Sodium hits the news

So far I had been giving you news about my good friend, Soda, the 14 year old Thai boy.

I was pleasantly surprised to see his younger brother, Sodium, grace the pages of our main local newspaper today.



Three children of foreign origin were asked what Christmas meant to them.

The answer from Sodium was the best as it was crystal clear in that he said that it represented the birth of Christ (Soda and Sodium are born of Buddhist parents). Soda added that it was nice to have "Father Christmas" visit the school.

I hope that children and their parents realise that Christmas is about giving more than receiving.

The true Christians believe that God gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to the world to show people the way to live a life which would benefit all people.

Only two laws are necessary - Love God and Love your Neighbour as much as you love Yourself.

Who then is your neighbour?

The parable that Jesus Christ told of the Good Samaritan gives us the answer.

Anyone and everyone around you in this Universe is your neighbour!

How many of us are true Christians?

You do not have to go to church, a mosque, a synagogue or a temple or show your faith from a mountain top to tell people that you are a good follower of God.

Jesus Christ, in fact, said that to pray to God you should go to a quiet place and pray - not make a grand public display of your praying.

Anyone who sees how you live your life will know whether you are an example worth following - and that was what Jesus Christ was commanding us to do.

Count down to Christmas is still on. Keep reading.

Microchip in the head?

Yesterday was a very tiring day for both Annikki and me. I finished my morning chores including taking Unnop to learn about making dough for pizza bases and making arrangements for a meeting today on getting funding for a program to help foreigners in Oulu by working with WALDA (the youth organisation run by the City of Oulu).

Just as Annikki was about to start her afternoon shopping expedition, there was a doorbell ring. At the door was a person who was hearing terrible voices in his ear. He claimed that there was a microchip in his head. He was hearing thousands of voices and he had been walking around the city for many hours, unable to stop them from talking. He was tired but the noise in the head was deafening. He kept asking Annikki to remove the microchip from his head with tweezers.

Having come across this problem before, Annikki calmed him down, let him rest in the cellar bedroom for a few hours and then made a call to the Psychiatric Clinic and asked whether we could bring the man in for investigation and admittance.



At 17:00 hours we arrived at the Clinic.

We had to wait till 22:00 hours for the doctor to see this gentleman.



The above photo shows where we had to wait.

Note the heavy steel door leading to the doctor's room. Just above it you will see a video surveillance camera. There is not even a magazine rack with any magazines or newspapers for the patients and their handlers to read while waiting. The bathroom door is locked so if one wants to use the facility it is necessary to call a nurse from the the locked clinic facility. The nurses inside are hostile to any callers. They do not seem to understand basic human curtesy, assuming that everyone who knocks at the door is a mentally ill patient to be abused.

This is a gulag.

This is an excellent example of the present Finnish efficiency and inhumanity to people who desperately need help and those who want to help them!!

I managed to pick up food for us so that when Annikki and I got home around 22:45, at least we were not starving.

Is it worth helping anyone if one is subjected to such inhuman treatment by the City Authorities?

The problems of this nature are growing in Finnish society. It is shocking that the most important aspects of Finnish Health care is being torn aopart by a set of people who are so far removed from reality and live in a bubble that they call Finnish politics.



This bare undecorated drooping Christmas tree, just less than a week before Christmas, which was in the waiting area of the Clinic, also seems to echo our views of sheer desperation and a sense of no hope!

As Annikki and I have faced such major problems in our personal lives over the last 14 years - we can say that it has steadily gone from bad to worse, year by year - and no one is doing anything about it or intends to.

Another busy Sunday

I was trying to get the database for the calendar dispatch ready when Soda called at 9:55 am. His football game was at 10:00 am and would I be coming to watch him. He was going to be wearing his 88 Shirt which we had gone together to get on Friday evening.



I rushed to the Oulu Dome. The game was already under way and Soda's side was 2 down. But, they played well there on and levelled the score. Then Soda scored a wonderful goal from over 40 metres out which slammed into the net.



The opponents levelled. As I had to rush out for our Oulu Chamber of Help meeting, I said goodbye to Soda who was off the field for a moment. I later learnt that Soda's side won the game 4-3.

Our Oulu Chamber of Help meeting was supposed to be at the Internet Cafe, but as the owner, Saikou, called in sick, we moved the venue to Pailin's Thai restaurant.

I picked up Subramaniam Paneer Selvam from his house across town. After picking up Kamu and Kannan from the Internet Cafe, we assembled at the Thai restaurant.

We were later joined by Ilari Sohlo, Pentti Paakki and Bill Zhang. We were also joined by Kenneth from Kenya who had dropped in to give a small Christmas gift to Soda.

The Thai King and Queen oversee our meeting


Bill, Kannan and Paneer

We had a great meeting.

Unnop and Pailin served up some good pizza and kebab, to everyone's satifaction. We welcomed Paneer, who felt quite at home and he told us about the tsunami experience when he was helping handling bodies soon after the disaster with 3 days of no sleep. He was also relieved that he did not have to spend another Sunday locked up alone in his flat.

Paneer also gave Kamu a lot of leads and personal experiences about Gobar gas. Kamu is keen to introduce Gobar gas plants in Zambia so to save the destruction of the forests.

After the meeting, Kannan and Paneer came home and met Annikki, had a cup of tea and some coconut chocolate cakes. They were soon chatting away as they had been friends all their lives, sharing experiences about cobras, scorpions, deadly green snakes and water snakes and harmless grass snakes.

I dropped both Kannan and Paneer off at Paneer's flat so the two bright youngsters from neighbouring villages in India, now thrust together in this cold north near Arctic location, could continue their bonhomie.

It was a great Sunday again.

Kachun's Birthday Party

Kachun, 9, is Samu's good friend. He is the son of Calcutta girl, Michelle, who runs the best Chinese restaurant in Oulu, opposite the main railway station.

So we got invited to Kachun's birthday party. As Annikki's mother is in the Old People's Home, even Annikki got a chance top attend.





Michelle dished up some great Mexican and Indian food, besides all the birthday goodies for the kids like us.





It was great.





Thanks Samu for having such a good friend. We got him a Formula 1 model car from Samu.

Kachun's sister, Kaija is growing up to be a beautiful little lady.





Thanks Michelle for a great evening.

Christmas is here....

How do I know Christmas has come home?

Annikki makes a series of purchases, every year, and there is one which actually tells me that the season of giving has come into our home. And it is not the Christmas tree.





Annikki has decided that she does not particularly like having the Christmas tree indoors, as after Christmas, the pine needles drop all over the floor. It is a tedious piece of work to clean it up.

The arrival of the red flower is what heralds Christmas into our home. Yesterday evening, Annikki brought this home, along with some hyacinths, which should flower and give out their beautiful smell in a few days.

Hero cycle in Finland....

Many years ago, probably 10 to 15, Mika got a great bike made by the world's largest cycle manufacturer, Hero, of India.

I used this for many years, but then I got banned from using that bike by my guardians, wife, Annikki, and daughter, Joanna. They are a rather powerful combination as you would have noticed how my fluffy beard vanished!

I gave the bike to our friend, Patrick Fox. But Patrick did not find any need to use it. The bike lay in his compound for over 4 years.

When Unnop and Pailin, my Thai friends, said that maybe they should buy their elder son, Soda, a bike, I asked Patrick whether I could have the bike back, which he willingly agreed.

I picked it up and found that although useable, it was a bit sticky due to the several years of non-use.

I thought I would find a cycle repairer in town. I sort of remembered one where it was quite easy to park the car.

P. Aitola Cycle Repair Shop in Oulu

I knocked at the door of P. Aitola, as it was locked.

An elderly gentleman came to the door and let me in as I wheeled in the bike.

Before I could say anything he asked me whether I was Yaakoppi, the Finnish way of saying Jacob. I replied in the affirmative. Then he asked me whether my wife was Annikki. Again, surprised, as I had never met this gentleman before, I confirmed. He then started to recount details of my work in the University and other details not normally known to the general public.

I was astounded. Did he work for the Finnish Secret Police?

I plucked up the courage to ask him how he knew all this.

He told me that he had been a good friend of Annikki's father, Matti, when he was alive, as they had served in the army together at the time of the war. They had also shared the same hobby - cycles and mopeds.

He then told me he was a few years younger to Matti, just 82!

I was quite taken back at seeing a shop owner of 82 running his business as if he was just a middle aged gentleman!

So when I went back to pick up the bike, I decided to get a couple of pictures of this remarkable 82 year old.


Paavo Aitola, Matti's friend, 82 years old


Paavo Aitola, Matti's friend, 82 years old

I would certainly like to be in his shape of fitness when I am 82.

His secret was that he still walks and swims everyday, and of course, he is running his business by himself, even to this day.

He did, in passing, mention his daily dose of Koskenkorva, the Finnish 100% absolute spirit raiser, but I chose to ignore that!

The bike was fixed great and I was able to deliver it to Soda this afternoon.

Bowing to demands, Äiti's new clothes, We all mourn a loss

My daughters have a way of telling me off. This picture proves their powers of persuasion!



Hilja went into the Old People's Home for her short term interval care. This time she was wearing her new clothes - doesn´t she look cute! She liked her new coat and gloves.

Hilja is dressed to go somewhere

We told Iitu that her once dearest friend, Joanna's dog, Minea, was no more. The two, who grew up together as puppy and kitten, used to be the very best of friends till Iitu had her first and last litter of kittens.


Iitu in mourning

Minea's jealousy never ended!

Iitu wanted to be friends, but Minea was off-hand after that.


Minea with Annikki

We mourn this very loving member of our extended family.

We especially appreciate the love and care provided by Sandra Grotsch,



who took care of Minea during the last years of her life as we could not look after her because of the allergy developed by both Joanna and Samuel to dogs.

Thank you, from the bottom of our heart, Sandra.

An entry in three of my blogs

Prof. Ajeet Mathur, a good friend, a Mumbai Cathedralite and also a Delhi Stephanian, has just sent me an electronic copy of an article which has just appeared in a publication celebrating the history of Tampere, the major industrial city in South Finland, his present domicile.

I thought it appropriate to provide a link to it on all my three blogs, my personal blog, the Cathedralite Seventh Heaven Blog and the Stephanian Kooler Talk Web Version Blog.

Having read it during its composition stage, I can say that it is hot, hot, hot.

I had dicussed this with him just last weekend and wondered whether he thought some of his more caustic comments would get through the "Editors" (Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko and Antti Kasvio (eds.) eCity: Analysing the efforts to generate local dynamism in the City of Tampere to Meet the Challenge of Changing Global Economy, Tampere University Press, 2005).

He was on his seat's edge.

The book appeared publicly today, and he immediately wrote to me thus:

The Tampere book is published and officially released with my article intact!

With "Communities at Risk" (2003) and this, I have the satisfaction of having given sufficient warning of the shape of things as a dutiful resident as part of my respect for the flag I live under.

I shall post you a published copy tomorrow.

Here is the electronic version. Please feel free to circulate it to those who care or blog it as you wish.

Someday, when I have a personal homepage, I would be happy to provide a link to it for all interested persons to know. But that may not be before March 2006 because I am a technical ignoramous and have other things on my mind now.

Best Regards to you and Annikki,

Ajeet

If Ajeet is an technical ignoramous, I wonder what I am!!

"Communities at Risk" is also another great piece of work by him.

His Discussion Paper "Finland - India - Economic Relations A Twinning Study of Trade and Investment Potential" published in 1998 was a ground-breaking publication.

I had the honour of co-authoring the paper "To Serve or To Rule? Paradoxes of Shared Authority and Appropriated Power in E-governance". It was read by Ajeet at the e-Governance Conference in New Delhi in Decwember 2003 as I could not attend.

Here is an example of the hard-hitting writing of Ajeet in this article:

There are a variety of myths circulating in Tampere designed to foster confidence among residents and prospective partners and investors in Tampere that do not stand up to a reality check. In popular perception, the two universities, particularly the Tampere University of Technology spawns innovations; these innovations are incubated in a virtual science park; and, incubated innovations create new dynamic enterprises attracting large amounts of venture capital thereby creating a multiplier effect for new jobs and enhanced flows of incomes and asset creation. In reality, public money in the guise of projects has been used to fund jobs with soft targets and when a project ends, a 'next big project' is needed to repeat the cycle, since little of lasting value remains. Names of agencies change, agencies merge with each other to acquire fresh identities, new organisations get mandated and organizational forms undergo such metamorphosis that old wine in new bottles is easily mistaken for a new engine of innovation on which hope is pinned for a while until it is dashed again. Hermia was an ingenius institution that enabled students of the Tampere Technical university to be drafted into labouring for companies needing cheap student labour while the flowback from the beneficiaries to the University remains unknown. The total amount donated by Tampere region companies (including Nokia) to Tampere Technical University is about Euro 250,000 according to the list coordinated by the Tampere Chamber of Commerce. With few exceptions, hardly any inventions of the University developed commercially as a return on public subsidies and investments and most of the firms counted in powerpoint presentations evangelising the Tampere model pre-date Hermia or have nothing to do with the Technical University. In making an actual count together with Hermia senior executives, I could locate only 13 enterprises in all under the umbrella of e-accelerator (the number on Hermia's powerpoint slide was 300), of which just two had something to do with the Tampere Technical University. The first pillar of Tampere's business development strategy, Hermia, was entirely focused on technology and real estate brokering, and never organised to provide any international business development expertise to existing firms or to new ventures. Hermia officials candidly admit they have no idea where the medium and large enterprises in the Tampere region obtain international business know-how.

In 1999, a second pillar, Professia Oy was established from public funds (and mandated to develop knowledge intensive business services in 2002). After five lacklustre years of existence, this agency launched a 'Tampere International Business Office' in mid-2004. This old-wine-in-new-bottle initiative never compiled even a starting kit for investors in the region. Most of its budget was spent on staff salaries for its seven employees and travelling to exhibitions and making contacts overseas to entice investors to Tampere. From € 1 million injected into it, an income of € 28,000 was reported which works out to 2.8 percent return on net assets, well below long term market interest rates. On 17.8.2005, Professia Oy merged with Oy Media Tampere which employed seventeen persons with a 2.2 percent return on net assets which is even lower than Professia Oy (according to the press release of the merger announced on 17.8.2005). The fused entity in announcing the merger hints at new horizons and a stronger organisation but its business plan remains unclear. The use of public funds in Tampere is not associated with transparency or disclosure and residents are expected to believe that this old-wine-in-new-bottle that didn't deliver much in five years of functioning will now function as the beacon of new hope. 'Project thinking' with soft targets is a hallmark of the Tampere region. The big breakthrough is always optimistically depicted to be in the future. During Spring 2005, hope was pinned that Tampere would host the ASEM summit in 2006 during the Finnish Presidency of the EU and the wave of traffic that would arise through Euro-Asia business contacts. Meanwhile, Hermia leading the ICT sector big projects was being hived and restructured to give way to the biotechnology and health sector spearheaded by Finn Medi under the ambitious catch-all expression of the next big project BIONEXT.

Ajeet pulls no punches. He tells it as it is.

You can download a pdf copy of the article from this link The Future of International Business in the Tampere Region1 by Prof. Ajeet Mathur, University of Tampere

Hope you enjoy it. I am sure Ajeet would love to have feedback from you on this paper.

It is my homour to share two alma maters with him!

My word, the blog is active!!

Daughter Susanna, from Billinghay in Lincolnshire, was quick to tell me what is a Physiatrist?

A physiatrist (fizz ee at' trist) is a physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Physiatrists treat a wide range of problems from sore shoulders to spinal cord injuries. They see patients in all age groups and treat problems that touch upon all the major systems in the body. These specialists focus on restoring function to people.

To become a physiatrist, individuals must successfully complete four years of graduate medical education and four additional years of postdoctoral residency training. Residency training includes one year spent developing fundamental clinical skills and three additional years of training in the full scope of the specialty.

There are 80 accredited residency programs in physical medicine and rehabilitation in the United States. Many physiatrists choose to pursue additional advanced degrees (MS, PhD) or complete fellowship training in a specific area of the specialty. Fellowships are available for specialized study in such areas as musculoskeletal rehabilitation, pediatrics, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and sports medicine.

To become board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, physiatrists are required to pass both a written and oral examination administered by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPM&R). The ABPM&R also has agreements with each of the boards of pediatrics, internal medicine, and neurology to allow special training programs leading to certification in both specialties.

Physiatrists treat acute and chronic pain and musculoskeletal disorders. They may see a person who lifts a heavy object at work and experiences back pain, a basketball player who sprains an ankle and needs rehabilitation to play again, or a knitter who has carpal tunnel syndrome. Physiatrists' patients include people with arthritis, tendonitis, any kind of back pain, and work- or sports-related injuries.

Physiatrists also treat serious disorders of the musculoskeletal system that result in severe functional limitations. They would treat a baby with a birth defect, someone in a bad car accident, or an elderly person with a broken hip. Physiatrists coordinate the long-term rehabilitation process for patients with spinal cord injuries, cancer, stroke or other neurological disorders, brain injuries, amputations, and multiple sclerosis.

Physiatrists practice in rehabilitation centers, hospitals, and in private offices. They often have broad practices, but some concentrate on one area such as pediatrics, sports medicine, geriatric medicine, brain injury, or many other special interests.

Susanna being a Physiatrist here to her little brother, Jaakko?

So now we all know - thanks little girl!

And by the way, your former Headmistress, Mrs. Clarke is related to Isaac and is now in San Jose! She went to their home for Thanksgiving last month to spend the day with Isaac's mother.

Now, isn't this a very very small world!

First Hemel Hempstead explosion neighbour checks in

I knew that some of our friends were not far from the Hemel Hempstead explosion in the UK.

I just had a mail from Dr. Anthony Stone, who taught Mathematics in St. Stephen's College during my time there in the 1960's.



He stays just two and a half miles from the explosion spot.

He assured me that there was no damage at his residence.

Sadly, his wife, Bertha, has been admitted to hospital with a fractured pelvis. Two years ago she suffered a fractured hip. (Not related to the explosion.)

In 2000, Tony came and stayed a week with Annikki and me when we were living in our penthouse in Torikatu in the centre of town.

Tony is very sprightly, both in mind and body, but poor Tony and Bertha have been having a lot of problems of late.

Do visit his Catend Study web site as it will show you his close and longtime links to India as well as he delving into the inner secrets of mathematics. As can be seen from his site, Tony had a fascinating way of teaching.

Have you ever thought when the 3rd Millenium began? No, it was not 2000!
Or do you know how to calculate the time of day from the shadow?

On his site you will find such fascinating pages as History | India | Links Other Sites | Mathematics | Theoretical Physics | Theology | Time | Transliteration Pages

Take a few minutes to visit the site and send a message to Tony. He will appreciate it.

Are we Dravidians over-running the world?

Kaleva is the large daily newspaper in Oulu.

Twice a week, every household in Oulu gets a free 8 paged newspaper, free of cost, called Oulu Lehti. It is sponsored by a political party which gets funds from the Government to circulate its views.

The one which arrived last Sunday had a large picture of two foreigners, Anaïs Guimard from France, and surprise, surprise, Subramaniam Panneer Selvam from Villipuram, in South Tamilnadu, exactly where the tsunami struck.

Picture of French girl, Anais, with
Tamilian from Villipuram, Subramaniam

The article spoke in glowing terms of the work of Subramaniam when the tsunami struck his home region.

The two foreigners had been brought to Finland by the KEPA organisation (Service Centre for Development Cooperation) which works on projects with developing countries. Both of these foreigners are being looked after by the Oulu Youth Centre WALDA Organisation (website in Finnish), which for over 60 years has been involved with youth work and recently with multicultural youth work.

Subramaniam works at a youth centre in an area known as Puolivälikangas, very near the University of Oulu. He is a phyisiatrist - something I am not sure what it is.

So, today, Tuesday, when I had a few minutes to spare, I dashed off to the Youth Centre. There I met Subramaniam, his co-ordinator from KEPA, Helsinki, Sari Markkanen, and also the local person who is responsible for Subramaniam from the Walda Organisation, Kaija Välimaa.


Sari and Subramaniam

I invited Subramaniam to our regular 12:00 hours Sunday meeting at Saikou's Internet Cafe.

Kaija asked whether she could attend. She would like to talk to us, especially about a project application for money for some work involving foreigners.

I told her that her presence would be very welcome.

Looking at three last Findian additions to our Oulu Community, Kannan, from Pondicherry, Isaac from Chennai and Subramaniam from Villipuram, it seems that we Dravidianns are invading the Arctic!

Finally, on my way home, I noticed the moon at 14:30 - Round and Full!


Arctic Full Moon today at 14:30

Am I glad that the Hemel Hempstead black smoke is not clouding our sky here in Oulu!

Half done

I had been wanting to update the K. C. Mammen Mappillai



and the Dewan Bahadur Kuriyan Matthan



Web Pages for a long time.

Today, I managed to update the K. C. Mammen Mappillai page and added some new pictures of the family.

Like in the case of the Maliyakal web pages, I shall try to breakdown each family and put up relevant details with appropriate pictures.

I have not yet put up pictures on the Maliyakal pages, except on Dewan Bahadur's web page, but I will do that when I get some time.

Please submit any data and pictures you want to go up on your family tree unique page.

These are not a genealogy pages or sites but tributes to great men who taught me my fundamental values.

Tingting returns, Kannan awaits news

This Sunday's meeting was exciting as our Chinese colleague, Tingting, returned from a very successful trip to China. She was very happy with the visit and hopes that she can stay in her job. At least she has achieved a degree of self confidence and a great deal of maturity which has lifted her spirits. She arrived at the meeting with biscuits and special Chinese mint sweets for everyone.

She is off on holiday to China next week and will celebrate her birthday for the first time in 4 years with her family.

Kannan (India) is awaiting news of his job as the security clearance process is taken care of. Hopefully all goes well with that.

Bill (China) is moving well on all fronts, with pizza boxes from China leading the way. Kamu has come up with a good design. Now the logo is being designed. Hopefully the cooperative organisation will take some shape during the next week with Bill and Sid forming the first core and others joining when they have a role to contribute to that organisation. The most important steps as the name and the rules and regulations need to be finalised still. We all hope the multi-multi-lingual Ilari (Finland) will be able to help us out with that task.

Kamu (Zambia) has had a rough week as his cars (Volvo and Saab) both conked out. Also, his father and brother in Zambia had health problems. But Kamu stayed focused and managed to send enough money to get all of them treated in private clinics, as treatment in a government hospital could have meant a wait of several days, if not weeks.

We were very happy to welcome to our gathering Isaac Sundarajan (India), CEO of Codenomicon Ltd. Isaac is the nephew of the well known former Bishop of Madras, Bishop Sundar Clark of the Church of South India, now retired and settled in Australia. Bishop Sundar Clark was a dear friend of my parents and many other family members. I have met with the Bishop on several occasions, but I am sure he will not remember this little snail!

Isaac is obviously also the relation of Mrs. G. Clarke (something I did not verify), who was the Principal of Bishop Cotton Girls' School between the years 1977 to 1988, when our kids, Mika (in the Kindergarten), Joanna and Susanna studied. I am also a product of the Kindergarten of this school between the years 1948 and 1950 when Miss M. E. Hardy was the Principal (1945 - 1952).

Click image to see larger picture.



Looking at this picture, it tells me that the kindergarten area is just the same as when I studied there at the end of the 40s. It seems just as idyllic as it was then. My last class (Class D) before I moved to the Boys' School, was in the corner of the building where the right angle between the two sections of the building can be seen.

I still remember that well.

Under Mrs. Clarke, during the time our children were studying there, the Girls' School made remarkable progress. Mrs. Clarke initiated the introduction of two new Houses - Elmes and Waller - to the existing Barton, Foley and Maiden Houses, as the number of students increased. The pale green tunics changed to dark green. In keeping with the times, computer studies was introduced. The strength of the school went from 700 to 3000. Six additional classrooms were built and the shift system was introduced. The work on the auditorium was completed and a new dining hall for the Boarders was planned. The Bishop Cotton Womens' Christian College was started in 1985, the first of its kind in the Diocese.

So Isaac has a lot of family history behind him in devotion, organisation and execution, and I am sure that will show through in the way he manages this Finnish company.

The meeting ended with all of singing a rousing happy birthday for Tingting. Our special thanks go to Saikou (Gambia) who has offered us his Internet Cafe for our weekly meetings. It is a great place and full of a lively atmosphere.

After the meeting, Isaac dropped in for a very brief visit to our home to meet Annikki, see her garden and also see some of Annikki's artistic designs!

A busy Friday

Retirement is supposed to bring peace and tranquility.

I seem to be getting more and more into the fast lane. Friday was truly an example of how life is getting hectic.

Mika's Water Immersion Physiotherapy had been changed to be early morning. Off we went at already half past eight. I had already had to clear my email between 04:30 and 08:00 hours.

I listen to the Liberal Talk Show Host Mike Malloy out of Atlanta, Georgia, on the internet on Tuesdays to Saturdays between 05:00 and 08:00 hours, so that was no hassle. Mike's exuberant nature and his sharp sense of what is right and wrong with no compromises, makes one trust that once the Bush cabal is removed from power, America will once again find its true role as a leader among the nations, despite the fact that the Democrat Party is just a bunch of weeping wimpos at the present time. Hopefully some politicians with some gall as Senator Barbara Boxer, Congressman Dennis Kucinich and the evergreen Congressman John Conyers Jr. will breathe some new firepower into this present Republican-lite Party at the 2006 elections.

Then it was off to help my Thai friends as they struggle to get their life in order. They called to say that their car was not starting so could I lend them a battery charger.

I had to pick up Kamu, my Zambian friend, from his work place and take him to collect his Volvo. After that, I dropped off my battery charger at Unnop's restaurant. There, I found they were desperate as without their car they had not been able to go and collect supplies from the wholesaler.

I took my friends to the wholesale shop so they could do their critical shopping. When we got back they found they had missed one important item - French Fries, so I promised to pick some up as I did the shopping for Annikki.

Then the crucial work of getting Annikki's shopping done and the extra French Fries, which I duly delivered to the restaurant.

Kannan had volunteered my presence at the meeting of the group who are planning to visit India as part of a Rotary Exchange programme. We assembled at the New Bombay Restaurant. We spent a couple of hours while I learnt about their trip to Rotary District 3210 in Kerala (and part in Tamilnadu) and told them of the Don'ts and Do's in India. They are not visiting my Rotary Club which is situated in Chennai (Madras).

Rotarian Reino, with the four younger members of the team, Ville, Katja, Sini and Kaisu, were briefed by Kannan and me.

Maybe they learnt a few things?

Just before I embarked on the journey to the restaurant for this meeting, I had a call from Isaac Sundarajan, whom I have mentioned in an earlier blog entry. He was back from Silicon Valley. He told me that he had brought back some authentic Kerala Banana Chips from the US. That was really a sweet thought.

Isaac was also dining with the founder of his company, Marko Laakso, at the New Bombay. We had our first face to face encounter at the venue. Not having seen Marko for many years, I was happy to see that he has retained his broad smile and sense of humour over all these years.

I had rung the restaurant owner, Tapon, about the fact that all of us would be there, albeit at seperate tables. Tapon made it a special occasion by being on hand and seeing that everyone got their food and drinks just right.

After the briefing session I was off to see Soda, my young Thai friend, train at the Oulu Sports Dome with his football team, Tervarit Juniors. It was the first time they are training in the dome.

Kannan, whom I dragged along with me, and I watched. I certainly saw a lot of talent in this young lad, Soda. He has the undying enthusiasam of grandson Samuel.



Soda was playing in a temperature more suited to his style of play, rather than the freezing outdoor conditions I had seen him perform the week earlier!



This 14-year old is of the same style of Jari Litmanen, the Finnish football genius, who put Finnish football on the international map by playing in such great teams as Ajax of Holland and Liverpool of England. Jari certainly does not look as tall as 6 foot on the field, but when he is on it, he dominates the proceedings.

Jari Litmanen

Date of Birth: 20/02/1971
Squad number: 37
Height: 6' 0 (182.88 cm)
Weight: 12st 10lbs (76.2 kg)
Characteristics: Experienced right-footed
striker with excellent technique and vision
Clubs: Reipas Lahti, HJK Helsinki, MyPa, Ajax, Barcelona, Liverpool, Hansa Rostock
Birth Place: Lahti, Finland
Nickname: Litti

Soda is not tall, but he is lithe with great footwork.

(On Saturday evening I went to see Soda play his first indoor football match. Not only did Soda manage to feed the ball to his team mates unselfishly and efficiently, he scored two superb goals in the overwhelming 7-0 victory. We will hear a lot about this young lad if he can stick to a tough training routine.)

By the time I got home it was almost 23:00 hours, just enough time to check my email and clear it, listen to a bit of the Randi Rhodes programme, the effervescent Talk Show Host out of New York, check the latest news online, before passing out for the night leading to another hectic day!

Couple of corrections

In my story about the London Double Decker Bus, I mentioned the bus that Annikki took from Streatham to West Hampstead. Annikki pointed out she used one of two routes. One was Route 159 from Streatham, and the other was a number she could not remember which originated at Tooting Bec.

Here is a picture of the Route 159 Bus being mobbed as it chugs into the Streatham Garage for the last time.



In my write up about the lampshade made from wood, I assumed that it was Red Ceddar. However, several of you sharp readers and Annikki have said that it is possibly Red Pine.



Here are the details of this tree:

Red Pine

Pinus resinosa

The red pine is a native of the Lake states and eastward throughout New England and southeastern Canada. It had not been planted widely in Iowa until the 1930's. Since then it has been planted quite widely for both erosion control and water conservation , and some for farmstead windbreaks. When growing under natural conditions, the red pine reaches a height of 90 to 100 feet and a diameter of 30 to 40 inches, with a tall, straight, clean trunk and an open, rounded picturesque crown. The tree gets its name from the bright orange-colored or reddish bark, which divides into large plates as the tree matures.

Red pine needles are 4 to 6 inches long and in bundles of two. The dark green needles are soft and flexible. When bent sharply they snap or break cleanly rather than just folding over as do the needles of other pines.

The cone is egg-shaped; 2 to 2-1/4 inches long. The cone scales are smooth and without spines. The seeds are eaten by songbirds and small animals.

Branching: Each year a pine tree produces a new whorl (circle) of branches.

Bark: reddish cast, breaking up into scaly plates

Height: 50 to 80 ft.

Trunk Diameter: 1 to 3 ft.

Longevity: maximum age is about 350 yrs.

Tolerance: intermediate

Range: southern Canada, lake states, and the northeast

Fun Facts:

Most of the wooden telephone poles in Michigan and surrounding states are red pine.
Used to make log cabins.
During the Depression in the 1930s, millions of red pine plantations were planted by the C.C.C. (Civilian Conservation Corps.); that is the reason we see so many in Camp Conestoga.

But still no mention of the fascinating light transmission properties.

Nokia slammed by Taiwanese company

The Finns are expert at getting away with "Blue Murder".

The Finnish Mobile phone multinational is no exception.

But a Taiwanese company decided it would expose the case in the international media. This has caused Nokia to backtrack.

The Finns do not like their "image" to be tarnished.

This appeared in an article in PC World Taiwanese supplier blasts Nokia over cancelled order, by Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service, 06/12/2005 08:26:51.

A Taiwanese maker of networking supplies took out a front page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal's Asia and Europe editions on Monday, blasting Nokia for cancelling an order it claims will put it out of business.

"UNFAIR! UNFAIR! UNFAIR! Nokia's order cancellation = Bankruptcy to YCL," reads the front page advertisement placed in the Wall Street Journal by Taiwan's YCL Electronics Co. The company also placed further details on its Web site, including e-mail correspondence purportedly between YCL and Nokia executives

The ads can also be found on the Europe and Asia main pages of The Wall Street Journal Online.

According to the information YCL placed on its Web site, the Taiwanese company owns up to the fact it signed an agreement with Nokia which stated that "Nokia may cancel the order without any liability 2 weeks prior to the delivery date" but then later complains that the agreement is unfair.

In the first series of e-mails, an executive at YCL, Dennis Hsieh laments that he will likely lose his job because he signed an unfair agreement with Nokia on his own, without consulting the president of YCL. He then complains the agreement puts all the business risk on YCL, which has to purchase the raw materials for the devices it is making for Nokia far in advance, leaving YCL vulnerable to bankruptcy if Nokia opts to renege on the deal.

The reply Hsieh gets from a Nokia executive (also included in the correspondence posted on the Web site, complete with contact details), is that Nokia is trying to find a different customer for YCL, and asks if YCL could tell Nokia its rock bottom price, according to the documents on YCL's Web site.

The next series of emails comes from a new YCL executive.

"Mr. Dennis [Hsieh] resigned because he signed a very UNFAIR agreement (No.341235) with Nokia," wrote Andy Lu, vice president of sales at YCL, in an e-mail posted on YCL's Web site. He too asks Nokia to reconsider the situation and threatens to go to the press with YCL's case.

Nokia could not be reached for comment despite several attempts to contact the company in Asia and Europe.

A representative for The Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong said her company spent at least 2 weeks ensuring it could legally place the advertisement on its pages.

YCL "have all the supporting documents, so we were able to run the ad," said Rebecca Tjouw, from The Wall Street Journal's advertising department. The type of advertisement YCL placed on its front page normally costs around US$40,000, she said.

The Finnish News Agency reported this on Friday:

Nokia says seeks a negotiated settlement with Taiwan's YCL
9.12.2005 at 10:26

Finnish mobile telephony giant Nokia told the Finnish News Agency (STT) on Friday that it was seeking to negotiate with its Taiwanese subcontractor YCL Electronics.

YCL has accused Nokia of unfair agreement practices.

"At the moment we are examining what the situation is. We are trying to keep in contact with them and settle the issue," said Eija-Riitta Huovinen, Nokia´s director of communications.

Ms Huovinen was not able to say what kind of measures Nokia was planning to undertake

In advertisements printed in the Wall Street Journal, YCL has deployed harsh language to criticise Nokia.

The damage has been done - and now the dirty Finnish core is headline news, worldwide.

Nokia will try to spin it their way, but my advice is DO NOT BELIEVE NOKIA. This is Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) by the Finns.

Under international contractual law, an agreement such as this would be null and void. Most Finnish companies use this technique as they know they can get away with it in Finland, as justice is always engineered to be on "their" side.

Indian cooperators, collaborators and sub-contractors of Nokia - be warned - and check your contracts! Write them in reverse and submit it to Nokia.

Nokia needs you, and you do not need Nokia.

Annikki's Flea Market Finds: No. 1

Annikki finds all sorts of things in the local flea markets.

I thought I would feature some of her best finds, usually bought at an Euro or two. (Wish I had a better camera to get the real beauty of many of her finds.)

Here is one that she found a long time ago.

It is a wooden lamp shade.

When you switch on the light, the colour is a beautiful glow of red showing the intricate design work that has been carved into it.



It is supposedly made from Red Ceddar wood, but the plain wood, in this instance, does not show the characteristic red colouration associated with this type of wood.

The beautiful colour glow, which can be seen in the photo on the right, is supposedly characteristic of light shining through this wood.

This is a write up about Eastern Red Cedar.

Eastern Red Cedar - Juniperus virginiana

General Information: Red cedar is an evergreen growing 40 to 50 feet tall in an oval, columnar, or pyramidal form (very diverse) and spreading 8 to 15 feet when given a sunny location. It develops a brownish tint in winter in the north and is sometimes used in windbreaks or screens. The fruit is a blue berry on female trees and is ornamental when produced in quantity. Birds devour the fruit and 'plant' it along farm fences and in old abandoned fields. Some botanists do not separate J. virginiana from silicicola.

The eastern red cedar is not a true cedar (genus Cedrus), it is actually a variety of juniper. It occurs naturally as an upright tree with many small branches, curving sharply upward. Old trees often have many natural jin on the lower part of the trunk, and that branches are more nearly horizontal. The wood of the red cedar is fragrant and is used extensively for furniture. The foliage is bright green to dark green.

With sufficient early training, the red cedar can be used for most styles, though multiple-trunk styles probably require planting multiple trees close together. Cascade and semi-cascade styles could be a challenge, given the strong apex dominance of this tree.

Here is a write up about Western Red Cedar.

WESTERN RED CEDAR
thuja plicata

* other common names: Giant Arbor-Vitae, Canoe-cedar, Pacific Red-cedar, Shinglewood
* the western red cedar is British Columbia's official tree
* can be referred to as 'arbor-vitae' or "tree of life"

UNIQUE FEATURES:

* drooping branches that turn up at tip
* trunk spreading out at the base
* has large number of cones bent backward along the branches

Surprisingly, there is no mention as to why Red Cedar, Eastern or Western, has been called by that name. The wood does have a red colouration, and wood panelling made of Red Cedar certainly is attractive. But there is no mention of the light transmission properties which yields this beautiful colouration.

My valuation of this lamp is that it must be worth several tens of euros, if not more.

Great find.

Wow! A chance to look after 2 "Monster" kids!

Appearing in a Finnish national church magazine today was this ad which is circled:

(Click picture to see a larger image.)


Don't these kids, Daniel (1.5) & Samuel (8.5), look mischievously angelic?



Joanna and Tony are looking for someone to live in with them in Newcastle next year for five months to spend some time looking after the kids. Both the kids are bilingual (Finnish and English).

If I was not overloaded with responsibilities here in Finland I would have liked to have my daily wrestling match with these two - one a Dara Singh and the other the Masked Angel.

Guess which is which?

No better job I could have asked for, but.....

I have not been to London since 1992

Not strictly true, as I passed through Heathrow Airport in 2000 on my way back from India.

Ever since my student days there, one of the things I appreciated most about London was the red double decker bus.



This little replica probably sits in many many millions of homes around the world, probably more than any other model of any other vehicle! The one that Annikki got many many years ago was given to our grandson, Samuel, and he enjoyed playing with it just as much as both our sons, Jaakko and Mika, when they were little boys.

Originally, when I lived as a student in London, I travelled from my residences - Finchley Road, Swiss Cottage and West Hampstead - to Holloway Road, where my college, the National College of Rubber Technology was situated in the Northern Polytechnic, using the tube. It was crowded and by the time I got to the college, with two changes, one at Baker Street and another at Kings Cross Stations, hurtling up or down the escalators, it had been an excruciating experience.

When I got the minivan, it was a trip across the top of North London cutting across the traffic streaming into or out of London. We used several back streets and the journey by car was really a time saver. (Meant a few extra minutes in bed in the morning.) It was great step up from traveling on the tube.

I rarely used the van to travel across London, as it was rather a nerve-racking job getting through the maze of one ways that formed the road pattern through London.

I appreciated the London Double Decker Bus. Annikki used to travel all the way from Streatham to our flat in West Hampstead for our regular Saturday evening date, and then I would drop her off late evening. As the tube and bus service was usually shut down when I dropped her off, usually way past midnight, I used to walk back the 10 to 15 km back to my house - student with no money days! :-)

After we left London and stayed in Shrewsbury and then Shawbury, I certainly appreciated the London Bus Service as I had to use the very infrequent bus service which travelled between the village of Shawbury, where the Research Association that I worked in was situated and Shrewsbury, whenever our car was out of order.

When I visited London after our return to India, I much preferred using the bus service in London, as it was such a battle trying to get onto the tube in the underground, and then stand like fish in a sardine tin.

What I enjoyed most was to sit on the upper deck of the London bus and watch the life under me as I passed through the streets that I had tread on during my student days. It was refreshing. I got to my destination relaxed and having appreciated the city I had loved so much during those heady days of the sixties.

It was very rare that I used a London cab, as almost every nook and cranny of London was served by the efficient double decker bus.

Today, I read that the double decker Routemaster Bus in London has been retired for good.

A sad day for that great city.

LONDON - It was the end of the line Thursday for London's red Routemaster buses, trundling into retirement after half a century of rickety but reliable service.

Fans of the old style double-deckers traveled from across Britain to take a last ride on the hop-on, hop-off buses, whose curved lines and cheery scarlet color have inspired affection among drivers and passengers alike.

If you want to have a nostalgic view about London Buses visit the Routemasters web site. I enjoyed my visit!

The last Routemaster Bus rolled into the Streatham Garage, the one garage that I am so familiar with, late yesterday.

I remember some great moments in Chennai

I received an email from a young student from Pondicherry who is studying here in Oulu. He had been asked to speak about India to a group of Finnish students who are about to embark on a trip to Tamilnadu and Kerala, sponsored by one of the local Rotary Clubs.

Kannan thought that I would do some justice to introducing the students to these areas, so he asked me to join them.

It revived some thoughts of our days in Madras during the 1970's and I embarked on a Google Search to find if there were any pages of the Rotary Club that I had belonged to during the period 1970 - 1976.

I was really thrilled to find the web pages of the Rotary Club of Madras South. It prompted me to write this letter to the Webmaster, Rotarian A. G. Shankar:

Dear Rotarian Shankar,

It was with great pleasure I discovered such a really superb set of web pages of the Rotary Club that I had the pleasure of being a member in the early 1970's.

I certainly recall many great names as the Charter Secretary Rtn. Ramakrishna Raja and Rtn. C.V.George, both outstanding human beings that I had great honour of rubbing shoulders with.

I was inducted by President B. Ugamraj Mootha, being introduced by the brilliant but highly eccentric engineer, Mr. Krishnaswamy.

My classification - Polymers.

I do not think that I was dynamic enough to be remembered by anyone in the Club - and I moved to Bangalore in 1976 and then to Finland in 1984.

I did not ever join Rotary again as I found that no Rotary Club that I visited had such great Fellowship and Projects that as were associated with Madras South.

I do not know how many of the members of Club from those days are still around. Maybe if you publish a members list, it would jog my memory.

Please convey to all the members of the Club my very best regards. May I wish the Club continued success. I will blog the picture of your present Board and the link to your web pages on my Jacob's Blog.

I, on my part, can now watch with great pleasure the activities of the Club through the excellent web pages that you have created.

I am now retired and live with my wife, Annikki, who was also an Inner Wheeler at that time, in this near Arctic town of Oulu in Finland, home of much of the developments in Microelectronics which led to the growth of Nokia as an international giant in mobile phones. I was the Acting Chief Engineer at the University of Oulu, Microelectronics Laboratory.

In particular, we fondly remember one incident which took place at a Club get-together in the gardens of our home in Velacherri.

On arrival, Rotarian Karpur asked our 4-year old daughter:

"How is your pop?"

He got a reply that startled him

"He has tape worm!" said Joanna .

Little Joanna was more interested in her "pup" than her "pop"!


Yours most sincerely


Annikki & Jacob Matthan

I never heard the end of that from Rtn Karpur.

It was Annikki that jogged my brain with the details of the story!

Age is certainly telling! :-)

Here is a picture of the Office Bearers for the year 2005-06 of the Club:



The President, Mr. Rajesh Sahi, is the Managing Director of Antrieb Technik, engaged in the manufacture of electrical actuators for valves used in various industries.

Certainly revived some memories that I will share with these Finnish students this Friday. Maybe they will have the opportunity to meet up with the Club when they are in Chennai!