OBS! - The future is here

The heat is over for this time (but hopefully not the summer). The temperature has gone from 28C to 14C over the night. It is raining. It it time to reawaken our mind and think of something more challenging than UVa, UVb and SPF from 20 and above. The future is coming and you have to be prepared.

The Norwegian Ministry of Local Government established in August 2008 a project where the objective is to implement trials with electronic voting at municipal elections in 2011 in selected municipalities. The project will deliver a fully functional e-voting system.

To this end, the project will:
Specify the technological platform
Decide upon e-voting pilots for the 2011 local elections. The possible scope for pilots
includes geography, voter groups and voting in a controlled or uncontrolled environment.
Procure an e-voting system
Secure acceptance of e-voting amongst both policy makers and the general population
Pave the way for, and assist in the organizational adoption of the e-voting system by the selected pilot authorities.
Procure partnerships for the running and maintenance of the e-voting system
Plan for the eventual full scale adoption of e-voting in Norway

Prepare yourself for the future by reading more about The E-vote 2011-project and do not experience that you within 30 months are hit by something you do not understand.

If you think we are premature by preparing for changes in the future, see what the British Prime Minister says about future challenges:
The digital revolution is changing all our lives beyond recognition. How must Britain change with it.
Gordon Browns article in TimesOnLine is called The internet is as vital as water and gas

Next week you are welcome to return to your sun-bed and tanning.

Baked Baccalao Noruega a la Anne Kath.

A week ago we celebrated Anne Katharina´s 60 years birthday. The dinner was Baked Baccalao Noruega. The recipe was simple and we copied the process last night.
Ingredients:
Klippfisk, 2 yellow onions, (garlic), bacon, white pepper, low fat cream, mashed potatoes and cheese. First soften the onion-rings yellow, then fry bacon in pieces and fry carefully the thoroughly watered and boneless Klippfisk (The Norwegian word klippfisk comes from fisk (fish) + klipp (cliff or rock by the waterside), where it was dried.) Put the food into a refractory together with low fat cream.
Add Mashed Potatoes and cheese on the top.
Bake (gratinate) the dish in the middle of the oven for half an hour at 200 C. and serve with red or white wine (Santa Digna 2008, Sauvignon Blanche from Chile).
Enjoy your meal, as we did once more thanks to Anne Kath.

Angry Nature - Thunder and Lightning

Yesterday we experienced a weather-change with temperature drop of about 10 degr., very strong wind (21.6ms)and heavy rain (15.5mm in one flush). From a warm and cosy afternoon, Campari and temperature of above 31C the situation dramatically changed between 7 to 8 pm. In addition to my own, I have to steal some photos from the newspapers to give you a better view of this "angry" nature.

Cheers!

Thunder and Lihtning (last one by Stine Aspelund)

Water flooding in Maridalsveien (Arne V, Sørheim)

Public traffic at Kjelsås. (Tore Skobba)
And this morning we saw the consequences in our own neighborhood

Sky Watching with friends

Some times ago I and hundreds others, planned for Sky Watching photos every week on Fridays. The idea behind the meme was excellent. Rise your eyes against the sky and see what you can find up / out there. But after a while I found the photos boring, and especially the comments showed that most important was to be registered through Mr. Linky and hoping for visitors. Going through more than 300 other blogs became difficult, and I dropped out / became banned.
However, I still direct my camera against the beauty with the sky as background, and last weekend these photos were shot close to the sea and the sky.
Together with good friends we shared the beauty of the North Sea coastal light, like Harald and Solveig plus Astrid to the right.
Kirsti and Erik eating prawns and drinking white wine.
and Anton and Grethe a day before they moved to southern Spain and their second home.
The Midnight light as seen from the Jacuzzi gives you an indication of the extraordinary "no-Wind" situation close to the sea, with the setting sun far out to the west only meters from the horizon.
That is Sky Watching and peace.

Flammentanz and a warm summerday

Summer is hot. 30 C (86 F and 303 Kelvin) but during the light shower temp dropped to 25C before returning to 30 +. At Turid´s place she measured 34.6 C yesterday.
Campari (with sweet sparkling lemon soda) is curing the crave for liquid for us humans, while the sprinkle watering of our lawn around the cottage have to run continuously.

Thank you for the hospitality

Once more we have spent some days and nights together with good friends at Asbjørn and Anne Katharina´s summer residence close to the North Sea.
Eating excellent food, drinking good red wines, singing old Ålesund songs, climbing the hills, walking costal safari for flower picking and ending the days / evenings with Jacuzzi bathing.
Thank you for the hospitality.
Part of the weekend was late celebration of Anne Kath´s 60 birthday, and the old bunch from Ålesund gathered together for an excellent lunch, dinner and over night party.Touring the landscape around the residence included climbing steep hills, was of course part of the event including guiding through the history of the islands around
A great view down to the "farm houses" and the North Sea. Out there to the west you find Greenland as your first shore. Sitting in the Jacuzzi with camera watching the sunset from 23.30 to 23.45 was spectacular.We return when invited. (do not wait too long)

Painting in Pastel colors

My paintings are normally known as sometimes overloaded with strong colors. During these sunny days I had to recall the view from Asbjørn and Anne Katharins´s house at the seashore at "Lepsøya" north west of Norway, and express the colors on a sunny day towards the North Ocean. Title: Land and Ocean.

Have a sunny Sunday and feel the colors warm your hearts.

Summer flowers

The garden is full of flowers. It is full summer. The night is warm and the nordic light as beauty as ever. The flowers in my garden returns every year, and we have not much heavy work to do until the blossom cheers us up and fill the property with colors, cense and sensibility.
I do not know too much about Roses and their names. The importance is, however, that the beauty in red, yellow and pink can be found everywhere around our cottage.
Have a nice weekend all over the world.