Oulu buses and prices

I had not travelled as a paying passenger in a bus for a long long time.

My first seven years in Oulu, when I was working at the University, I travelled by bus.

When I arrived here in 1984, the fare from the Kampitie doorstep to the University (route 33), right across town, was just 3 marks (about € 0,50). Then I started to use a bus pass and the cost per journey was hardly € 0,10 as I used the pass many times a day.

I was not very happy with the weekend service and wrote a blistering article about it way back in 1991.

When I started using the car, first a VW Beetle, then a great Opel and then several other wonderful cars till my latest 1992 VW Vento, I hardly used the bus.

I used the service extensively when grandson Samuel was a toddler (1998-2000). But, in Oulu, we have a great rule that when accompanying a toddler in a push chair, neither has to pay the fare. I used to criss cross the city with him looking at all sorts of things as machines, cement churners, road rollers, dump trucks, cranes, as he used to be fascinated by them.

Finally, the other day, I gave my car for some work. I realised the bus stand was just outside my favourite garage, and there is a direct bus home.

Once on board I paid the fare - € 2,90.

An increase from € 0,50 to € 2,90 in 25 years seemed a bit steep to me. My pension vis-á-vis my salary in 1984 has not gone up by the dame ratio!

I cannot say whether the bus service has improved or not based on a couple of trips.

I can say the new technologies that are in play - bus arrival schedules at major bus stops along the route, the RFID bus cards (I was the actor in the first video of BUSCOM, reading the Financial Times in the Technology Village Cafe), and the modern bus fleet, certainly seems to indicate that it is a good service.

But worth the € 2,90 for a trip. Certainly not!

ICE - In Case of Emergency

I received this very important email from a dear friend, which I felt should have the widest publicity, so I am putting it on all my major blogs:

We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.

If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this "ICE" (In Case of Emergency) Campaign

The concept of "ICE" is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name "ICE" ( In Case Of Emergency).

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and Hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as "ICE."

For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc. A great idea that will make a difference!

Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our Mobile phones today!

Please forward this. It won't take too many "forwards" before everybody will know about this It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest .

Remember:- ICE will speak for you when you are not able to.

Thank you Naval for this wonderful input.

Oulu Worst Buys!

I have listed three Worst Buys in Oulu -

1. Worst lawyers
2. Worst Real Esatae Agency
3. Worst Locksmith.

You will find details on my Oulu Best (Worsdt) Buy Blog.

Inheritance Nightmare / PERINTÖPAINAJAINEN

My next book, which is being published simultaneously in English and Finnish (translation by Annikki), is going to be a blockbuster.

In 1994, I exposed the serious problems within the University of Oulu. That book, "Seven Years Hard Labour in a Finnish Holiday Camp - A Finnish Unversity" was the most pirate copied book in Finland that year.

The book jointly authored by Annikki and me in 1994, "Handbook for Survival in Finland", which was also only in English, was sold out within days of publication.

Both Annikki and I have been researching and writing on several subjects, but this book was always at the back of our minds from 1992 onwards.

Now is the opportune time. We decided to leap frog many other manuscripts to publish this one. It gives a deep insight into how corrupt the Finnish System has been and is, despite whatever Transparency International has been writing.

I give below the Synopsis and Contents in both Finnish and English.

Also the pre-ordering information is given at the end so you can save some money if your order is received before the books hit the shelves. The book is written, printed, published and sold directly by us so we can give you value for money instead of lining the pockets of publishers and booksellers. Authors get a measly 10% after several years!

We do hope you will enjoy this book. The sequel "Last Will and Testament" by me will follow soon thereafter. That is a momumental work. It will not be published in Finnish.

INHERITANCE NIGHTMARE
(ISBN 978-952-67270-0-4)
by
Jacob Matthan
Author of the 1994 brilliant exposé
“Seven Years Hard Labour
in a Finnish Holiday Camp
- A Finnish University”

Synopsis

Like all the author’s books so far, this book is NOT fiction. It is the recording of the modern day repetition of Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables” in Finland in the 2000s!

The author comes from a country which is the home of corruption. According to Transparency International, Finland is supposedly one of the least corrupt countries in this world.

This intricate narration of this true story, covering almost 10 years, shows the extent of malaise in the Finnish System - the judiciary, the police, the bureaucrat, the media, the banks, and above all the lawyers, who are supposedly there to uphold the rights of the innocent. It is a brotherhood network!

Kari Kantakoski is supposedly “a leading lawyer” in Oulu. The intrigue that he has been involved in to get the lion’s share of the inheritance of the family of a carpenter and his wife is still an on-going saga.

The level of audacity increased with each passing day as this lawyer flaunted the law using his “friends” in high places.

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied!

The Lawyer’s Association, supposedly to root out people like Kari Kantakoski, appears to be just a big joke! Kantakoski laughs at this organisation as he knows they would not lift a finger to indict him! The Association has been “investigating” this matter for 9 months while Kari Kantakoski carries on his plundering!

In Finland, the only recourse to justice is publicity, the internet, in particular. Certainly not via the Finnish media, as it is also part of the corrupt establishment.

This book, which will be on the internet and the shelves (in English and Finnish) in a few weeks, highlights in the greatest detail (with every supporting document) each step of the process of having to fight a corrupt system in which the height of corruption is the legal profession in this country.

Lawyers may be the butt of many jokes. That is not without sound reason.

The author leaves it to the reader to draw one’s own conclusions as to what is right or wrong, what is corruption and what is not, what is legal and what is illegal.

It is a sad sad tale.

If Transparency International were to look at this and many thousands of similar cases, Finland would lie 180th in the 180 countries that are reported on by them!

Contents

PREFACE
Chapter 1: Background to the Nightmare
Chapter 2: Matti's Death Estate Inventory Meeting
Chapter 3: Hilja's Dementia
Chapter 4: Renovation of Kampitie
Chapter 5: Public Guardian for Hilja
Chapter 6: Administrator and Executor for Matti's Death Estate
Chapter 7: Financial Misuse of Hilja's Bank Account
Chapter 8: Settlement of Renovation Cost
Chapter 9: Appointment as Care Giver for Hilja
Chapter 10: Eviction of Hilja and Court Decision
Chapter 11: Corruption in Oulu Magistrate Guardianship Section Functioning
Chapter 12: Attempt to Remove the Public Guardian
Chapter 13: February 2004
Chapter 14: Dire Warnings Ignored - Wall Deterioration
Chapter 15: Lawyers Fees
Chapter 16: Minutes of Meetings
Chapter 17: Secret Deals
Chapter 18: Hilja Passes On
Chapter 19: Matti's Death Estate Administrator / Executor Greed Uncovered
Chapter 20: Accounts Examined
Chapter 21: Forced Sale of Kampitie
Chapter 21: Hilja's Death Estate Inventory
Chapter 22: Fraud and Cover Up in Osuuspankki
Chapter 23: Keskinäinen Vakuutusyhtiö Turva Mopo Scandal
Chapter 24: Control of Kampitie
Chapter 25: Huoneistokeskus: Money Rules the Day
Chapter 26: Complaint to the Lawyer's Association
Chapter 27: Complaints to the Oulu Police
Chapter 28: Complaints to the Finnish Courts
Chapter 29: Transparency International
Chapter 30: Who Gets What?

PERINTÖPAINAJAINEN
(ISBN 978-952-67270-1-1)
Jacob Matthan
“Seitsemän vuotta kovaa työtä suomalaisella loma leirillä
- Suomalainen Yliopisto”
loistavan palastuskirjan kirjoittaja 1994

Tiivistelmä

Kuten kaikki kirjailijan kirjat tähän mennessä, tämä kirja ei ole Fiktio. Se on Viktor Hugon kirjan “KURJAT!” kaltaisten tapahtumien toisto Suomessa 2000 luvulla!

Kirjailija tulee maasta, joka on korruption kotimaa. Transparency International’in mukaan Suomen oletetaan olevan yksi maailman vähiten korruptoituneita maita.

Tämä mutkikas tosi kertomus, kestoltaan melkein kymmenen vuotta osoittaa suomalaisen systeemin pahoinvoinnin laajuutta - oikeuslaitos, poliisi, byrokraatti, media, pankit ja ennen kaikkea asianajajat, joiden pitäisi olla viattomien oikeuksien puolustajia. Se on veljeskuntaverkosto!

Kari Kantakosken oletetaan olevaan “huomattava asainajaja” Oulussa. Sotku, jossa hän on mukana saadakseen leijonan osuuden kirvesmiehen ja hänen vaimonsa perheen perinnöstä on yhä meneillään oleva tapahtumaketju.

Röyhkeyden taso nousee päivä päivältä, kun tämä asianajaja lailla pöyhkeillen käyttää “ystävään” korkeilla paikoilla.

Viivytys oikeudessa kieltää oikeuden

Asianajajien Liitto, jonka oletetaan kitkevän juurineen Kari Kantakosken kaltaisia henkilöitä, näyttää olevan iso vitsi. Kantakoski nauraa tälle järjestölle tietäen etteivät he nostaisi sormeakaan syyttäkseen häntä mistään. Liitto on tutkinut tätä asiaa 9 kuukautta. Sillä välin Kari Kantakoski jatkaa ryöstelyä!

Suomessa ainoa oikeuden turva on julkisuus, internetti erityisesti, eikä varmasti suomalaisen median kautta, koska se on myös osa korruptia valtajärjestelmää.

Tämä kirja, joka tulee internettiin ja hyllyille (englanniksi ja suomeksi) muutamassa viikossa, korostaa mitä suurimmassa määrin (kaikkea tukevilla dokumenteilla) joka askelta prosessissa, jonka joutuu taistelemaan korruptiossa systeemissä, minkä korruption huippu on laillinen ammattikunta tässä maassa. Asianajajat voivat olla monen pilan kohde. Eikä syyttä.

Kirjoittaja jättää lukijalle tehdä omat johtopäätöksensä siitä mikä on oikein ja väärin, mikä on korruptiota mikä ei, mikä on laillista ja mikä on laitonta. Se on surullinen kertomus. Jos Transparency International näkisi tämän ja tuhansia muita samanlaisia tapauksia, joista he raportoivat, Suomi olisi sijalla 180 mukana olevista maista joita on 180!


SISÄLTÖ

Esipuhe
Kappale 1: Painajaisen tausta
Kappale 2: Matin kuolinpesäkokous
Kappale 3: Hiljan dementia
Kappale 4: Kampitie remontti
Kappale 5: Yleinen edunvalvoja
Kappale 6: Matin kuolinpesän pesänselvittäjä- ja jakaja
Kappale 7: Hiljan pankkitilin väärinkäyttö
Kappale 8: Remontti kulujen sopimus
Kappale 9: Hiljan omaishoitajan nimitys
Kappale 10: Hiljan häätö ja oikeuden päätös
Kappale 11: Korruptio Oulun Maistraatin yleisen edunvalvonnan osastolla
Kappale 12: Yritys erottaa edunvalvoja virasta
Kappale 13: Helmiku 2004
Kappale 14: Välinpitämättömyys vakavista varoituksista - ulkoseinän rapistuminen
Kappale 15: Asianajan palkat
Kappale 16: Kokousten päiväkirjat
Kappale 17: Salaisia sopimuksia
Kappale 18: Hiljan kuolema
Kappale 19: Matin kuolinpesän pesänselvittäjä/jakajan ahneus paljastuu
Kappale 20: Tilinpidon tarkastus
Kappale 21: Kampitie pakkomyynti
Kappale 22: Hiljan perukokous
Kappale 23: Petos ja peittely Osuuspankissa
Kappale 24: Keskinäinen vakuutusyhtiö Turva Moposkandaali
Kappale 25: Kampitien hallinta
Kappale 26: Valitus asianajajaliittoon
Kappale 27: Valituksia Oulun poliisille
Kappale 28: Valituksia suomalaisissa oikeuslaitoksissa
Kappale 29: Transpanency International
Kappale 30: Kuka saa mitä?

ORDERING INFORMATION:

PROJECTED SHELF PRICE: € 59 per hard copy

Orders received and paid for before Publication: € 49 ONLY (including postage)

Payment to: Jacob Matthan's Nordea Bank Account Nro.: 249818-69968

Write in Message Box: International Nightmare

INTERNATIONAL ORDERS
SWIFT CODE: NDEAFIHHX
Account No: FI91 2498 1800 069968
Account Holder: Jacob Matthan

Artist creation detail

If you now go around the Vesaisentie garden, which last year was one long green lawn, one seems a transformation with the hand of a creator.

Annikki is meticulous in whatever she does. She works till two or three in the morning to get things exactly right.

When I walk around the garden I notice nothing initially. Then, as I take out my camera, I start to notice the incredible amount of detailed thought she has put into every nook and corner of the garden

I am no professional photographer. If one were to go around the garden, what I have depicted below ametueurishly, would been given a new meaning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thank you for giving me such a beautiful garden to get rid of my tensions! And thanks to Christian for so many lovely additions into the garden.

What do you do?

Have you ever received a post like this:

Hello,

My name is XXXXXX XXXXXX. I am 23 years old (Vig), Single, Native of American, Caucasian, Heterosexual, Female, 5\'11\" (149cm), 105lbs (47kg), located in XXXXXX, XXXXXX, United States. Christian by religion.

I'm a full time Student and I'm majoring in marketing and getting a minor in International financing.

My body style is average weight I am physically active, I never smoke and drink.

I am the only girl in the family of three children, am the second child. My father and mother are still alive. My father is 55 years old, why my mother is 48 My elder brother is 26 and younger brother is 20. Get in touch at
xxxxxxx.xxxxx@yahoo.com
With Love,
XXXXXX XXXXXX

When we were children we used to write to pen pals around the world, using the traditional pen and paper. I used to wait for the replies. 2 in 3 would reply. My parents used to encourage writing to penpals as it kept us busy on a Saturday morning.

Growing up in that era, what does one do now when one receives what seems to be a genuine email-pal request?

Being 66, with many hundreds of email friends on the internet, such requests will find their way into the trash can. Unless there is a personal introduction, a common interest as a hobby, this would be a waste of time.

But yet it could be a desperate cry for help from across the Atlantic.

Sadly, I am having to take a pass on this person.

What is your opinion on such emails?

Being missed by some

(Posted on all my major blogs.)

Approaching sunset in Oulu, Finland at 10 pm on a lovely summer's day.




After I crushed my knuckle and went through the trauma of an operation, Finnish style, which I will blog after I get out of the hands of the doctors, I have tried to keep up with my schedules, but not with much success. Typing, driving and doing just simple tasks as taking of my jacket or putting on my shirt, with one hand is painfully slow.

The travel schedule has not reduced. My daily routines have increased substantially since Nisha, Sunil and Hannah are holidaying in India and also Ganesh has taken his annual holiday. Number of group arrivals in Helsinki has mounted substantially and juggling the apartments to keep everyone happy has been a Herculean task. But Sunil has been a great help, even though he is working through a dial-up internet connection from a Kerala village!

Last week I drove up to Rovaniemi, on the Arctic Circle, and back twice. Each a 450 km round trip. Then on Friday I did a round trip to Tampere, about 900 km. Levi, our Zambian friend from Helsinki, was there and, with my one hand, I helped him empty one flat, load and unload the trailer and finally dropped him at the station.

(Just as I reached the office at 21:30, I had a call from Levi that he had got back to Helsinki and he was driving to deliver a lecture when he smashed his car into another, fractured his shoulder and ruined his car!)

I must say I am living a charmed existence and walking a tight rope trying to keep all my schedules in order.

The next week will be equally hectic, but with Sunil and Nisha back, maybe I can ease up a bit. (One can always hope, but knowing my intent to work myself to the bone, it is just idle mental chatter.)

When people remind me my last blog update was so many weeks ago, I feel a terrible moral guilt as I love all my readers more than they love my ramblings.

The gentle reminders a tremendous boost for the ego.

I have been going through a nightmare trying to get a suitable location for the Mumbai Findians Evening on Friday 13th November 2009. Now I understand why they say that Friday the 13th is unlucky. Help me prove that is wrong!

Annikki and my 59ers Directory Project of 2009 is progressing nicely. Just arrived is a video from our 1999 40th Year Reunion. I am waiting to get my hand on that and extract some good stills for inclusion into the Directory.

The registrations for our 50th Year Reunion are coming along nicely. If you are a 59er and have not yet registered, please do it as soon as possible.

Many of you are not being careful. I have sent several of you information that your Facebook, email address, etc. have been hijacked and your address books are public property. These guys add your name to CDs that they sell and then you are receiving thousands of spam mail while thousands are being spammed in your name! Please be careful where you sign up.

I am busy planning our Indian trip for October through to December, 2009. If any of you want Finnish know how or want to start a business or exports to / from India, please let me know and I will try to fit you into our schedule - Kottayam, Cochin, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad (possibly), Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Delhi!

One interesting news item from India - some of the better known colleges, like our alma mater, St. Stephen's College, may soon be giving their own degrees! Wonder how that will work out as I am already sceptical of people get 90+ average in school leaving to get into the college of their choice!

I have also been helping to organise our Indian Independence Day celebrations. About 70 people will attend and it is going to be a blast.

"Findians" gets hijacked

Findians was a word I coined 42 years ago when I, an Indian, married Annikki, a Finn.

My first novel, yet unpublished, was written in 1975 and was entitled "The Adventures of the Findians".
I started a company in Finland in 1992 and called it Findians Ltd.
Findians Briefings was first an in-house monthly newsletter which started with a circulation of 110 readers and soared to 6000 in the matter of a half a dozen issues.
This was converted into a fortnightly webletter in 1994 with a worldwide readership of around 80000 by the end of 1999.
The domain name findians.com was registered in India in 1999 and had its server in Canada when I was threatened to have my internet access in Finland cut for writing the truth about the levels of corruption in Finland.

Finally in the middle of 2003, when spammers overran that domain name, I was forced to close it but never the "findians" concept which has been active right through till today. I stopped several who tried to usurp that name over the years.

Imagine my surprise when I found that someone had hijacked the "findians" name in their URL http://www.findians.co.uk/



Interesting development!

A number of questions arise.

As Findians, Annikki and I (who have been described as "anarchist hippies" by the usurper) stood for justice, freedom of speech, fighting for the rights of minorities, good schooling, promotion of the alma maters of school and college, spreading of information of all facets of life, religious tolerance, secularism, nationalism, etc., etc.

Will the new "findians" continue to promote these time-honoured family values or superimpose their own values under this banner.

A "findians" named or linked site usually goes the top of the search engines in a matter of hours simply because the enormity of links to that word and the previous 5000+ sites.

We hope the person who has taken this name is not just to jump on to the band wagon but intends to promote the values of "THE FINDIANS". For the persons information:

The Findians Google Group is still in existence.



The Findians current phone number is still being used by me: +358 8 531 5335.

And many of the articles and web pages that started under the Findians domain name have beem moved our personal webs servers of "jmatthan", "amatthan" as well as "findians" on netplaza.fi!

So, I do say that someone using our trade-marked name without as so much as a "by your leave" is a most most interesting development!

Indian Twins to the North Pole

Recently, I read a request for the loan of an Indian Flag as someone wanted to take it to the North Pole.

As Atul had brought 2 Indian Flags during his last visit to India, I asked him to loan it to this guy.

Venkat is part of a pair of identical twins from Hyderabad. His twin (Lakshman) is a cosmetic skin care scientist working in Denmark since 2001. Venkat came to Finland in 2003.

The only difference is that they have chosen different fields in their career paths. Venkat is into engineering and Lakshman is into microbiology.

They both talk, look, walk, eat, travel..the same.

Their main hobbies are travelling....around the globe in their free time.

These three photos taken when they took the flag from Oulu at the northernmost land point in Norway (Svalbard) prove that these two boys are identical.







[Photos courtesy Venkat (copyright).]

Thank you boys for carrying the flag from Oulu to the North Pole. And a special thanks to Atul for his generosity!

Who is reading this blog?

Recently, I wrote about a dear couple who were my dearest friends when I lived in Madras. Suddenly, today, I saw a comment by their daughter, whom I have not seen or heard of or from for the last 10 or more years.

It is important that when writing a blog that one understands that Google Search has become so invasive, that if you mention someone, it is more than likely that your views will be read by that person.

Sadly, I am a person who writes from the heart. If I dislike someone or their ways, I write my piece as truthfully as I can see the situation. If I like someone, I say it out loud.

If anyone who does not like what I write contradicts me, I give that person the fullest ability to publicly air their views.

In my 15 years on the web, there have not been more than 2 occasions where someone has objected to what I have written. I have always been able to justify my views.

It was so lovely to get a comment posted on my blog from Bobos, the daughter of Titi and Prem. It raised a lump in my throat and tears welled in my eyes to think that "little girl" still remembered me!

A Wasps' Nest

Have you ever wondered how a wasps' nest is built.

If you have seen one which has been vacated, you will be amazed to feel the quality of the fibre created by the wasps, and also see the honeycomb structure where the wasps must be laying their eggs.

The other day, Annikki had a narrow escape when she went to throw two bags of materials for recycling in the trailer. She carefully put the two bags at the bottom of the garden.

When she came back to the spot, there was nothing except a couple of wasps wondering where their houses had vanished.

However, they did not waste much time.

Soon there were dozens of wasps hard at work. We could only see what was happening above the shelf, but it appeared that many tens of wasps were working under the shelf.

Slowly the number of wasps above the shelf diminished as the structure took shape.

The series of pictures below show the progress of the nest above the wooden shelf.

We will get a picture of the intricate construction below when the wasps leave us in late autumn.

 

 

 

 

It was an eye-opening experience which also demonstrated the intelligence of this species!