Fish talk

I must admit that there has been a lot of fish-talk on statuslines lately. I have an aquarium visiting my office, being safe while the owner moves from one place to the other. How safe they are i`m not sure, but it`s interesting to have them. It`s difficult to know exactly how fish feels, though. When they are confortable, if they appriciate my company or what they like to do in their spare time. Mostly they just swim around, moving their mouth up and down, really.
Intersting enough they seem to keep to their own kind. Some fish in one corner of the aquarium, and others in another corner. So i guess they must recognize eachother somehow. i would like them to mix more, though.

When i little i remember we had an aquarium at home, btw. I don`t remember that was very successful either. Some jumped over the wall and commited suicide or something. Or maybe they tried to run away. These fish don`t try to run away, unfortunately they do eat eachother. Three neontetras on friday was reduced to one very nervous fish on monday. He was hiding under a plant when i came in. We had to have a “save Nemo”-action moving him to the other aquarium at the office where the no-other-fish-eating-fish are together. And after that i had to buy more fish so he wouldnt get stressed and die because he suddenly was alone. Harsh neighbourhood.

In the long run i don`t know if fish is really my thing, but an interesting experience for now.

The aquarium

Also aquarium-fish can have humour

The guard who looks after the fish, and that they don`t eat eachother, when i am away

Looking more closely at a situation

Correctives needed

Read an interesting article of the “dark side of the politcal personality” using former presidential candidate John Edwards as an example. Edwards ran for vice president in 2004, but ended his presidential bet last time because he was taken being unfaitful to his wife. Later it has been proved that he is also a father to a child in this affair, which he had denied, and he has made some very questionable decisions. From this Joel Weinberger means that there is something with the personalities of people who run for offices like this – meaning that they have characteristics like Narcissism, Power Motivation, High Risk Taking, and a False Self. Politicians are more likely than others to display them all, Weinberger says.

I`m not sure if i fall for generalisations like this. It`s probably just as true or false to say that politicans are narcisistics as to say that all of them are well-meaning. And being an US presidential candidate is really not comparable to much other things. But the interesting part of this is how people sometimes can end up being their own worst enemies, and this goes not just for politicans. If not personality i think it has a lot to do with the way one is able to take criticism and reflect on own views. And how people close by respond to you.

Having correctives, people who can give you alternative views, and being open for this i think is crucial. And especially when things are going good. (When things are going bad there will be plenty of people telling you.) It`s ok to be humble. It`s not so that you have to agree with people disagreeing with you, but atleast it can open up those “blind spots” that you are not aware off in your own views or argumentation.

Not having correctives you end up thinking there is only one way. And worse, you might end up with some sort of grandiosity meaning that only you know the right thing to do (which is really just a free card to do as you like) or you end up playing the victim. “Everyone is wrong except me, but the world don`t understand me etc, etc, etc.”
The “either you are with us or against us”- or “if you don`t live up to my standards i cut you off”-mentality makes you surround yourselves with yes-people. IIt might be that which makes some people go stray even though the intention might be good and well-meaning from the start. Whether these characteristics are more common among politicans i`m not sure. But it is a paradox that people who in many ways live by communicating, like Edwards, should be so bad at it.

Ship of dependencies

Been on a seminar with work on the ship that goes from Oslo to Fredrikshavn in Denmark. Well, much of Fredrikshavn i doubt anyone will see. But those who want to go to a supermarket that i suspect has the same types of inventory as the tax free-shop onboard, has the chance the two hours the ship is at quay. Seminar at this boat, maybe especially in the middle of the week and outside of vacation time, means also being together with lot`s and lot`s of pensioneers. Well, not that different as IOGT i guess. But still – it`s a bit like all the old people has run away from home, and now they are doing as they want. And there the difference with IOGT ends. It`s kind of a fieldtrip in dependencies. Some eat and eat and eat and eat. Some just are standing playing at the automats, and othesr are drinking from when they enter the boat and until they are back in Oslo, again. Kind of sad, thinking of it. The faces on many aboard the ship showed that they really had taken that trip a bit too many times.

Other than that the seminar was very good. Much of the content was what we could do for children growing up in families with alcohol or other drug misuse. In the summer we are going to have several summer camps around Norway, which i think will be very good, working together with child welfare. We had three such camps last summer, this summer we might double that. After this trip we might have to start thinking what we could do for the old people also, though…

Power come and go

I shouldn`t have written that last thing about it being good that the power outage not happening in the afternoon. Of course it was just the beginning. The solution they found only lasted for a day, and at half past four yesterday the power disappeared again. This time they had to install a new cable, and it took them 8 1/2 hour. A dark and cold afternoon and night. I guess we need to buy some more candles. Atleast they give light, and some heat.

I`m starting to wonder why people settled in our part of the world in the first place. I mean – they didn`t even have our houses or anything. If you are comfortable at the mediterranean, why come here? Did they just walk too far, did they walk the wrong way or did they arrive in summer? Or (more probable) were they so unpopular in the tribe that this where the only place they could settle? Historians should look at this. Maybe our ancestors just were a bit confused.

Power outage

Four hours without any power – no heating, no light, no TV, no Internet – makes you appriciate it a lot more when it comes back. Especially when it is -20C outside, and the temperatures inside has wandered in that direction also those four hours. I wonder why these things never happen in July. You do think a house should protect you well against weather, but wow – it get`s cold fast. And i don`t handle freezing very well. Luckily the power outage happened at 12.00 though, if it had happened in the afternoon i would have had to take my flashlight out even earlier.

Now i have been siting on the radiator for awhile, and watched the new children organisation – Juba – being launched in a show that also was shown straming on the net. That was also warming.

Warm clothes

One of the consequences of the cold period (-25C this morning) is that i have to search for clothes it`s been awhile since i`ve seen. And actually forgotten that i had. It looks like i at one point stopped buying warm sweaters. This morning i was again pondering wearing a sweater from the olympic games at Lillehammer in 1994 which i found, but ended up with another one from the same period. It`s really back to the nineties now. I wonder if it must have been in 1994 that we had something like this the last time also. During the olympics there was a long cold period, luckily for the arrangement. I had almost forgotten how it is to be outside when it is as cold as now.
The reason for the cold weather seems to be a shift in how the wind is blowing, btw, carrying cold winds from east, Siberia, over Europe. Usually there are winds blowing in the other direction preventing the siberian freezing temperatures to reach us. I miss summer.

Todays good quote:
News-presenter: “Why is it so cold now.”
Weather man: “It`s winter.”

Delayed

It`s not a good season for the railways. We do get to the places we want to go, but seldom on time nowadays. And it`s cold. Yesterday the conducter said on the speakers that we were delayed because of “winter problems”. I thought it was the train it was something wrong with. Getting equipment that actually works in a country that has winters from time to time could be a good start. Grant enough money on the budget so we can have a proper railway system in “the richest country in the world” would also be a solution. Abolishing winters is perhabs a long-term solution, and not prioritize railways might be a solution to winters, but still – they have problems in spring also. (Without them calling it spring-problems).
Apparently it will be even colder at the weekend. If this continues this might be the year that i break my principle of not using long underpants.

It`s the end of a decade

That`s kind of strange, actually. I didn`t think about it being a zero in the end of the next year – 2010. But it seems that someone managed to make new years-glasses this year also.

Looking back memories tend to be a bit confusing, btw. Some events i feel are closer but really longer away. While events further away are closer in the mind. The feeling of time disappears when it comes to memories.

Anyway – what`s important is still the future.
No resolutions this year, only a slogan – No more excuses.
That should be enough.

Happy New Year!

Winter

Most of the time i think it`s quite cool to have roof-windows. Looking at the skies or the stars at night is quite nice. At the moment it gives the feeling of being a bit snowed in though. Even at second floor. Guess i`ll just go to sleep and wake up in some months or something. Or watch replay of “Allsång på Skansen.”, which is on swedish TV just now. (Swedish programs from one of their parks in Stockholm where people are singing.) Very summerly. Very far from this. -17C today.

Towards a new year

The christmas decorations seems strangly out of place now. Feeling is completely different when i pass them now than what it was 5 days ago. And it`s quiet. No people runing in and out of shops, even the street musicans seems to have taken vacation. And few people at the office also. But still – nice to be there actually. I`m doing the last things i have to do in 2009, do get ready for 2010. Finishing member registery, looking at the last accounts and checking the a-bit-to-big-pile of things i have just put away earlier this year. Some of the things have already been solved, so those i can throw away. The last ones i think i can finish tomorrow or wedensday. Then i can begin thinking about 2010.