Bloodworms

It's Friday, so it's time for a treat for my dear fishes: frozen bloodworms. I hope they will never get mixed with anything else in the freezer...

Algorithm march???

What in the world is algorithm march...? And that music...????

Desktop background photos

Now that I have this big new wide screen, I wanted choose a nice desktop background photo. Since the screen is 16:10 and my camera produces photos sized 4:3, my photos don't work on the new screen. I started photoshopping and then, as usual, got a little carried away... :) Feel free to use the photos on your desktop. There are shots from Boston, NYC, Oulu, Rio de Janeiro, Hailuoto, etc.

Subway systems on the same scale

I keep coming back to this site over and over again: subway systems of the world presented on the same scale. I hope they will add Helsinki metro soon.

VR

Once again my friend VR works against my going back home to Tampere. This winter has been especially hard on our friendship. Usually it's been because of the weather, but now it seems to have been a technical problem on another train. When one train dies on the tracks, it messes up all the other trains, too...

Metro-map-like trend map

I found an interesting map on Future exploration blog: a metro-map-like trend map for 2007. I love maps, I love trains, and I of course love all metro maps. The blog definitely got my attention now! :)

Brilliant anti-war poster

As I was going through my favourite blogs, I came across a brilliant anti-war poster.

New trolley bag!

I finally got myself to buy a new trolley bag! The one I had was not very high quality, and I was not able to change the wheels that had cracked in the middle and were making a lot of noise. I could have lived with the noise, but with the damaged wheels that don't roll well, the bag was not exactly fulfilling its purpose. My colleagues have been making fun of me and my noisy bag for a while already, but next week they are going to be disappointed. :)

Cold but sunny

It's been quite a cold week in Finland. The good thing about cold weather is that usually, when it's cold, it's also sunny. We geared up for the weather and walked to the centre to run a few errands. I should have worn sun glasses, as the sunlight was pretty bright because of all the snow.

Cognac

I am a fan of Cognac, so I decided to treat myself by buying a nice small bottle of VSOP.

New screen

While I was in Helsinki, the new computer screen Riksu had ordered had arrived. It was nice to start working on Friday morning. :)

All about fish

It's all about fish again.

Fish news

Fish news: I bought 4 adult Otocinclus catfishes from a person who had to get rid of one of her fish tanks. They are algae-eaters, so them together with Rousku (she's a Bristlenose Pleco) will take care of all excess algae in my tank. "Otos" are 100 % vegetarians, so if the algae runs out, I will need to feed them cucumber etc. If someone is interested, there are also new videos shot earlier today...

weather, fish, carpet

1) As any other true Finn, I pay a lot of attention to weather, and also like to talk about it. (This is probably because the weather here so often sucks, and we feel grateful and overly happy when it doesn't.) So I must declare today the most beautiful winter day so far (this winter). :)
2) They had an open house today at Tampereen Akvaarioseura (Tampere aquarium association or something like that), and since their premises is just around the corner from where I live, I had to pay a visit. (I have been a member for about 3 weeks now.)
3) We went to pick up the white carpet we had ordered for our living room. It's quite nice.

Birthday present!

Yipee! Katja B's birthday present arrived!!! :) This will definitely come useful later this spring, when it's time to pique-nique. No more squeezing wine bottles into socks for protection and warmth... It will be an end of an era. Thank you Katja!!!

Moai

I happened to notice morning sunlight hit my miniature moai creating a nice shadow on the wall, so I had to take a picture...

Riksu came back

I thought Riksu was going to come back home in the evening, so I jumped a bit, when I heard somebody enter when I was just in the middle of my peaceful breakfast. They had decided to drive all night from Sodankylä instead of departing on Sunday morning.
I ended up spending both Friday and Saturday night by myself. It was pretty nice to be at home alone for a change, although I'm happy R came home early. :) But I have to say this: I believe I have got used to living with Riksu so well, that I can feel "alone" even when in the same house with him. Now that I was actually alone, it felt like "more alone" than what being home alone used to.

Goodbye Fishers

When I saw JP during Christmas, he went on and on about how he had found the best TV show ever. He had watched all 5 seasons on DVD just before Christmas and was sure that I would like it too. The show has already ended on Finnish TV, but I have never managed to watch a single episode. After Christmas, as JP suggested, I started watching it. I fell completely in love with the characters. They started to feel like real people I know in my real life (the same happened to JP). Tonight I finally watched the last episodes (what a great way of spending a night home alone!!!). I can't believe it's now over. After seeing all 63 episodes in 4 weeks (I'm a creep), I agree: it is the best show ever. I will miss the Fishers.

The beginning of my weekend at home alone

Tonight is the beginning of my weekend at home alone. I've been waiting for this for a while, as I don't get the apartment all for myself often. As much as I love to share my home and life with Riksu, I sometimes need to be alone. I might invite a friend over, but let's see. Anyway, I will not be completely alone, since I have my dear fishes keeping me company. One of them is posing on today's photos. And there's a video of my Flame tetras, too... :)

Real winter in Otaniemi

It's finally a real winter in Otaniemi, too!