Latest pictures of the Vesaisentie garden.
The Mysterious Green Door has moved to its new location.
Thanks to Nisha and Sunil, a few of the Indian families in Oulu got together at the Raantel Community Centre to relax and enjoy a few precious quality moments.
Among those present were Rajesh, Sunita and Karthik, Srikanth, Renu and Dipankar, Narayanan, Padmavathy and Ambil, Sunil, Nisha and Hannah, Nagendra, Ashwini and Suhina, Kiran, Prasad and myself.
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| Raantel Community Centre |
I went to meet my friend Billy, who runs the best Chinese Fast Food in Oulu. I noted a young lady sitting there waiting for her food. She looked familiar, but I did not immediately place her.
I sat with my back to her and asked her whether she came from the Phillipines. Without once looking at her we conversed about generalities.
When she finished her meal, she was leaving and she asked me whether my name was Jacob and my wife's name was Annikki!
Then she told me that she was a faithful reader of all my blogs but regretted that I had not been updating the Oulu Best Buy Blog regularly. I told her that I did that only when there was a Best Buy, like writing about the very restaurant we were sitting in!
I do not remember whether I have blogged about people who have inspired me. There have been a few in my 60+ years, but the couple who inspired me most were friends I made in Madras in the early 1970s.
Prem and Titi Sadanand become bosom friends in a very short space of time after he joined MRF as the Staff Assistant to the Managing Director.
Prem was given the task of driving the organisation into a shape fit as a professional company. He had to retain the family values and yet make it professional.
Prem was a real professional, having studied at Harvard. He came from a noble background as his father was the owner / editor of one of Bombay's best known newspapers, the Free Press Journal, and known for his courage to write the truth.
That certainly rubbed off on Prem, but he had immense diplomatic skills.
He and I hit it off from day one as we both smoked heavily and drank heavily (that was the time I did drink and smoke - I have not touched cigarettes and alcohol for the last 26 years!).
I was helping to put a plastic factory belonging to MM Group into some sort of shape as it was providing vital plastic film for the tyre production activity. But it was decided that the company should expand its role into avenues other than MRF.
Prem was asked to work with me.
Coming from a scientific research and production background, I had no idea of business principles, except from a classroom standpoint. With the short space of four weeks, Prem taught me the ins and outs of production management and control.
We used to sit the whole day in his office where he would learn about plastics technology from me while he taught me how to control factory output and production and implement cost control without moving an inch from the chair. It was amazing how much this man knew and how well he could teach.
After work we would retire to his home where his wife, an outstanding personality in her own right would have a glass of whiskey ready for each of us and we would continue our discussions where he would probe into family situations so that he could stay ahead of the rat race and deliver the results that the family expected from a top flight manager like him.
It is amazing how much I learnt from these two individuals - social skills, management skills, negotiation skills, family values, and above all the art of decision making. They helped me put my Consulting Company on track and it was Prem and Titis's handling of my life that made me understand how to leave when the going was good.
Prem had worked in the jute industry and the glass industry. He was a complete personality in that he knew his technology and his management. If it was not for him the plastics packaging fibre industry would never have caught on as he used his knowledge of the jute industry to develop the coating technolgy for high density polyethylene woven fabric to make it suitable for packaging fertilisers, sugar, and other mateials in direct competition with jute. He used my knowledge of plastics to be able to drive the new small scale rafia producers along a path that has taken them to the top of the world in economic packaging.
Very few people know this role of Prem which has affected the lives of millions of Indians. I do!
When I moved from Madras to Bangalore, what I missed most was my times with them.
Sadly Prem died of a massive heart attack when he was just in his mid forties. But he had set his wife up in a great furniture business that went alongside all her artistic skills and helped her survive his loss at that young age.
Today, I learnt that Titi had passed on. Titi was the daughter of the brilliant man (Sointi) who patented the Arsenic Pentoxide treatment for preservation of wood. He sold the patent to Bell Labs in the USA who kept it under wraps till the patent ran out and then made billions out of that technology.
Ascu Hickson Ltd., the Indian company which did this treatment of wood in India was run by Titi's brother, Teddy!
I have thought of both Titi and Prem often, as also their only daughter, Bobo's, who was the apple of their eyes and who was always there to greet me - Uncle Sushil.
Although I had not seen Titi for the last 10 years, the inspiration that the two of them gave me never left me through all my working life and now into my retirement.
May Titi rest in peace. She deserves it.
Yesterday, I once again made the gruelling day drive trip to Helsinki - a round trip of 1200 km. This time it was to meet the Owner / CEO of the Slovenian group who have been working as electricians and staying in our apartments in Oulu, Helsinki and Tampere.
Mr. Darzen, the CEO of Elektro-k.a.a, the Slovenian company which is doing the electrical installation work at the new post office sorting centres around Finland, and whose staff stay in our apartments, arrived and wanted to see me.
So I did the round trip.
He gave me a present from Slovenia, which is the Kurent Mask.
Kurentovanje is a distinctive pre-Lenten Slovenian festival. The name comes from the festival's central figure, the Kurent, who in earlier times was believed to have the power to chase away winter and usher in spring.
Slovenians dress up in this costume in February and wander about to drive away winter. A tall order for the near Arctic, even with global warming, but one can hope!
Last Sunday, my friend Christian Thibault, came to Oulu to meet several people about spreading the word about the Liikkukaa Multicultural Sports Association. 
It just happened that the club he is involved with in several ways, Atlantis FC, were playing a First Division match against our local club - AC Oulu.
I asked Hasim and Kasim, who through their company, Goreme Pizzeria & Kebab ry, are one of the largest shareholders of AC Oulu, to join us to see the game. Unfortunately, it was Hasim's daughter's confirmation, so he could not join us. But Kasim made it to the ground.
The game was reasonable and although Atlantis did not play as badly as they did against TP-47 in Haaparanta two weeks earlier, they lost 3 - 0 against AC Oulu, with Daniel Yobe scoring a hat trick for the local side.
On Tuesday, Christian had several meetings. I arranged for him to meet Jusse Kankare, the Chairman of the Oulu Cricket Club. They joined the Liikkukaa Association as a member.
On Wednesday / Thursday there was a tournament organised by Riku Kivimäki of the Oulu Refugee Centre of all the teams from Refugee Centres around Finland. There were 360 players from many countries taking part in a truly historic event. It was a grand success with the African drum beat resounding in all corners of the ground and sports hall.
It was wonderful to see the involvement of accomplished persons as Emmanuel Etchu with Nigerian roots, who, while still keeping to his love of football, has earned himself being an engineer in Nokia and also working on a programme to help the children of AIDS victims in Africa, the Finnish national basketball star with Antiguan roots, Maurizio Prates, who has now devoted a lot of his time to fighting racism in Finland, and Said Zahaf (with Moroccan roots) of the Restaurant Marrakech helping in bringing refreshment to these visitors from all parts of Finland while his wife Miriam Attias was busy acting on behalf of the Red Cross in helping this event.
See Kaleva for a detailed report about this sports event. (And what was another half of Christian's mission to Oulu - to get fit to celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary in Paris on Bastille Day, the 14th of July 2009. Happy Anniversary, Christian.)
Last week, three young people, one youngster born in 1984, one young lady and one young man born in 1988 (the driver) died tragically in an accident at Välivainio, about 200 metres from my office. The doctor's report later showed that the driver had 1.5 promil of alcohol in his blood, the legal limit being 1.2 promil.
The pictures tell the story of how the accident happened.
There is a gentle curve on Sirtolantie, requiring a driver to slow down a few kilometres per hour to take it safely. The driver of the accident vehicle probably came in too fast and was trying to reduce speed to navigate the curve. He missed the brake and slammed his foot on the accelerator, by mistake. This increased the speed and in a couple of seconds the car hit the high curb. This meant that the driver's hands were thrown off the wheel and his foot went harder on the accelerator, causing the car to jump and be thrown against the tree in front of them.
The end must have come instantly judging from the state of the car.
It is possible to pontificate on this and the effect of alcohol. But when I look back on my life, 27 years ago I used to kill a bottle of rum and still drive my car. The foolishness of my actions now stares me in my face as I had a wife and four children to look after.
Not having touched a drop of alcohol for the last 27 years (80 Charminar roasted tobacco cigarettes, 20 cups of coffee, half a dozen bottles of beer and a bottle of rum were my daily consumption), I can honestly say that I have had a great life since and not missed any of these pleasures.
Many have asked why I gave up.
It was not because I saw such a tragedy, as this acciedent, ahead of me, but because I realised my brain was being affected. My super memory was being steadily destroyed.
I have recovered almost 90% of the brain cells which were destroyed because of my heavy drinking. That has taken the best part of these 27 years and a lot of help from my friends who helped me fill in different damaged areas of my brain and its memory!
Do I miss any of these pleasures?
Not really, as a soft drink and a cup of tea are equally refreshing and socially acceptable.
Was it easy to give up all these pleasure?
Not really, as I knew the alternate outcome.
Am I glad that I am not history like these young kids at Välivainio?
You bet, as otherwise I would never have been able to enjoy my children and my grandchildren.
Do I begrudge anybody else drinking?
Not on your life, so long as it is their life and not mine that is at stake.
(Also posted on the CHAFF Blog.)
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| From 090604 Cricket starts in Oulu |
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| From 090604 Cricket starts in Oulu |
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| From 090604 Cricket starts in Oulu |
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| From 090604 Cricket starts in Oulu |
| From Cathedral School, Mumbai |
On daughter Joanna's Facebook Photo Album there is a picture of our four kids with their grandmother, my mother. It bears the caption:
"I think this was taken just before or after my cousin's wedding, when we were already living in Finland and my elder bro in England. Ammachi was the loveliest grandmother u could ever hope for - much like my Dad is to his grandkids."
I do not watch much TV as I am hardly at home.
However, I now do have a worst channel selection.
When I first started watching this channel, I thought it was great as it had a lot of humour, detective mysteries and even a quiz show. I became rather dedicated to this channel, except that the love affair lasted about a week.
From then on for the next 3 or 4 months it has been constant repeats of what has been shown during the last 3 months, only that the frequency of the repeats has increased dramatically!
The TV channel is BBC Entertainment.
I am so put off by this channel, so much so that even my dementia is not strong enough to put aside from my mind the programmes I have watched, again and again, on this channel.
Is the BBC so bankrupt that it must resort to this level of repeats?
Voted by me as the worst TV Channel on my TV - BBC Entertainment!
I was looking out of the kitchen window when I saw Annikki standing in the middle of the garden seemingly to be in a hilarious mood. I thought she was talking to the neighbour's child.
But then she moved on to the end of the garden and was still laughing to herself.
I looked at the garden a little more carefully and I saw that from the little pond that there was a dancing fountain. I wondered how she had managed that.
So I went out to take a look and to my surprise I saw what she had done.
(Also posted on all my major blogs.)
Many of you have emailed me to ask why I was so excited with the software "Cooliris".
There are many many reasons, but I will highlight the two major ones:
1. There is an old Chinese proverb which says: "A picture is worth a thousand words."
2. You can browse thousands of pictures in a couple of minutes, unlike text.
This is now the era of the photo-journalist. If he / she can succeed in capturing the truly great image that depicts an event and add a single one line caption to it, the number of hits one can get to that image or video, and subsequently the caption and then the text, even if the Google Search result was likely to be on the 50th page, is going to be amazing.
Just search for "Jacob, Oulu" on Google Search and you get 95,800 links. It will take months to through those links.
Search for it on "Cooliris" and see how much more you get and you can get to even the 5000th result in a jiffy!
Don't believe me - take any random name of a friend and see what you get!
Truly amazing results. And, you can go through all those tens and tens of results in a flash.
Beware of one problem with "Cooliris".
You can get motion sickness as you race through the thousands of images.
I tried various search combinations yesterday and was thrilled with the results.
But, when I got up from my office table, I was tottering as my eyes had been working overtime going through this huge bonanza of results.
Yes, there is a reason to be excited, but also a warning that this could seriously affect your brain!
Also posted on the Seventh Heaven Blog, Kooler Talk Blog, CHAFF Blog and the Oulu Best Buy Blog.)
Rarely am I excited about new computer software. Today I came across one which sent shivers down my spine in what it can do.
I downloaded separate versions for SAFARI, the Mac only browser and for FIREFOX, probably the best browser online presently till Google comes up with its Chrome Browser for the mac.
The software is called "COOLIRIS" and it allows you to see many thousands of images and videos from your computer or the web in the blink of an eye.
My time is so limited that I hardly have time to go through all my pictures on the computer. But here I could see all of them in a 3-D type motion and I could see all the top story pictures before you could say "COOLIRIS"
I suggest you enter "Cooliris" in your Google Search facility and then download the version suitable for your browser.
I found a great video called "Slam Dunk Kitty" amongst the literally thousands that came up as I flew through the selection that came before me.
And you can use this software with Facebook, Google, UTube and also your computer images and videos!
What's the bet that Google will acquire this software - which is absolutely FREE, before the lamb shakes its tail!
Thursday was a holiday in Finland - called Hellatorstai, which is the equivalent of the Pentacost, the day the disciples of Jesus are supposed to have spoken in tongues.
When Christian, my good friend from Espoo / Helsinki, called me and said he was coming to Oulu, and that he was going to watch a game between his club, Atlantis from Helsinki and TP-47, the club from Tornio in north Finland, I said I would go along with him.
He arrived by train at 15:15. We had lunch at Goreme, so that he could have a few words with owner Hasim, who is now the largest shareholder of the AC Oulu, Oulu's football team which is presently topping the FirstDivision.
Then we drove the 132 kilometres to Tornio, only to discover that the game had been shifted across the border to Haaparanta, in Sweden.
No hassle, as the field was just 3 minutes into Sweden!
The snow was still on the ground showing that even in mid May, we still have a winter /spring situation in these northern latitudes.
It was one of the worst games of football that I have witnessed in a long time. Two First Division sides were playing as if most of the players were kicking the football for the first time in their lives. One team was worse than the other.
On the Atlantis side there were four players which showed some skill and speed, but they were unsupported by their other team members. What was surprising was that Janne Arolinna, who was doing a good job on the right, even though he had no support from the midfield, was taken off. Kerry Skepple played a good game till he was injured, but again he had no support.
There were spectacular saves by the Atlantis goal keeper, who will certainly do well if he keeps up this form.
The first kick at the goal by the Atlantis side was after 56 minutes!
About 10 minutes from the end the Atlantis coach brought on a Dutch player, Jasper Velentijn.
That changed the complexion of the game as this lanky youngster was everywhere. Suddenly Atlantis looked dangerous.
It was a goal mouth melee which resulted in the only goal of the match for Atlantis after 88 minutes.
No kudos to the goal scorer, Timo Aaltonen, as he played a poor game throughout the 93 minutes.
What can be said about the Atlantis side is that it consisted of 7 players who had been playing in Division 2. They played like Division 5 players with no idea of strategy or no idea of team work. Each time they touched the ball it was more danger for the Atlantis defence. It is obvious that the Atlantis Coach, who must have coached that Division 2 side, thought he could make a Division 1 team out of his previous club players. In that he is sadly mistaken as those players have no talent!
Coaches have been fired for less. I think both these coaches should go back to coaching kids!
Step out of the front door in Vesaisentie and you are greeted by this garden. Small and cosy, but it is still a work in progress.
Everything is dismantleable - the little pond can be stripped down in 5 minutes. It is just a large bucket which cost Euro 10 surrounded by loose bricks!
Look down the side wall towards the back garden and you see this sight of flowers along the wall. Not yet complete, every day sees much dramatic changes.
The first flowers are appearing at Kampitie - and soon the garden which Annikki has tended so lovingly will be a riot of colour again - midsummer roses, and a whole lot of other plants will start flowering. The neighbours apple trees will also soon blossom!
More from these two gardens as the summer brightens our lives.
(Also posted on the Oulu Brest Buy Blog and the CHAFF Blog.)
A friend of mine had let his mother's apartment to a couple of Finnish students. They behaved badly and hence were ejected.
In the process they had dirtied all the good sofas and carpets.
As my friend was adjusting the rent advance, he asked Kamutaza Tembo, the owner of Taza TMI, a suoer cleaning service in Oulu, to take and dispose all the furniture while at the same time as cleaning up the apartment. (Mobile Phone: TAZA TMI +358 400 596317). Among their many clients, Taza TMI cleans the big electronics stores as Gigantti and Markantalo, Sanifer Scooter Factory, all our furnished apartments in Oulu, a large vehicle repair workshop and they do a splendid job.)
Kamu called me and asked me to pick up the furniture.
Annikki and I went to pick it up in our trailer. When I looked at the sofas and carpets I was ready to write them off and take them to the dumping yard.
Kamu had other ideas.
Yesterday he came to our office where all the furniture was stocked in our trailer.
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| From Taza TMI |
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| From Taza TMI |
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| From Taza TMI |
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| From Taza TMI |
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| From Taza TMI |
(Also posted on the Seventh Heaven Blog.)
Finally it has happened.
Three enterprising cricket enthusiasts in Oulu, one Finn (Joose Kankare) with Australian enthusiasm, and two Indians (Prabhu Sundar and Prasadh Ramachandran), got together and quietly formed the OCC (Oulu Cricket Club) as a Registered Association.
They called the first meeting for yesterday afternoon to announce their hopes and plans starting with a summer season of training, practice and matches.
There was indeed a healthy turnout of people for the meeting - mainly Indians, but there was a Pakistani also present.
After the tea and introductions, there was a very lively discussion, showing that there are several who are keen to play cricket in Oulu.
The membership fee for a summer season is just Euro 30 (June till August).
I asked that they make a life membership category so that I do not have to pay year in and year out and the Club can drive some benefit by getting a lump sum when it needs it most.
I also drew attention to the importance of having player insurance if the Club is to avoid serious financial problems due to injuries incurred while training or in play. I suggested a similar approach followed by the Finnish Football Union, where no player is allowed to take part, irrespective of age, unless he / she holds a valid insurance from the union.
I also suggested that besides being under the wing of the Finnish Cricket Association, they should become a member of PoPLi (Pohjois-Pohjanmaa Sports Association), which is the umbrella organisation which looks after interests of all sports organisations in this northern region.
Since I did work for them (as well as the Oulu Sports Department), a good ten years ago, I did know that they would get substantial benefit in being a member.
I also suggested that they become a member of Liikkuka ry, a multicultural sports federation which is run by my friend, Christian Thibault, Executive Director, which could help them with closer relationship with the Finnish Sports Federation.
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| From Seventh Heaven |
