photo: no monkey business

Theres a new budding photographer in the Tiegergarten Zoo, in Vienna, Austria. The 33 year old orangutang, Nonja, has been given a camera that spits out a raisin when she snaps a photo.
So we get a sneak peek into the life of a zoo inmate. According to the spokesman at the zoo, she doesn`t really care about the outcome of the photos, she just wants her raisins.

You can find her photos on Facebook if you search for Nonja :-)

 

lost in translation

I love reading the Norwegian subtitles on tv. Todays best one:
"I feel like a beer"
"Jeg føler meg som en bjørn"

am I really that old?

So I`ve been tuning in to P4 RadioRetro today, which is classified as "Oldies", on my iTunes. Partly to guarantee that songs by Alexander Rybak and Lady Gaga don`t suddenly turn up.
But amidst the songs from the 60s that are played are songs by artists like Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Dire Straits, Styx, etc etc.
This is oldies?
Shit... I guess I AM old!

Or maybe I should just classify myself as retro...

ho ho ho

So I thought I`d try to decorate my site a bit to get into the Christmas spirit.

vernissage II

Friday I went to another art opening. This time at Kreaktiv in Drammen.

Here with the lovely Rita (to quote John and Paul), the curator of Kreaktiv. This is one of her pieces from the Elva Rundt, where I posed together with Ann Karin for her.
It`s a great piece!

There were lots of great pieces by many different artists that use Kreaktiv as their base. And as always, it`s pretty cool to see the different results.

This is another one of Rita`s pieces.

This was done by Rikke, Rita`s sister, who joined in on the croquis class for her first time. Pretty cool drawing.

One of the artists has his slipper for sale, supposedly worth 3000 kroners.

let it snow, let it snow

Taken this morning at about 9 am.
So maybe this is not exactly winter wonderland just yet. It snowed again yesterday, but as usual today it is about 35 F outside and raining.
Basically it`s just dark and wet outside, which makes my bike ride to work all that more fun.

yoga yoga yoga

Finally! I signed up for an hour of yoga at one of the exercise clubs nearby. And I could tell it`s been a while since I last did this. Had some problems with the basic balancing moves. But this just proves that I need to keep doing this.

I don`t stretch enough, and I think that both the back problems this summer and my last little scare with the pain in my side can all be related to muscular problems.
Plus the fact that the class consists of 99% girls should be an extra incentive too ;-)

when cyclists party

Once a year, my bike club Frikransen gathers together for an end of the year christmas party. It`s always strange at first when we see each other in our "civilian" clothes and not our standard cycling gear. But as always it is alot of fun.
So Friday night we were invited to Øyvind`s place and were served an incredible meal, including an appetizer that you can see below.

With a champagne welcome drink, and very nice red wine for dinner, followed by coffe and cognac, led to a pretty happy group. The christmas presents game at the end has become a tradition as well... although this year I did not get a present. Oh well. I still have a bunch of nice photos I intend to use for blackmail.

And here`s a link to my photo gallery
Merry Christmas! :-)

sunday spin

What was supposed to be jogging outside turned out to be a 2 hour spinning class with a good friend (we opted for something indoors due to the freezing rain).
It felt really good to be "back in the saddle".

I actually had 2 offers to go working out today, which is pretty surprising considering I haven`t been the easiest person to get out of the house these past few months. But I guess thats what good friends are for.
Thanks :)

vernissage

My friend Sissel is one of the students from Nydalen and has drawn me for about a year now (like this one).
She has her own art exhibit at the Cafe Deja Vu in Frognerveien 58, and had her vernissage last night.
This piece was one of my favorites, entitled "Father and son" if I remember correctly. Her work will be hanging here for about a month so go see!

norseman 2003 - where it all started

I miss these days. Everything was new and exciting. We were a small bunch of friends who ventured into the unknown. 21 guys would turn up to do something that nobody before us had done before. My girlfriend at the time was my support during the whole event, and in the weeks prior to this.
We even got a 5 minute slot on NRK! It has been posted on youtube and can still be enjoyed here:
Norseman Xtreme Triathlon 2003

Ever since the first Norseman Xtreme Triathlon, my life has been consumed with triathlons and bike races. It defined me.
But things change, people come and go, and things are not the same. I need to find that "spark" again. The excitement.
Maybe looking at these old videos will bring it all back.

true blood

A 4 hour True Blood marathon, a huge pizza and a good friend to share it with.
Haven`t done that since college.
Thanks for a fun evening :-)

marketing

Translation: "Opening soon an exciting take-away kitchen!"


Not sure what attracted me to this the most... the stylish sign written in marker, the fact that they are describing this as exciting, that we don`t have a Norwegian word for "take-away", or a mixture of all of these.

warning signs?

I had just finished lunch at work, Thursday, when suddenly I got this pain in the side of my chest. Felt mostly like the cramps you get when running. I didn`t think much of it at first and excused myself from class, thinking I could "walk it off". Well it didn`t go away but rather it got worse. It was painful breathing in and I could barely keep standing.

I dropped everything and took a cab downtown to the emergency room.
The doctor was not sure what this could be, so she took some x-rays and took about 3 viles of blood from me.
Before I knew it I was in a hospital bed in my own room waiting for the results (well, actually I shared a room with an older Pakistani man who turned out to be very talkative).

The blood results didn`t come back until 7 pm, but they all came back negative. None of the x-rays showed anything either.
This was all good news of course, but basically I still didn`t know what this was. Maybe it was muscular? Was it an anxiety attack? I got to talk to the doctor again, before going home, but all we could do is speculate.
Today is Sunday and I have tried to just take it easy the past few days. Went swimming for a while yesterday and that felt really good. It still feels like somebody punched me in the side, but I don`t have any problems breathing.

Maybe my body is angry with me for not training actively anymore.
I don`t really know what to do, but I am taking this as some sort of warning sign and I need to change my daily routines.

croquis drawings

These 2 drawings are done by 2 of the girls, Sissel and Margrete, from Nydalen Kunstskole and they hired me in for some extra croquis classes. I love to see the different results, so I took a picture of them (unfortunately my cell phone is not the best camera).

gaining weight

No, not me.
My bike.
Last night I switched out my front tire with the studded tire. The normal tire weighs 700 grams while the studded tire weighs 1000 gr.
So far it`s just the front tire but when I get both of them on there then my bike will weigh over 1/2 kg more than normal.
Should be good for the uphills ;-)

cold, dark and wet

I am reminded of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles".
Steve Martin: "What do you think the temperature is?"
John Candy: "One."

photo: mother & child

photo: baby blue eyes

My newest model :-)

snowflakes!

I look out the window this morning and see big fluffy snowflakes slowly falling from the sky!
There are only a few of them, and it only lasts for a little while, but it is definitely a sign of things to come.
There is nothing more tranquil snow falling. Maybe it`s because I have lived half my life in the southern states, but snow still fascinates me.

You might have to remind me of that come January/February, when I am cursing the snow at 6 am when I am trying to dig out my car ;-)

cycling to work

It`s getting darker. It`s getting colder. It`s getting wetter.

Cycling to work is not just putting on some cycling shorts and heading out the door. The amount of layers of clothing and additions to the bike has increased in the past few weeks. So far, this is my wardrobe:
-long sleeved thermal top -
-bike shorts -
-a long legged outer shell that is semi water/wind proof in the front -
-a windproof vest over that -
-a winter bike jacket -
-a waterproof bike jacket over that (yellow for more visibility) -
-a latex-like head cap underneath helmet (windproof) -
-water-resistant booties over my shoes -
-winter gloves -
-reflective strips around my legs.

In addition I have added a blinking white headlight on the handlebars and a blinking red light under my seat.
On rainy days I have a yellow plastic cover for my backpack which is waterproof and has a reflective strip.

I am waiting with the studded tires... but they are right around the corner.

At this point it probably would be faster just taking the subway... but there`s still something satisfying about riding to work.

triathlon memories I

Gøteborg Triathlon - June 16, 2002

I drove down to Gøteborg with Ole and Clive to compete in my first ever triathlon. It was the olympic distance and I finished in 2:34:52.
I have competed in it 3 more times after that, but my first one is still one of my favorites, and Gøteborg Triathlon will always have a special place in my heart.

bikes vs cars

It almost happened again.
I am riding my bike to work, still slightly dark and a little bit of rain making it slippery. Coming down the hill from Bryn I am crossing the crosswalk in pretty good speed. I have a blinking light on my handle bars plus reflectors on my legs. Still, this car wants to take a left and cross the crosswalk even though I am now almost halfway over!!
I have to break really hard and start sliding. The car stops and honks in anger. I manage to stop, and continue to ride over in front of the car who has now stopped. My heart is racing and I got pretty scared, and really angry. By the time I turn around he is already gone.
What an idiot.

thank you NAF :-)

As I am riding my bike home from work I see 2 people from NAF (Norwegian Automobile Association) handing out free reflectors. When the lady saw me on my bike she gave me a headlight as well.
Now I`ll be lit up like a Christmas tree on my way to and from work.
Hopefully the cars will see me now.
Thank you NAF :-)

run: nøklevann rundt

This Saturday I decided, at the very last minute, to run the 9.6 km Nøklevann Rundt. It has sort of become a tradition for me since my first one in 2003 and has become my "end of the season" run. And with the Nøklevann Rundt plate as the finisher prize, I now have 6 plates in my collection. Woo hoo!
My pulse was a little higher than normal, and my pace a little slower. Not very surprising since my training has gone downhill at a rapid pace. But it was a beautiful day with sunny skies and a chilly fall temperature.
Not sure what I`ll be doing from here on in, but in the meantime I can study my pulse/pace from the race.

the female nude

I have finally gotten the lighting to work.

still seeking tolerance and acceptance

I was simply appalled and amazed after reading the negative reactions that TV2 have received because they have included a gay participant in the "Jakten på Kjærligheten" (Search for Love) show in Norway. The show tries to find a parter for a girl or a guy and has, until now, had heterosexuals on the show. Now that they include a gay man on the show it is causing a stir and people do not wish to watch this on tv.
I would expect this negative reaction (or at least not be surprised) from the southern states in America, the so-called "Christian bible-belt", where they love to pull quotes from the bible about how man is not supposed to be with another man. But I really thought that this sort of prejudism was gone from today`s Norway.
Not long ago it was declared legal for same-sex marriage in Norway, which was a great victory for the gay community. But there is still a lot of gay-related violence (gay bashing) in the streets of Oslo.
I can only imagine how difficult it is to "come out" and accept that one is gay, and how reports like this will make it even more difficult... not just to accept that one is gay, but feel comfortable with it and to feel accepted. I simply do not understand why people still cannot accept a persons sexual preference an instead look for ones inner beauties.
We are all simply looking for love and acceptance. Whether this is with a person of opposite sex or not is irrelevant.

The article, in Norwegian, can be read here. What is even more scary are the reactions written in below the article. The article does not state the number of complaints that were called in to the station... I just hope it is a minute number.

fall colors: updated

The colors didn`t pop out the way I had wanted them to in the first one, so I spent some time in Photoshop, like I should have done in the first place.

fall colors

The fall colors are starting to come out.

lutefisk

Lutefisk... the fish is prepared using caustic lye soda! It does not look good or smell good, but it tastes incredibly good!
Add the obligatory fixins, like bacon bits, stewed peas and boiled potatoes and you`re golden. Of course beer and aquavit isn`t bad either.
I ended up consuming 3 portions of this.

photo: advertising

photo: texture

an apple a year

I love apples!
Unfortunately I am allergic to them.
All of the store bought apples that is. Don`t ask me why... I don`t get it either. I have tried all kinds including ecological apples, but the results are the same... my throat starts to itch.
But! I found out a few years ago that apples picked straight from the trees are okay. No reaction whatsoever.
Which means that the fall season is "apple season" for me.

It just so happens that I pass a house on my way to work that has posted a sign "Please pick our apples. We have too many". So every morning I pick 2-3 apples.
Maybe it`s because apples have been such a rare food item for me, but these apples taste incredibly good!
I am tempted to pick a whole bunch this week and make an apple pie, seeing how the frost is coming and the trees are still full of unharvested apples. It`s a shame really that so many apple trees go unharvested. I see that most of the apples just fall to the ground and rot away.
Well, I am gonna eat as many apples as I can before they fall from the trees. Then I have to wait patiently for the next apple season.

mr. frost is coming

It was quite nippy this morning when I rode my bike to work. There has been a gradual increase in the number of layers of clothing and their thickness/windproofness (its now a word) that I need to wear. A bandana under my helmet was also added to my repertoire this morning.
The thermostat outside my kitchen window measured 2 degrees C. Thats 35,6 Fahrenheit for you Americans ;-)
Frost was covering most of the cars and several people were scraping their windshield while their car was warming up. And of course the subway was filled with people coughing and sneezing.
So even though it`s a cold start, it`s still a pretty good way to start the day. And my first cup of coffee tastes even that much better.

inspirational words

Listening to the car radio on the way home last night, the wonderful song, "Don`t Give Up" by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, came on that I had not heard in ages. The lyrics just sunk in and I wanted to share.

in this proud land we grew up strong
we were wanted all along
I was taught to fight, taught to win
I never thought I could fail

no fight left or so it seems
I am a man whose dreams have all deserted
I've changed my face, I've changed my name
but no one wants you when you lose

don't give up
'cos you have friends
don't give up
you're not beaten yet
don't give up
I know you can make it good

though I saw it all around
never thought I could be affected
thought that we'd be the last to go
it is so strange the way things turn

drove the night toward my home
the place that I was born, on the lakeside
as daylight broke, I saw the earth
the trees had burned down to the ground

don't give up
you still have us
don't give up
we don't need much of anything
don't give up
'cause somewhere there's a place
where we belong

rest your head
you worry too much
it's going to be alright
when times get rough
you can fall back on us
don't give up
please don't give up

'got to walk out of here
I can't take anymore
going to stand on that bridge
keep my eyes down below
whatever may come
and whatever may go
that river's flowing
that river's flowing

moved on to another town
tried hard to settle down
for every job, so many men
so many men no-one needs

don't give up
'cause you have friends
don't give up
you're not the only one
don't give up
no reason to be ashamed
don't give up
you still have us
don't give up now
we're proud of who you are
don't give up
you know it's never been easy
don't give up
'cause I believe there's the a place
there's a place where we belong

wedding photos

Taken this summer in Maridalen.

a thousand words

"Elvelangs i fakkellys" along the Akerselva in Oslo.

the predictably unreliable transit system

Yesterday I had to take the subway to work, instead of riding my bike, since I was also taking the train up to Gjøvik. It was to be a long day.
After day`s end in Gjøvik, and the 2 hour train back home, I only had the 30 minute subway to take me the last stretch.
But only halfway home, at Bryn station, all the lights went off in the subway car and we were told that there was no electricity on the tracks. Thats it. No other options. Just a nice message that there was an electricity breach.
There were no taxis, so I walked up to Manglerud in hopes of finding one. There were about 6-7 other people in line for the taxis there too, so I walked further to Ryen where I finally found an available taxi.
I did not get home until 21:30, an hour late.

The exact same thing happened 2 weeks ago when I also needed to travel up to Gjøvik. The subway on the way home lost its electricity feed and we had to find other means of transportation.

This morning, as I happily rode my bike to work, I could see the subway platform filled with people waiting in the rain for the subway. It looks like they have not been able to fix the problems.

And people ask me why I ride my bike to work.

syklistene i media

Artikkel i Aften 16.09.09.

still learning norwegian

After having lived 20 years overseas, I moved back to Norway at the end of 1999. Has it really been 10 years ago??
I still pick up new words, but this latest threw me for a loop.
"Valgvake"
What the hell does this mean? I looked it up on the internet but there were no english words for this.
So I looked up "vake" but no english word for this either.
To me it looks like "valgkake" which makes more sense. Just a big cake filled with all of the different political parties. And there are alot of them in Norway. In the US there are 2, and sometimes 3... but we all know that the 3rd "independent" party never has a chance.
Anyways... I digress.
Valgvake valgvake valgvake

mest brukt ord/beskrivelse under og etter gårdagens valg

"Formidabelt"

mental note

Wear a coffee-colored shirt.

today`s quote

"If I listened to what people said they wanted, I would have designed a faster horse."
Henry Ford

Proof that as a designer, my job would have been so much easier without clients.

first day of school

No, not for the kids (which I dont have anyway) but for me :-)
For the first time in 4 years I am finally employed full time. And I still get to do what I like to do, namely teach... and in Photoshop.
I feel lucky.
So today was my first day of teaching. I slept horribly last night, and woke up at 5 am this morning. Idiot.
But everything went fine.
I should know by now that once I am in class that things will be fine.
So now I can look forward to tomorrows class as I cycle home in the rain.

internett er en flopp!

Denne artikkelen finnes sikkert et utallige andre steder også, men jeg måtte bare ha den her hos meg også.
20. august 1996, nesten nøyaktig 13 år siden, skrev Leif Osvold et leserinnlegg i Dagens Næringsliv.
-"Internett er en flopp; det vil si en "motegreie" som kommer til å dø ut om et par år", skrev han i kronikken. Videre skrev han:
"ingen av aktørene på nettet vil tjene penger på å legge seg der med sine tilbud", "privat bruk av nettet vil være marginalt" , "og mengden av informasjon på nettet vil bli så enorm at det vil skape frustrerende store søkeproblemer, og dermed frafall av brukere".
I 1998 hevdet han at spådommen nå viste seg å være riktig.
"Det er ganske naturlig at bruken av internett nå har stagnert og begynner å synke. Jeg har spådd dette for lenge siden, som eneste person i Norge, og blitt ledd av. Den første nysgjerrigheten har nå lagt seg, og folk er blitt lei av å lete mer eller mindre formålsløst på nettet ", skrev Osvold da.
I 1999 kom han på trykk med flere dystre spådommer om internett.
"Spådommene om at nettet vil bli like alment brukt som øvrige medier har mistet sin troverdighet", skrev Osvold og la til at internett aldri vil bli et "folkemedium".
I dag føler han seg uthengt og kommer med følgende kommentar til dn.no:
- Min eneste kommentar er at jeg tok grundig feil den gangen, sier Osvold til dn.no.


Sitater og fakta er kopiert fra dn.no som ble trykket i 2005 som kan leses her.

ja så le da!

Jeg satt og flippa kanalene og kom frem til "Komiprisen 2009" og tenkte at dette må jo være morsomt. Den ble jo beskrevet som "...latterspredende underholdning når våre beste humorister samles til Komiprisen".
Etter 15 minutter måtte jeg bare skru den av i frustrasjon. Ikke bare var det umulig for meg å le, eller i det hele tatt flire en eneste gang, men det var enda mer forunderlig at publikum lo så de nesten pissa på seg. Var de dritings? Eller kanskje var de betalt for å le? Eller er det bare jeg som ikke har noen sans for humor likevel?
Er dette de beste komikerne i Norge?
Og hvem er disse Raske Menn? Er det det rare håret som gjør dem umiddelbart morsomme?

Det eneste fine innslaget var når de zoomet inn på Pia Tjelta som satt i publikum. Men hun ble bare vist i noen sekunder for hun lo ikke hun heller. Hun har visst samme humor som meg. Kanskje jeg skal ringe til henne. Er hun singel?
Ja jeg tror jeg legger inn et par bilder av henne jeg, så blir jeg litt i bedre humør.
Kanskje det er på tide at det er noen pene bilder å se på her inne på bloggen min.