Headline News: the tiniest dictatorship in Europe falls

On the wikipedia homepage, the following headline item drew my eye: "The Channel Island Sark abolishes the last remaining feudal system in Europe. "

I laughed out loud several times while reading about this island. If we were any earlier in april I would strongly suspect an elaborate April Fools hoax, but this seems legitimate. Try finding the parts of the article referring to the "One Man Invasion" and "Clameur de Haro" for extra kicks. I used to think people living on small islands inevitably became crazy: I now know this for a fact!

Hard at work or hardly working?

["New game for civil servants:

the first one to move loses]

Since I've started working at my new job in february, my workload has been rather uneven. Some days I'm swamped and working on so many different projects my head starts to spin (full 360 degrees, Exorcist-style), and some days I'm so starved for useful tasks and projects that I start abusing the work facilites for less, shall we say productive, pastimes? Examples:

• writing useless blogposts (much like the one you're reading)
• checking my email and/or Facebook every 10 minutes
• brushing up on my non-existing knowledge of Tibet on wikipedia (might be an upcoming blogpost btw!)
• googling origami folding procedures, then folding the said origami figure (I started out easy with a "sampan")
• continuing my long-going project to learn Spanish via song lyrics only (currently printed out a spanish/english version of Shakira's "La Tortura")
• booking tickets to cinemas (Morgan Pålsson), concerts (Where the Action is, festival featuring Foo Fighters among others), theatre (Mästaren och Margarita)
• managing my parents' finances and day-to-day menial administrative tasks
• selecting new pictures from my travels in South-East Asia for my wallpaper background

Who said work doesn't allow you to evolve? ;)

[feel free to post your comments! what useless things do you do in office down-times?]

Instant Karma

Karma is a faster (and more fashionable) way of saying "what goes around comes around" (replacing the impopular acronym WGACA). It is also a concept I encountered this weekend, while I was out partying with my two main wingmen, Nicolas and Victor. We were reminiscing about the old times and some us (ed: me) were feeling more freespoken than other while we discussed the long lost acquaintances that we would rather remained long lost.

Well, being uncharitable towards my fellow men delivered me into instant karma: they added me on Facebook.

Sometimes you gotta take chances...

...on your blogging lifestyle. My rule of thumb is: if you don't expect a lot of comments, you shouldn't enable comments. Because View Comments (0) looks a bit sad, sort of like entering "Single" on a lifestyle questionnaire or People Attending Event: 1.

But since I've gotten some feedback on some of my posts, I'm prepared to reconsider my overcautious policy and allow people to enter comments. To all my dedicated fans (yes, all two of you): don't let me down and go nuts on the comments!

To all you blog spammers: bring it on! I will delete your "V14gr4" posts so fast your head will spin.

Snuff vs Fags

For those of us still caught in the nicotine-lifestyle, it can be strategic to consider both options: snuff vs cigarettes. Here's a pros and cons list for both:

Snuff (or "snus" in Swedish"), also referred to as moist dipping tobacco, ressembles a tiny teabag satchel containing tobacco. It is inserted into the gum and enables you to draw nicotine into your bloodstream while in place.

PRO:

• user does not reek of cigarette smoke (easier to mask if need be)
• does not require user to go outdoors or find a specific location in which to do it
• less noticeable than a cigarette
• gives several hours worth of nicotine delivery without requiring use of your hands
• reduced risk of lung cancer

CONS:

• you can still tell it's there by the bulge on user's face
• can "run", causing a dark brown liquid streak to stain your teeth
• can cause lisping, especially when on the phone (the three above put together can make you look quite the mental retard)
• dulls your sense of taste
• not as bad breath as cigarettes, but can still annoy person standing close
• increased risk of oral cancer

As for cigarettes,

PROS

• smoking a cigarette is (for me) synonymous to taking a break
• just like Humphrey Bogart, makes you look cool (this is highly subjective, of course!)
• commanding the element of fire!
• short and intense burst of nicotine
• a useful tool in specific social circumstances ("Got a light?")

CONS

• cigarette smoke REEKS; annoys non-smokers, easily identified
• dulls your sense of smell
• passive smoking!
• requires you to leave room
• ever tried kissing a non-smoker? Don't.
• flicking away a cigarette butt, while showy, is a major factor in littering
• increased risk of lungcancer, lung disease and a lot of other health

I do a little bit of both. During office hours I tend to gravitate towards snus in order to cut down on necessary breaks and maintain a (more) neutral smell, whereas cigarettes are better for out-of-office hours, pubbing/clubbing etc.

Have I considered quitting these vile practices? More than once, but I only seriously tried when I was dating a girl who didn't smoke. It worked for three weeks, and then I spent the rest of the relationship trying to (successfully, I might add) hide the fact that I still smoked...

Two sides to every story

I received a link from Tobias, a good friend despite his suspicious political affiliations (liberal, supports McCain in the US and Moderaterna in Sweden), perhaps because we share a passion for calling each other out for being the reason the world is an imperfect place, and sometimes rarely agreeing on certain things. A good argument can really raise your pulse and get you thinking - or can cause headache and loss of happiness - and sometimes all at once.



Our current disagreement revolves around the war on Iraq. I have gone from carefully optimistic to profoundly skeptical about the Iraqi war and have few illusions that anything good will happen to Iraq in the next 10 years or so. Tobias is more optimistic and points to current signs of improvement in the security situation. I know that skepticism for the future don't earn you points because something bad is ALWAYS likely to happen, I'm pretty sure that Iraq is currently too traumatised and fractured to pick itself up - in one piece at least.

Two articles, one sent in by Tobias and one by me, regarding the current strategy of US soldiers to create a new branch of security (Al Sahwa) mostly composed of Sunnis. The two perspectives are quite different, and I encourage you to read both; it's always a good idea to read an article you agree with and one you don't - you'll be more confused but probably a better person for it.

Perspective 1:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120787343563306609.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

Perspective 2:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/18722376/the_myth_of_the_surge/print

The Great and Secret Traffic School Conspiracy

It has begun to dawn on me that while I may not be the best driver in the world I should have passed that last exam by most standards. I've begun considering whether there is a more sinsiter reason to me flunking out of the third exam... I give you my take on


The Great and Secret Traffic School Conspiracy





Money is the key issue here. By putting insanely high standards for passing exams, they make sure that all my money is being slowly bled dry, by the traffic schools and Vägverket. They've conspired to squeeze out every last precious krona out of the citizens. When push comes to shove (and I'm in the mood to shove), you are only encouraged to do the right thing when the surrounding society gives you reason to hope that doing the right thing is not a poetic struggle against all odds. I'll give it another go, but if I don't get the driver's license soon through the system, I'm gonna have to start considering how to go around it...



(You can of course choose to interpret this as the rambled denial of a self-deluded traffic hazard. But I'm right - whether you know it or not)