Raible Designs

From Helsinki to Oslo

Today was another day of great weather in Helsinki. Around noon, we took a boat out to see Suomenlinna.

Suomenlinna is a major monument of military architecture. The construction of the sea fortress on the islands just off Helsinki in the middle of the 18th century was the most extensive building project during Swedish rule. When it was complete, its military shipyard was one of the biggest dry docks in the world and centres of know-how at that time. At the end of Swedish rule the fortress was being compared with the maritime fortifications at Gibraltar.

From there, we enjoyed some margaritas in the sunshine and then hopped on the Finnair bus for the airport. An hour later, we were on the plane and headed for Norway.

For some reason, our luck changed when we got to Oslo. Seems I always have bad luck in this town. This time, it wasn't as bad as my laptop dying, it was just inconvenient. We rode the bullet train from the airport to Oslo's Central Station, which happens to be right next door to our hotel. Once we got there to check in, we found out it wasn't "our hotel" until tomorrow night. Doh! Looking at e-mails I exchanged with the JavaZone guys, it's entirely my fault. We stumbled around to few different hotels and ended up finding a room at the Clarion near Central Station.

When folks say Oslo is expensive, they aren't kidding. Our room was available online for $745 US a night, but we somehow managed to get it for around $500/night. Oh well, at least we're not sleeping on the streets of Oslo tonight.

Tomorrow the JavaZone conference begins. I might go to a few sessions, but it's more likely I'll go exploring Oslo with my parents. The last time I was here, I didn't get to see any sights, and I don't want to let that happen again.

Walkabout in Helsinki

Yesterday, we spent a good portion of the day walking around Helsinki. My mom had a "walking tour" guide that we followed past the Embassies, along the water and through some city streets. After walking for 4 hours, we came back to the hotel, took some naps and then headed out to meet some locals for drinks (Hi Jussi and James!).

We got some great advice from Jussi and James and headed to the "Allied Forces HQ" building (Sokos hotel). At the top of the hotel is a bar that has great views of Helsinki. After a couple cocktails, we headed to Zetor for dinner. The Reindeer was excellent, as was the wine. We made it back to the hotel just in time to get a sauna in and collapsed into bed around 11.

Today we're heading to Suomenlinna for a couple hours and then off to the airport to catch a flight to Oslo. The weather is perfect here - not too hot and not too cold. I love it.

Made it to Helsinki!

After a long couple days of flying, we finally arrived at our hotel in Helsinki this evening. It was a pretty tiring experience getting over here, but that's my own fault since I pulled an all-nighter on Friday night (trying to finish up a training course and slides for CSS). I rewarded myself with a little first-class action from Denver to Newark, but then was in the "back of the bus" from Newark to Oslo. We had a 4-hour layover in Oslo before hopping on a 2-hour flight to Helsinki. A 45-minute cab ride, a stop at the wrong hotel, a 5 minute cab ride and we arrived at the right location. I should sleep pretty good tonight after 48 hours of little to no sleep.

We haven't seen much of the city yet, but hope to tomorrow. The hotel we're staying at is pretty nice. I especially like the fact they have very nice saunas and we're staying only a few doors down from them. Our room is incredibly large and has 3 beds in it. The bathroom even has heated floors. Good thing my mom picked up the tab for this one.

Tomorrow looks like a high of 55°F, which sounds about perfect. I brought a coat and would hate to pack it around for nothing.

On the road again

I'll be in Mountain View again this week. Instead of trying to organize another tech meetup, I'm going to be attending Redmonk Evening Services on Thursday. If you're nearby, you should definitely join us - I'm sure the conversations won't disappoint.

After California, I'll be arriving back in Denver around 7 on Friday night. One night at home and then I'm off to Oslo for JavaZone at 10 a.m. on Saturday. I'm pretty pumped for the trip because 1) I really enjoyed Norway on my last trip (May 2005) and 2) my parents are traveling with me.

Hope to see you on the road!

Sidenote: It's ironic that my first "On the road again" post was written last year in September.

LinkedIn's Office Space

It should be interesting going into LinkedIn HQ next week. Personally, I like the Web Developer's Diner. If you had $50 to decorate your cube, what would you do? I'd buy a few cases and host a BOF (after hours of course).

One deadline down, 4 to go!

This past weekend marked a big accomplishment for me. I moved into my new place in early August and I've scrambling ever since to make it a home. The biggest thing I've been doing is painting. When I originally decided I wanted to buy the place, it looked really clean inside. However, after the previous owners moved out and took all their pictures down, the walls were pretty nasty looking. I was hoping to do a bit of touch up, but ended up doing a helluva lot more. The first week, I painted the living room and Abbie's room (pink) with the help of many friends. Julie's an expert painter and was able to knock out Abbie's room in only a few hours. The living room (with vaulted ceilings) took severals friends and I quite a few nights. Sure there was a lot of beer involved, but we were still painting the whole time.

The next couple weeks, I spent painting my office and its adjoining bathroom. What a pain in the ass. The office was bright yellow and the bathroom was dark green. Since both have high ceilings, I had to paint those too. For some reason, I chose a mostly white color and went to town. It felt like it took forever, but I finished last Tuesday. It took 4 coats to cover up the yellow and 5 to cover up the green - but it looks sooo much better.

Last weekend was a major deadline for me. I've been working almost every night to get my new place in a condition where I don't feel like I have to work on it - where I'm totally moved in. Sure I still have a lot to do in the garage (and I still need to move my tools to work on the bus), but it finally feels like a home. My deadline was largely motivated by Jack's birthday party here last weekend. I was literally working up until the minute the party started. The worst part was shoveling and hauling 20 tubs of rotten apples out of my backyard.

I have the biggest apple tree I've ever seen and it drops apples like they're going out of style. I counted them in a 24-hour period last weekend and there was 100 new apples! I thought it was cool when I first moved in, but now it seems like a lot of work. However, it's such a good shade tree, it'd be a shame to do anything to it. Below are some pics of the new place.

So what are my 4 other deadlines? I have a project due for my client, AppFuse 2 needs to be released, I need to deliver training materials for a class in October and I have to turn in my Software Summit Presentations. All are due on September 1st (this weekend). Yikes - I'd better get to work!

The First Day of School

Today was Abbie and Jack's first day at their new school and boy were they excited. With new lunchboxes and backpacks, what's their not to be excited about? They're both in preschool as Abbie is a bit young for kindergarten (she turns 5 in November). She did take a test for kindergarten and got in, but Julie decided it'd be best to try her in preschool first since her spot disappears as soon as she turns it down. I had a great morning today driving them there (it's about a mile away) and hung out for a while afterwards. Seems like a fun school - made me miss the old days of being a kid.

I went to a K-8 that only had 60 students. You think that's bad - a good friend of mine spent his entire elementary years in a 1-room schoolhouse! There were only 8 kids in his school. The Local School Directory lists that school at 6 students this year. Mine looks quite a bit smaller than 25 years ago - now sitting at 33.

They sure do grow up fast.

Happy Birthday Jack!

Today marks 3 years since Jack was born. He's grown up quite a bit in that time and seems destined to be a train conductor or a hockey player. Too bad he broke his foot a couple weeks ago - he was signed up to start skating lessons next week. Happy Birthday little buddy!

Jack's New Cast

On Monday, I took Jack to the doctor to see about getting a cast on his broke foot. We thought he might have to have surgery because the fracture is on a "growth bone", but they never mentioned it while we were there. He picked out his favorite color (red) and they wrapped his ankle up in a nice little cast. He liked it so much he was able to walk out of the doctors office.

On Tuesday, I took Abbie and Jack to the Zoo and again he did great. It's like he doesn't even know it's there. Yesterday he was running around like a madman. No, the new cast isn't slowing him down at all. The doctor said it'll be off in a month.

I'm hosting Jack's 3-year birthday party this weekend - I'd better find some markers so people can sign it.

Jack broke his foot

The scene looks innocent enough - a 2-year old boy and his 4-year old big sister having some fun playing together. They're in the 4-year old's room, being awfully quiet. The sister comes up with a great idea - they clear some toys off the book/toy shelf (which is built into the wall) and use it as a launch pad to get to the bed. A blood-curdling scream shakes the foundation of the house 3 minutes later.

I don't know how many successful jumps they made, but Jack didn't quite make the bed on one of his jumps. Julie called me yesterday to tell me he'd gotten hurt and couldn't walk. Neither Abbie or he could recall how he'd gotten hurt. He laid on the couch for a few hours before Julie decided to take him to the emergency room. It was a good thing she did - x-rays verified he'd broken his foot.

It's not a bad break, but it's a small fracture on a growth bone, so he's going to have to have surgery on it. I've been out of town this week, so I didn't get a chance to witness all the fun. After the x-rays, apparently Julie was able to pry the story out of both kids.

I'm pretty impressed that my little boy broke his first bone before he was 3. He must be a Raible.