TKO - Built for disaster

We had been talking about it a lot. But as so many times before time went on and nothing happened. Yesterday we went to the National Gallery of Victoria and decided that this time it would really happen. We would wake up our cultural parts of the brain once and for all. Kids had surprised us by talking wide and loud about Vincent van Gogh and hos beautiful Starry Night is, and how they tried to replicate the sunflowers in class. Oh wait... I really felt left behind in this. So on we went, this time it would really happen. But oh what a disappointment. This was the last weekend of the exhibition in Australia before the paintings are taken down, packed in wooden boxes, insurances checked and shipped to the next stop, wherever it may be. I know so much, it won't be near, and it won't be back. Queues were horrendous... So we decided to come back early on Saturday morning, they open at 8am, and that's when we were going to be there. No later than 8am. And for once w...

One would think that in a climate such as this in southern Australia someone would come up with a better idea than keeping all lines (cable, electricity, telephone etc) up in the air. The wind can be pretty furious at times and city planners insist on planting trees which are known to grow over time. No doubt arborists are having fun coming up with ideas how to keep city planners and power utility companies happy. Once upon a time these cables were drawn in a similar way in Stockholm, where I have lived most of my life. At some point the phone companies decided this wasn't going to work in the long run. IMHO it would make sense to dig ditches into the ground and place all cables there (at least in the cities). Of course it will cost, but I also believe there is an algorithm that will give a number that will turn black a few years time after investment (ROI). Until then I will walk around this country with a smile on my face looking at the funny trees growing along city ...

So last year I was in for a big surprise. We had been talking about moving to Australia for a loooong time. But something always got in the way. Then pieces suddenly started falling into place. And by saying "suddenly" I mean really really fast. Just for fun I looked at the intranet career pages at work every now and then. Once in a while something popped up that I liked and sort of thought "wow, that would be great". So it went on until February 2016 when I saw THE ad. SIEM specialist in Australia. Suits me nicely I thought and told my wife about it. She of course told me to apply and a couple of days later I was ready to submit my letter. Back to the Jobseeker site and... it was gone... disaster! I had no choice but to go back home and deliver the sad news. Maybe it was the way it was meant to be. We'll just stay in Sweden and grow old. Weeks went by, and I thought maybe something similar would appear from nowhere and make my day, but nothing surfaced. N...

Curtis Wiklund's drawings are just adorable. So alive and vivid. And this.

En morgon med ännu fler rubriker som lätt skulle kunna skapats av mellanstadieelevens första försök till klasstidning. Språkliga katastrofer och mycket tafatta försök till sensationer som faller platt. Carl-Adam Nycop vrider sig fjorton varv motsols i sin grav. En gång i tiden hade tidningar ambitioner som folkbildare och det är idag svårt att se den kopplingen i den dagliga mediacirkusen. " Väcker sovande björn - då händer det här... " och som om inte det skulle räcka för att få nackhåret att resa sig drämmer tidning till med den lockande ingressen: " Lars: Jag kände, jävlar nu går det dåligt ". Jag förstår att skrift språk är annat än talspråk... men herre jösses. Snälla Lars, pappa borde berättat för dig att det där med sovande björnar... dom låter man vara. " Får en Oscar - sen börjar mardrömmen " Stjärnan anar inte vad som ska hända . Mina största farhågor lär inte bli besannade, och knappast är det en mardröm. Men ett klick är väl alltid värt någ...

Jag har under en längre tid förfärats över hur nyhetssidorna ser ut och hur de framstår som idioter. Eller rättare sagt hur de ser oss konsumenter som idioter. Jag tänkte under några dagar titta på kvällstidningarna och kommentera förstasidans rubriker, för att sedan se vad som döljer sig bakom dessa. Aftonbladet: Här gör ormen något fullständigt groteskt Personligen är jag ingen större anhängare av ormar och är den sista som skulle gå med i en fanklubb för dessa reptiler så för mig är i princip allt som ormar gör groteskt, men jag oppenerar mig mot rubriken. Det vore väl trevligt om man fick reda på ungefär vad den håller på med istället för att försöka dra oss in i en grotesk gissningslek. Jag har ingen aning, men det måste völ vara värt att klicka på... En annan sak som förbryllar mig är Aftonbladets PLUS-tjänster. I en gången tid fanns tidningar med redaktörer som stoltserade med unika nyhetsgranskning. Egna reportage och upptäckter. När jag idag tittar på dessa PLUS-tjänster...