One of my bookshelves

Yesterday morning I became aware of an ongoing competition in the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) Do you have the nicest Bookshelf in Norway?.
A jury will select the finest bookshelf, and the winner gets his own bodyheight in relevant publications.
After some considerations and knowing that my apartment has bookshelves at three different locations, in addition to my wife´s bedside, I decided not to participate and making a blogpost instead. If I had participated this photo from my dining room would have been sent in to the jury and you are free to compare this with the other over hundred bookshelves presented at Flickr

Meeting a Painter outside my door

Yesterday afternoon when returning to our apartment after a visit to the hospital (Norwegian Radium Hospital) we met an artist carrying his painting together with the new owner of his work through the street.
We liked the painting (seen above) and when asking what the signature at the upper right corner -YB2011 meant (not on this copy), he told us he was the artist and gave us his name.
Googling his name we could see more of his works on Internet, and recommend you to take a look at the 27 years old painter named Yngve Benum and his large modern paintings. This painting was finished August 24 this year, and has the dimension of 190 x 120 cm. Well done Yngve.

Interior details: Seize the Day

Sometimes when I sit in my living room watching TV or having no focus at all, my eyes move around the interior without any desired intention. I may be daydreaming or experience digression based upon other impressions. Controlling the mind is not my favorite sport.

This morning my eyes stopped at the stucco in the middle of my ceiling. The rosette must have had a short term illumination due to the low sun through the windows, and the combination og light and shadow made me immediately grab my iPhone and shot this photo.

Looking down to see the quality of the image at my iPhone Photo Library, my eyes fastened at the Persian Tabriz carpet on the floor and once more a photo catch gave an image.
Sometime we unnecessary "cross the river" for hunting motives for making a blogpost. Details in the daily environment around us can fully satisfy the purpose. Make the most of any moment. Seize the Day.

Night / Light Walk along Akerselva from 8 pm to midnight

River walk by torchlight has been an autumn tradition here i Oslo. Last night at 8 pm the Mayor of Oslo, Fabian Stang, opened the spectacular stroll and thousands of people moved from Frysja and down to Vaterland.

At Frysja Stockholm Drumline made the rhythm and Teatr Groteska from Poland controlled the flying dragons

Spectacular colors and movements.

Along the path light in different colors showed us the way together with thousands of torches.

T and I had company with Gunnar S. and (as on photo:) Ragnhild

Gunnar is a hobby Jazz musician (drums) and a lot of bands and choirs entertained him and us during the walk.

Trees were decorated and illuminated to show us the artistic frame of the river bank.

Fire Spinners (Håvve Fjeld & Pain Solution) had a show at Myraløkka by Bentsebrua

Møllefossen riverfall is one of the most spectacular parts of the river. This night the water stream was extremely great, illuminated and a place for shooting photos.

Tullen by the fence and the "boiling" water only meters behind

Colors and forces. Nature is fantastic a lll the hours of the day.

I cannot guarantee the consequences of jumping into the stream here. Better to be on Social Media.

Well dressed for the chilly night.

Thank you for the Light Walk this year. A success story well worth to be copied next year.

On the way from north to south

Less than a week ago the Costal Liner "M/S Nordlys" experienced fire, loss of engine power and nearly capsizing when anchored at the harbor in Ålesund. This morning the ship was in tow to the shipyard and citizens of Ålesund could follow the transport from their southern balconies and windows.

Over our cottage in Oslo we also could experience a transport leg when hundreds of greylag geese started their flying to warmer fields away from the Nordic winter.

It is almost exactly 5 months since I made a spring blogpost telling about the geese going north.
At April 18 we as today had a working session at the cottage. Then summer preparation, now autumn activities and winter preparation.
The bird plow has turned 180 degrees heading south. We will follow within some months.

Social Medium Twitter is 5 years

Some of my friends (in and not so in the Internet world) have negative perceptions of Social Media like FaceBook and Twitter. That is ok, but maybe we see the same skepticism here as elsewhere when we feel afraid of aliens and have not enough information available. These 11 fact figures may help you to see that it is just to jump into the Stream:

To learn more about Twitter go to jefbullas.com.  Jefbullas facts about FaceBook can be found here

Quality = Customers Satisfaction

When Quality = Customer Satisfaction (Perception / Expectation = 1)  and Apple (Mac) is on top for 8 consecutive years. Maybe it is true that Apple/Mac has the best quality personal computers. Many of us feel that P / E > 1 and  thus gives us Customer Delight.

See more of Apple products here and look into MacRumors for being prepared for the new models coming this fall.

A TED presentation well worth to watch

The 6 killer apps of prosperity: Niall Ferguson on TED.com

I have from time to time recommended some of the intriguing presentations from TED.com. Today watch the 6 killer apps.

Over the past few centuries, Western cultures have been very good at creating general prosperity for themselves. Historian Niall Ferguson asks: Why the West, and less so the rest? 

He suggests half a dozen big ideas from Western culture — call them the 6 killer apps — that promote wealth, stability and innovation. And in this new century, he says, these apps are all shareable. (Recorded at TEDGlobal 2011, July 2011, in Edinburgh, Scotland. Duration: 20:20.)

Some examples of key-notes from the presentation:

Has the work ethic changed and what does that mean in the years to come. Where are Norwegian 15 years old children in the PISA Math score?

Are we westerners and in us Norway more concerned about leisure, welfare and common social rights than preparing for future to come. The Oil Curse ?

Klick on the 6 killer Apps link and see the presentation

OR if you want Magic at TED see

Marco Tempest: The magic of truth and lies (and iPods)

Personal Profiling or Branding

This morning I found through a FB-Friend a reference that made my process out of the last night sleeping dreams speeding up.
The chart describing 9 steps to create a personal branding strategy made me remember some of the management and personal developing activities we had during my professional career as a HR Manager.
However going through these nine steps could be a tool, not only for building personal branding, but also a tool for knowing who you are and want to be outside business life, and a tool to be better aware of your own strengths and challenges.

The steps are:
1. Who are You
2. How are you Perceived
3. What do you want to Achieve
4. Create your Brand
5. Create your Ecosystem
6. Create your Network
7. Create original Content
8. Get Involved and Share
9. Listen and Monitor

If you go through this nine activities (and 27 sub points) I am sure that you will learn more about yourself how you can be presented and maybe feel better in the social media Stream. Good luck!

Henrik 4 years

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HENRIK

From mamma Trine´s tweets I have copied this links:
Henrik Isak birth
taken 17 days after his too early arrival to this life:

Challenges in Ålesund once more

In the morning at 0337 am  March 26th 2008 about 2000 - 3000 cubic meter of Ålesund city mountain break loose in a landslide. A house with 20 residents at sleep were hit and the modern house from 2003/04 partly collapsed. A Gas tank is on fire and can explode.
Between 500 and 1000 persons were evacuated around the catastrophic area. 5 persons died in the accident. The house is now rebuilt.

Yesterday morning we wake up to another catastrophic message from Ålesund. The Costal Liner (hurtigruten)´s ship "Nordlys" was on fire just outside the harbor. They managed to get the ship to quay and firefighters started to get control over the dramatic situation. The ship had about 10 degree heel. Two persons are reported dead so far.

This morning the incline had increased to 21.7 degrees and the possibility for ship capsizing was imminent.

Later this heeling is stabilized and water is pumped out of the ship.
Maybe the three years old full scale testing of Ålesund city´s emergency and contingency plans now show off and that this situation also will end as successfully as possible. Everybody seems happy that the accident did not happen further out at sea.

Crab season and Beer Festivals

 It is high season for Norwegian Crabs. The quality is improving day by day. My dinner today can be seen above. One Crab on two slices of brown bread accompanied with cold beer. Delicious.

In the beginning of next month; 6th to 8th October, Oslo Beer Festival will take place.
13 years ago "The Norwegian Beer Festival" took place at Spectrum Arena in Oslo. At the entrance we got a "tasting glass" and walked around testing different brands, strength, color, aroma and taste.
Normally it is not obvious that a glass will survive during 13 years of beer drinking. This glass is however an exception, and latest used today.
Cheers or Skål.

For your information - Oslo Beer Festival

Oslo Ølfestival will take place at Aker Brygge from October 6th to October 8th.

Oslo Beer Festival is an event for everyone. Whether you are curious or know a lot already, somewhat interested or passionate about beer, there are guaranteed an event that fits.
Program over three days is rich in good tastes of food and drink, exciting presentation, Beer Market at Bryggetorget, competitions etc. Over 60 events spread over 25 restaurants gives you the diversity of the beer world.


Expect to see you.

A Blue and Magenta wind over Norway

No further comments. We are pleased. Next election night for parliament will be in 2013.

Polling day in Norway

Today thousands of Norwegians will visit their local polling places and give votes for the political party they prefer to lead their communities the next four years. The different parties have at least one color linked to their logo; the Labour´s red, the Liberal´s green and the Conservative´s blue.

My color this Monday is Magenta here represented with the Orchid to the right of my TV-screen.

In the Munsell color system, magenta is called red-purple. In the CMYK color model used in printing, it is one of the primary colors of ink. In the RGB color model, the secondary color created by mixing the red and blue primaries is called magenta or fuchsia, though this color differs in hue from printer’s magenta. (Wikipedia)

Fuchsia

In my paintings I (like van Gogh) often use Magenta. The basic color in this painting of my cottage is Magenta and Turquoice.

Same in this cropped version of a self portrait. The Magenta has only coloristic purposes.

Andy Warhol has also used Magenta in many collections like this version (of 25) of Sam the Cat.

So why this focus on Magenta on the polling day.
The fundamental blue political philosophy linked to the conservative party "Høyre" added up with some social radical  or anarchistic red variations give my choice.
Whatever your choice will be, don´t forget to vote. Your decision will be your way to take active part in the Norwegian democracy.

Public transport between east and west in Oslo

One of the paintings we have at home, hanging close to the fireplace in the kitchen, is this motive "From Vognmannsgaten Oslo". The painter is unknown to us, but a very nice image and has been together with us close to 40 years. We believe it has been painted between the two world wars in previous century.

Yesterday at City Hall Square we found an old tram with the sign to "Vognmannsgata" (which prior to 1874 was named Lille Vognmannsgate). The street was located at Vaterland behind Oslo Central Station, where we today have Oslo Plaza Hotel and Spectrum scene.

Another tram with number 96 travelled between Stortorvet (Central Oslo) and Rodeløkken (Oslo Inner East), which in today´s terminology would be called Trondhjemsveien (Sinsen-trikken),

When the tram turned to the west again, the sign "Bygdø" was on the front and we would today call it "Kolsåsbanen" or "Jar-trikken".

Using public transport?

I am not fond of the tram system at all, but sometimes it it nice to be a model for public tram / bus activity.

MAINTENANCE FINISHED AT THE COTTAGE

Today we visited our cottage after some heavy rainy days. 99.5% of the maintenance work was carried out and we cut the lawn for the first time in three weeks.  A hard days night or whatever you may call it is come to an end, but if the blue sky of today will continue the remaining days of September, we will still have some lovely days in close contact to nature.

Too close to nature is probably not recommended after we saw the Salamander on the neighbor´s garden table. A beautiful replica that may frighten some of the other creatures that pay visit to our estates.

I am not talking about this lady as a creature, and it is neither a replica, but visiting the cottage in beautiful weather is one of her favorite activities. Resting after a great working session is fair and fully deserved.

Local Election at Møre and Romsdal - Hospital localization

The discussions regarding where in Møre & Romsdal central hospitals shall be built, was meant to have great impact on the voters choice during the Local Elections 2011. The poll so far shows some reactions of this.

On top image you find the business oriented area Sunnmøre with the main city Ålesund. A clear blue majority. Here there is no discussion about the Main hospital.

At Nordmøre and Kristiansund the Labour party has gained over 54% and hospital localization debate is as I see it the only reason for that. Will the citizens be disappointed when the new hospital is located to Molde?

In Romsdal and Molde I had expected a lower poll for the Labour party. Does the poll so far mean that hospital localization is not enough for rejecting their old lojalty to the governing party, or has the 22.7 terror given more sympathy than expected.

On Monday 12th we will see the result.