Camping at Kobberhaughytta

At Kobberhaughytta in the forrests surrounding Oslo there are two Leantos that can be rented. This place is part of the Norwegian Trekking Association's chain of cabins that allow people to enjoy the great out-doors.

During Pentecost we were four dads and 5 boys renting the leantos for two nights. The weather was warm and the water temperature was so high that even adults enjoyed swimming.

At the same time we were there so early in the spring that the mosquitos were not active. Combined with the bog volleyball field, the superb dinner served by the cabin's personel on Sunday, and the wonderful view from the nearby Kobberhaugen the trip was almost perfect. Something to make the plank floors in the leantos softer to sleep on would have been nice, though!

GoOpen 2012 in Oslo

The market for free and open source software in Norway is being assisted by the government via the Friprogsenteret. As part of its outreach they arrange the annual Go Open conference. This year's iteration was held in downtown Oslo 23. April 2012.

My association with FAIR allowed me to staff a stand where conference participants could be informed about our projects to bring computer technology to schools in developing countries. This effort is important to let those populations take part in the fast development of ICT technology. But cost is a critical issue, and FAIR keeps cost down by refurbishing equipment that otherwise would be recycled destructively into school sets. This way selected schools can take work to close the gap between rich and poor countries, building a better future. In addition, FAIR has a take-back scheme whereby used electronics is taken back to Norway for recycling. This way neither FAIR or its partners can be accused of dumping electronic waste.

Spring before schedule

This year's month of March was particularly warm. As a consequence the snow melted too early, in the eyes of anybody eager to go sking. Yesterday we took a trip to the cabin, and here is what we found.

This picture shows the stump of a birch tree that I felled in the beginning of March. That was probably before the sap started to rise but the temperature was already higher than normal. Later, as the temperature increased the root system started to prepare for a new season by pumping sap into the trunk - but the trunk wasn't there any more. So the sap drained to the ground. However, then the temperature fell again, the sap froze, and the picture shows the resulting frozen sap. I can't remember seeing this before, but I take it as an indication that the tree that I felled was relative dry and probably will be usable as firewood the coming season.

This next picute shows the flower blåveis as it is called in Norwegian. There is even a leaf of wild strawberries there. The "blåveis" and its sister the "hvitveis" normally appear in early May. But with the warm March they have been tricked to appear much earlier, maybe so early that the ants and other insects needed for pollination and distribution of seeds have not appeared yet. The "blåveis" is actually rare in Norway, and having it in large numbers on our property is very nice.

An unwelcome excursion

Late last year I bought the book Global Health where Hans Rosling is one of the contributors. Never did I know then that I would be taken on an excursion into the Norwegian health sector while reading it.
While my hospitalization was most unwelcome and urgent, it showed me the benefits of living in what the book refers to as a high income country. I was taken care of and diagnosed quickly, all the way meeting people I could have absolute confidence in. Acute infection from diverticulitis turned out to be the direct cause, but it all started with diarrhea some days before.
The book made me think about the challenges people in different parts of the world face in terms of health services, and the benefits of the single-payer, universal health care system in Norway. We are fortunate enough to have a will to finance this over the tax bill, and the capability of the health sector to organize itself in a good way. There are of course challenges, both in terms of costs and availability of services. Living close to the Akershus Universitetssykehus was a bonus for me, but is also made me sympathise with people living in rural parts where the services may be remote.
So I look forward to getting back to work to contribute my taxes towards the common interests of society. The Global Health book ends with saying that "It is partly up to the readers of this book to make sure that collaboration for better global health goes the right way."
It is not clear to me how I can contribute here, but I will be on the lookout.

Pigs in space ... no they're Nazis

Last night the Filmfest Oslo showed the Iron Sky movie, supposedly a Scandinavian premiere and the first showing after the premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival.

So what should one expect? Well, sometimes when I go to the movies to see a Hollywood film that cost a fortune to make I am disappointed. This film, however, was funded in a completely different way, and the budget was comparatively small. But the film was no disappontment. It had a plot, action and humor, put together in a convincing way. I was simply impressed.
I hope the creators continue to use saunas to generate ideas, and that "we, the people" entrust them with small funds to make it come true.

Clockwork knowledge

Have you ever seen such a cool wall clock. My 14 year old got it as a birthday present from one of his aunts. The clock has been produced by Tekna and uses elementary(?) mathematics to represent the hours. My kids do not understand it all yet, but they were amused by my enthusiasm.

The clock has now replaced the old kitchen wall clock, so that we get more exposure to mathematics every day.

The values in green are linked with Tekna's history. You can read about it in the Wikipedia page. Or you can visit their web site at http://www.tekna.no.

Autodestruct in progress

In Norway kids learn about word processing, spreadsheets and so on in school. When I asked my own kids about what they think about this topic, their enthusiasm was limited.They knew the stuff from before, and the teacher is not always up to date.

But it appears that this may not be a problem only in Norway. During the weekend I read the report "Shut down or restart?" from the Royal Society. This report is about how ICT-training in British schools has become a threat agains Britain's future as a technology leader. It also suggests that the topic should be replaced by

• digital literacy
• Computer Science
• Information Technology.

This may sound wild! What kind of school can expect to give pupils insight into programming, data structures, building software solutions etc, in addition to learning them how to edit in a word processor?

Well, here comes the exiting news - the UK department of Education has decided that ‘Harmful’ ICT curriculum set to be dropped this September to make way for rigorous Computer Science.

What will a country like Norway do to keep up with the advantage the UK will get in technology, innovation and business? Nothing, I fear!