Archive for July, 2012

QOTD July 31 2012

Tuesday, July 31st, 2012

Henry Van Dyke: “Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.”

Engineer student’s life

Monday, July 30th, 2012

My life as student Electrical Engineering took place in the 90’s, *years* ago! Still, I remember the process class>homework>exam as shown below all too well. Mannn, do I remember this…so typical! 😉

 

QOTD July 30 2012

Monday, July 30th, 2012

Kate Clinton: “A friend told me that each morning when we get up we have to decide whether we are going to save or savor the world. I don’t think that is the decision. It’s not an either-or, save or savor. We have to do both, save and savor the world.”

Misha 10 months

Sunday, July 29th, 2012

And that is 10 mini-candles on the baby cake; Misha turned 10 months today!!

The ‘not so little’ angel is enjoying the Norwegian summer these weeks, taking short trips with his proud daddy, sitting in a ‘face-forward’ car seat and enjoying the view!

 

 

He even started to read books! 😉

QOTD July 29 2012

Sunday, July 29th, 2012

Margaret Lee Runbeck: “Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling.”

Typical Norwegian

Saturday, July 28th, 2012

Life in Norway is great; the fantastic nature, the way of living, and…some interesting habits 😉 read more about those in the ‘what-is-typical-norwegian‘ article.

At the very end there is a nice list to check if one has been in Norway too long:

(I don’t qualify… 😉 )

1. You think there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing
2. You associate warm rice porridge with Saturday and Xmas eve
3. It seems nice to spend a week in a small wooden cottage up in the mountains, with no running water and no electricity
4. You think cross-country skiing is the only “real” skiing
5. You know at least five different words describing different kinds of snow
6. A sharp intake of breath (“jah”) has become part of your active vocabulary
7. You associate Friday afternoon with a trip to Vinmonopolet (The Wine Monopoly)
8. It’s acceptable to eat lunch at 11.00 and dinner at 15.00
9. Your front door step is beginning to resemble a shoe shop
10. Silence is fun

 

QOTD July 28 2012

Saturday, July 28th, 2012

Rebecca West: “It’s the soul’s duty to be loyal to its own desires. It must abandon itself to its master passion.”

London 2012 Olympics

Friday, July 27th, 2012

It is hard to miss; the London 2012Summer Olympic Games start today! The opening ceremony (so far) was fantastic; a vibrant show filled with many references to Great Brittain’s history and culture, creative special effects, music from all decades and energy, lots of energy.

Experience tells me that the Games have a tendency to suck you in, so I’d better stay away from the TV, or I won’t be able to stop watching! 😉

 

QOTD July 27 2012

Friday, July 27th, 2012

Georg Christoph Lichtenberg: “One’s first step in wisdom is to question everything – and one’s last is to come to terms with everything.”

When a lion meets the mountain

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

Apple released OS X Mountain Lion yesterday, its latest (and greatest?) OS and I took the leap and updated my Macbook Air today. The Carbo Copy Cloner backup I took turned out to be useless (well, most backups normally are); the upgrade went super-smooth and I was done within 20 minutes. The gain? Around 200+ new features, I mostly love:

– The (unexpected) performance improvement; Apple has a pretty good track record on improving speed of the new OS over the old one, how do they do this, it’s great!

– AirPlay Mirroring allowing me to send my MacBook Air screen to my HDTV (it works fantastic!)

Dictation; making it possible to use my voice instead of the keyboard, amazing!! (I actually ‘typed’ this sentence using the Dictation feature without any error!!)

Messages, bringing iMessage (iDevice to iDevice messaging app) to my Mac…handy as in the end a full keyboard does type faster than the small virtual one on my iPhone!

– Notes & Reminders, which are both syncing between my iPhone and Mac, it makes it super easy to keep track of things

 

So far OS X Mountain Lion makes me a happy geek, although I might give Adam Curry‘s development of his Mountain Goat OS a try! 😉

QOTD July 26 2012

Thursday, July 26th, 2012

Benjamin Disraeli: “Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for truth.”

The science behind the ‘Power Nap’

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Did you ever feel so tired during the day that there was only one thing you *really* wanted (/needed)…to take a nap? Well the science is in: watch this video and learn that science supports your wish; take a 10-30 minute ‘Power-Nap’ and get more energy out of your day, stop relying on caffeine and still remain productive (share this video with your boss)!

(haha, I guess the Spaniards are not that far off, taking a siesta in the afternoon! 😉 )

 

QOTD July 25 2012

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Martina Horner: “What is important is to keep learning, to enjoy challenge, and to tolerate ambiguity. In the end there are no certain answers.”

‘Working’ holiday in Norway

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

It was a great week, having my parents over in Norway the past week! As they visited Oslo and Norway many times before (last year a six week vacation all the way to the North Cape), we could skip the tourist highlights and go right back to work in da house…sounds like a true vacation to me, eh? 😉

Dad’s middle name is handyman, and there is (was? 😉 ) enough to do in the house to keep him busy. Mom too has the ‘I can’t sit still’ virus, so we have all been pretty busy these past days (while enjoying the lovely moments with Misha). Yeah, we were able to create a good mix between ‘working’ and relaxing, so it was a win-win week that we all enjoyed a lot!

And now…it is father-son time, yay!!

QOTD July 24 2012

Tuesday, July 24th, 2012

Walter Anderson: “Our lives improve only when we take chances – and the first and most difficult risk we can take is to be honest with ourselves.”

QOTD July 23 2012

Monday, July 23rd, 2012

Christopher Reeve: “Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean.”

July 22 memorial concert

Sunday, July 22nd, 2012

July 22 in Norway has become a day of dedication to the open society to make sure that last years terror attacks will never be forgotten (the court-case is still ongoing). Today has been filled with nationwide commemorations including a memorial concert in Oslo tonight. The city was once again filled with roses…the perpetrator lost, the people won.

 

 

Quite special was the song that Bruce Springsteen (with ‘Little’ Steven Van Zandt) performed: We Shall Overcome.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlAQ0AAPPrw

QOTD July 22 2012

Sunday, July 22nd, 2012

Steve Jobs: “Sometimes life is going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.”

A day in Oslo

Saturday, July 21st, 2012

Sunny summer weather, ‘city-explorer’ shoes on, vibrant Oslo city center, an angel in a stroller interested in everything and everyone, and Ingrid as tour guide…it all came together today: Mishas’s first summer trip through Oslo was a big success, he loved it!

 

 

My parents loved the tour around Oslo center; Aker Brygge, Nationaltheatret, Litteratur Huset, Karl Johans Gate, Oslo Domkirke, the Regjeringskvartalet (where last years terror attack took place), a splendid view over the city from the Stratos cafe (12 floors up), Akershus Festning and the RÃ¥dhus…a lot of walking, with some refreshing breaks in between! 😉

 

QOTD July 21 2012

Saturday, July 21st, 2012

Indira Gandhi: “We must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.”