To Russia with love

According to statistics from Blogger, my tiny little blog has been very popular across the eastern border in Russia. Close to 7% of my total views from Russia have happened in the past 30 days. 

Unfortunately my Russian skills are very limited, but I trust all my eastern readers are fluent with Finnish and English. Those are the two languages that I use here, so that's a safe bet.

What has sparked this sudden interest in my blog? I have no idea, as my previous posts have been rather general in mind. One post about Putin and his new national guard, but even I can't think it as very interesting. Curious topic of course.

My view on the great land across the border? 

I've been there once and this means, my knowledge is very sparse and mostly based on news and other media sources. Russia is one of the great nations in human history. Largest landmass in current history, but filled with open space. When comparing to the British Empire, it's only half in landmass and roughly one third of the population.

I've lived the cold war times, when the world was divided to two superpowers and after that, there was only one. In my view the modern Russia is extremely hungry to be considered as a superpower, maybe even so much that, the hunger has blinded the judgment. 

It is very true that the USA is very active with it's military, operating around the globe and protecting it's interests. But it's not actually occupying or trying to annex new land and call it New USA. Russia is doing that. 

Annexation of Crimea is very similar, what Nazi Germany did in Saar, Austria and Czechoslovakia. Of course I understand the importance of Sevastopol and the access to Black Sea, for the Russian Navy, but this can't be acceptable reason to invade a neighboring country. 

 I'm worried about the direction where Russia is going. These must be the best years for the common Russian, but nothing good has ever been gained from isolation. This is what I would be worried about if I had a Russian passport.

Swift / Perry

If I had to choose, I'd rather go out with Taylor Swift than Katy Perry. I'm currently in my tall blond girl phase and I might even end up as a single.

Current assault rifle RK-62 to be ungraded by the Finnish Defence Forces

According to Finnish newspaper Iltasanomat, the Finnish Army will not acquire a new assault rifle and the main candidate Beretta ARX-160 is now ditched. Instead the current Finnish made RK-62 will get a modernization and will continue to serve, as the main battle rifle for the Finnish Defence Forces under the new name RK-62M.

The new RK-62M version will feature following new features:

• Telescopic stock
• Scope mount for optics (picatinny rail) 
• Utility rail
• New tactical sling

The upgraded rifle is slightly heavier than the old version, tipping the scale "just under 5 kg". The old version is 3,6 kg and fully loaded 30 round magazine is 0,8 kg. 

Currently there are only few prototypes available and conscripts will get the new rifles sometime around 2016.

When serving my compulsory military training, I got first hand experience with the RK-62 and can safely say that, it's a good and solid battle rifle. These upgrades will address the main issues or drawbacks of the design. Of course when the rifle was designed in the early 1960's, there were no need for these new upgrades. The rifle is accurate and the new optics will enhance that performance to a new level. 

Personally I'm happy with the new upgrade. The rifle is something that almost all Finnish males are familiar with and as mentioned, it's still a very good battle rifle. The cartridge 7,62 x 39mm is tried and tested in the Finnish landscape and the only drawback is, that it's not a NATO cartridge. Alas, Finland is not a NATO member.

The pictures are from Puolustusvoimat (www.puolustusvoimat.fi).

Donald Trup - That pig

I was reading Politico article  about the GOP presidential candidates. The article is mainly about Jeb Bush and Donald Trump and how one of the leading contestants should deal with Mr. Trup. Currently the no. 1 candidate according to Quinnipical Poll, that was quoted in the Time's website.

Donald Trup was clear number one with 20% support of Republicans, Scott Walker second with 13% and Jeb Bush 3rd at 10%. According to that poll 43% of Republicans would vote these three men and even though it's still really early to tell, but I'd be willing to assume the GOP presidential candidate will be one of these three men.

The main thing about Politico article seemed to be, that Mr. Trump is a pig and that is true. We all know Mr. Trump as a ungraceful powerhouse, with dirty, straight forward views - a pig in a political sense. Good to have around as back-up, but you wouldn't want to stand too close to a pig.

I'm not trying to disrespect Mr. Trump, as those are his strengths and he is the best player when branding yourself and making people think they know all about you. He has made the brand Trump and people are loving it.

The advise given to Jeb Bush is that, don't touch the pig, as it would mean you have to enter the pigsty. It's clever advise as it places Mr. Bush above Mr. Trump and communicating that he is more of a serious politician than his opponent. Confronting with Mr. Trump is a sure-fire way to get media publicity, but it's also a double edged sword. You will get 15 minutes in the light, but you have more to lose than the pig. Pig can do what ever he want's and people still love him, as that's how we expect from him.

"Never wrestle a pig, you get dirty, and besides, the pig loves it."

It will be very tricky situation for Jeb Bush. He will need to do some serious campaigning in order to win Donald Trump, especially if he is not going to engage him directly. I am not convinced that's even possible, as it might paint him as dodger.

If you want to win Mr. Trump, you need to hit him hard and fast. Confront him and make sure you win, without a shadow of a doubt. Sow the seed of doubt, are you willing to have a ignorant clown govern you.

Letter for the reservists and it's many layers

The Finnish defense forces sent out a letter for practically all of it's reservists; I got mine last week. Nothing special about that, as it was sent to approx. 900.000 Finnish citizens, so most likely if you are a Finnish male, you got one.

The letter itself is actually rather short. It has the information of your planned unit and duty in case of reservist call-up, or to put it bluntly, in case of war. The information is actually nothing new. It is something that everyone has had the opportunity to check him- / herself by asking it directly from the local regional office for the Finnish Defense Forces. If my memory serves me correctly, I've asked it once before, just out of curiosity.

Then why send a letter with information that has been readily available for all interested? From my point of view, it's a very clever way of communication. The duty and unit information itself is not the message that is being communicated, although it is the first layer of information. Second layer is the obvious also, it is to check how the systems works in real situation. Are we even able to send out, close to a million letters in a very short space of time. And from the most parts, that seems to be able. So the system works, which is a good thing.

Those are the obvious messages. We (Finnish Defense Forces) are interested in you and want to remind, that you have not being forgotten. Believe that's the third layer in the message. We haven't had the money for refresh training for the reservists, so it is easy to think that one has being forgotten. I have being to a military training twice since my time as a conscript, one as called up on and once for the fun of it. The last part was a non official training and was just a day out in the shooting range, which is actually really fun.

Fourth layer is something that you need to think for yourself. It is meant for everyone interested in the Finnish defense and it's very clear. We have 900.000 strong reserve that has being taught in the art of war and we have the ability to call them up, in a very short amount of time. That is the real hard message. We are basically saying that don't fuck with us as it will be a very expensive effort.

I'm not really sure if there are more layers, but those are the ones that I came up in a short time. Maybe the fifth could be message for the Finnish people reminding them that if some one blows the big whistle, it's up to us to defend our land and independence. There is no one else who will come over as back-up. The Estonians have NATO and Sweden is nicely placed behind us, but we are out in the harms way. Would be really interesting to see a poll on joining NATO during the summer, has the popular opinion changed "drastically" in any way. Hope it has.

I will not inform my wartime unit or my position here as it's classified information. Don't think it's much of a state secret, but suppose it's the way for me to do it.

How the Letter for reservists has affected me and my thinking? Not much, but for sure I wouldn't have written this blog post. Have always being interested in the military so I've pretty much thought these ideas already. My view to NATO is positive and has being such for a long time, even as I think we dropped the ball and should have joined when Estonia joined.

I have nothing against Russian people as from my experience they are good neighbors and wonderful people. Vladimir Putin has said that no outsider can ever oppress the Russian people and I agree totally. Based on history the Russian people has always being oppressed by a Russian leader.

Why am I writing about Russia in this post? Because every time when the Finnish border has being moved and we have made a peace, it's being with the Russia. And lets face it, we could wipe the floor with Sweden.

(Kuva Puolustusvoimat)

A Piece of the Pie - Bacon and Politics

FEUDALISM: You have bacon. The lord comes and takes the bacon. And your last pig. You get a potato.

PURE SOCIALISM: You have some bacon. Your neighbor does not. The government takes your bacon and gives it to the neighbor. You have to take a second job to bring home the bacon so you can continue to supply the non working neighbor with your bacon.

BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM: You have some bacon. The government takes half of it to give to the neighbor with none. The bacon is then managed by a Bacon Czar with a large staff. The Bacon Czar is a vegan. With the ensuing paperwork, and the latent inability of the Bacon Czar to actually handle the bacon, the bacon goes bad and is thrown out.

FASCISM: You have a little bit of bacon. The government takes it, and offers to sell you the oink.

PURE COMMUNISM: You have bacon. Your neighbor works to help you get more bacon and you share in it, even though he eats twice as much as you and does half the amount of work.

RUSSIAN COMMUNISM: You have bacon. The government takes it and gives you a potato.

DICTATORSHIP: You have bacon. The government takes it and drafts you. You get MRE's. They do not contain bacon.

PURE DEMOCRACY: You have bacon. You vote with your neighbors as to how your bacon should be protected.

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: You have some bacon. You elect someone to vote on how best to ensure you get more bacon.

LIBERAL SOCIETY: You don't like bacon so I don't get any.

BUREAUCRACY: You have bacon. The government makes a new food pyramid that tell you when you should eat the bacon and how often. It then pays you not to eat the bacon and takes it and throws it away, after you have filled out a form to pay your bacon tax for the bacon that you no longer have.

CALIFORNIA BUREAUCRACY: In California, bacon contains nitrates and fats that may be bad for people who have no willpower. So no one gets bacon.

PROGRESSIVISM: You have bacon. The government takes it and gives you a receipt.

ANARCHY: You have bacon. You try and sell the bacon to others so you survive or others with big pointy things simply take the bacon and kill you.

MONARCHY: We have bacon because you love us and want us to have bacon. Smile. Wave.

CAPITALISM: You have bacon. Strengthened by bacon, you work harder and buy a whole damn pig.

MUCH OF THE MIDDLE EAST: Bacon is unclean. Die infidel.

MAOISM - We are Urban Working Class. What is bacon??

(c) Home on the Range 2011

- Please note that the original list is not mine. I've borrowed it from Mausers and Muffins blog, that is one of the blogs that I really enjoy reading.

It's called comedy

See, comedy.















Really, it is.

The 1st rocket car

This new concept car from Jaguar, C-X75, reminds me of a real space age car. Something that you would be proud to own during the next century. Just before the very first space flying cars enter the production. Wish I could get one before I grow old.





The pictures are borrowed from the New York Times.

A view from the East

I must confess that Africa isn't one of areas of my key intrests. You never get good news from there, only reports about famine, war and poverty. The story is always the same, except the name of the country changes. I wonder if that is never going to change, or will it be the same as the Middle East conflict, that never seems to end. Suppose it benefits the major players, to have a constant power struggle at those geopolitical areas.

Altought.. it might all change in Africa. If I'm reading this report the way it's supposed to be read. The great peoples power of China has been pouring money in the dark continent for the past few years. And what is interesting, is that they are not only buying resources, but also investing on infrastructure. On sites that can't be shipped out: like hydro power plants, tv-systems and various roads. Of course most of these are linked with recourse gathering, but you still need to remember that these are permanent installations. When payed with Chinese money, they reflect the growing long term intrest towards the region, among the Chinese.

What will this mean for the common man? Nothing much, I suppose as we are slow to react on such things. We are just starting to realise that even a small businessman can do foreign trade and ship goods from China. The idea of Africa is just too complex for us to understand.

Ja, ja, ja

Jag vill gratulera Kronprinsessan Victoria, hertiginna av Västergötland och hennes kommande maken Daniel Westling, prins Daniel, hertig av Västergötland. Jag hoppas at de kommar at bli lyckligt av sammans och har många friska barnen.

New relaxed dress code

After carefully reviewing the matter for full six months, it has been decided that all male employees are not required to wear a necktie along with their business suit at the office. Please bear in mind that employees are still required to dress accordingly when meeting clients.

You gotta love the shoes

Born to run

Inspired by Bruce's consert, I bought my second Bruce Springsteen album. Actually the first one was bought just days after the concert, so I suppose it had a big impact on me. The second reason for the purchase was that, they have been selling these weird Japan release versions of the albums in the local supermarkets. A good classic rock album for around 10 euros isn't a bad deal in my books.

The second find for today was "Life is peachy" by Korn for less than 7 euros, so that made me even more happier. There is nothing more than I enjoy than these eureka moments after a good search. Shows that I'm a descendant in a long line of hunter gatherers. I feel so connected with my roots at the moment, that you wouldn't belive.


What else.. this was the last day that I held up the fort all by myself. As my colleagues have been on sickleave and summer holiday, it's been down to me to keep our sales department afloat. Kind of interesting, as I've only been in the company for seven months and have never before dealt with our Russian clients. Who are by far our most challenging customer base. My colleague will come from her holiday on monday and takes over the eastern block. Don't mind a slightest bit, but it's fair to say that these past few weeks have done good for me. I've been forced to think for myself and really grasp every little thing that I've learned in the past months.

Suppose it's safe to say, that nothing really fell apart dramatically and we still have the major part of our clients. Wohoo for me!

What else.. Haven't really decided what will I do this weekend. Could be nice to drive to Hanko again and go to the best beach in the whole wide world and have a swim. Tempting..

Necessities and neckties

One week and one night. That's the schedule for my pre-adventure warm-up. On friday, I'll take off my necktie and start my engine and head for north. First leg will be from Helsinki to Kajaani with around eight hours of driving time. Could take a bit longer as I need to stop in Jyväskylä region to get my family heirloom. A tent that once belonged to my grandad. It's a small two person version of that traditional army style tent with a skillion roof. Nothing fancy but I'm sure it has to be around 40 years old and still going fairly strong. Only one part missing, but I've fixed it with a rather nafty wooden spare. Looks absolutely lovely.

As the whole idea of the trip is to be a sort of an adventure, I've yet to make any plans. Only drawback is that currently, I'm not totally sure what am I supposed to take with me. Pack lightly has always been my mantra when leaving home, as in the worst case scenario, it would be me who would have to carry all that luggage when the escalatos don't work or there are other strange obstacles. Alas, I'm traveling by car so basicly there would be no need for any weight limitations. Meaning that I can bring such neccessities as a bottle of champagne and a fishing rod. Neighter are among the usual luggage that I carry around.

Suppose there should be a some kind of list for me to follow, but would that be the right thing to do? It does sound a bit sissy for actually having a written down list for the items what you might need. A clear mental note of all the items I really do need, sounds more realistic. A sleeping bag, tent, knife, camera (with extra batteries) and some nice music for the ride, that will do. Everything else is a luxary and can be forgotten.

After Kajaani, I'm thinking of driving all the way to Inari region. After that there's only a short, few hour stint to the border and to the unexplored. Will see what happens after the border crossing, but general idea is to shop around Kirkness for few hours and then just drift off to the sunset. My ultimate target is to see the Barents sea and maybe throw some rocks at it. Hmm.. then again there are few stones that I've brought along from Hanko and could be nice to make a switch. Nobody would notice that I've planted some strange stones at the northern shore of Norway. After all.. if someone would notice, I'd might get in to trouble. The Norwegians are bound to be against that sort of sillyness.

Anyways, meeting of natives is bound to be fun. My swedish is like a 1000 page novel, typed only with half of the alphabet. Really impressive, but you can barely make up the main plot. It sucks, but what can you do. I'm not planning to take an intensive course in Swedish or Norwegian, not in one week anyways. After all, don't they sound pretty much the same? And how hard can it be to point your finger and smile look like an idiot. Especially when I'm really good at both.

By the way, how many neckties should a modern man have? I just counted mine and realized, I have sixteen.

Error and a killer song list

Fuck.. Wasn't able to burn a road trip cd. For some reason, it always give out an error message when trying to burn. Possibly I need to try it out with a different brand of cd's or if nothing works, just live with out a dedicated road trip cd. That would suck as I had a real killer song list.

Please don't hold your breath

Couldn't be bothered to write. Will continue in due course.

Compromise

Currently I'm driving a 2005 Toyota Avensis station wagon, with a 2,0 liter petrol engine. After nearly six months of happy driving, it's time for me to choose a new car, as the Avensis is nearing the end of it's three year life cycle. A fact that places me in a very interesting position. I'd have to choose myself a new car for the next three years. A fact that has left me obsessed with cars for the past four weeks. Can't decide what I really want.

I'm thinking of a small size family car, even when there is no family to drive with. It's just that acording to our company policy, a car needs to have four doors and that rules out all sorts of interesting possibilities. Even the "new" Volvo C30, my obvious first choise. It would have been the best car for me, but be damned as it only has two doors. Even when it's not really a sports car. Sports cars are also a "no-no", just like SUVs.

So after my first choise is out of limits, it leaves me with a hard decition. What would be the perfect compromise? Maybe one of these:

- Citroën C4
- Citroën C5
- Mazda 3
- Volvo S40
- Peogeot 407
- Peogeot 308
- Honda Civic
- etc...?

As you can see, I've been pretty much all over the place. If also mentioned that I've been thinkin of Alfa Romeo, Subaru Imprezza, Saab and so on.. It has been a small nightmare.

I think I could afford to get a smaller car from a premium brand, but I'd hate the impression it would give out. A junior wannabe with a small four wheel cockpiece. A small family car would be cheaper and would give me the benefit of having a smaller tax value and more money in my pocket. After all, it's only a car. Difficult part is that I'd have to share my life with it for the next three years and I'd hate to do that with a compromise.

Giant space dildos (link)

I know it's not funny, but I have a simple sense of humor :)

Drop of life

I want champagne, bring me champagne, I want to drown in champagne!

I'm dead

I was shot dead last night. I was on the run and stopped to offer my sleeping bag and my blanket to a family of three for the protection against the rain and cold. As discussing the matter, they gained me. Just suddenly there were two gansters and I realised they were there to kill me.

They fired two rounds towards my midsection and I died. Felt no pain, just confusion as I realised the lack of it. All went black and I wondered was this it. No white light and no angels such as I quessed, just black emptiness. I was dead.