably close
• A few things are uncomfortably close to probably being very true

I'll leave the deciphering up to you, dear reader.

Am I surprised?

One more of these wee funny things that az always seem to dig up (yep, I know the site, so I could go look, too - but wouldn't that be cheating? ;)

You Are 55% Normal

While some of your behavior is quite normal... Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself

How Normal Are You?

I initially thought I was surprised - I'll leave it to you to figure out if the surprise was due to a hig or a low normality ;)

Reflecting, I'd like to have seen the individual points scored - where, in this list, do I qualify as reasonably normal and where as an internet weirdo of the kind your mother warned you about? And how many of the normalities or weirdnesses could be due to "simple" cultural differences - such as being a Dane rather than, say, American?

Hmmm...