It is snowing, AGAIN. I want spring. I need spring and I need it now. I need to get out on my Spirit. Zooming about town and high pace. Have I said that I need it? Well I do.
The snow is just pouring down…..
We just got back from some snow riding and now I am going to make Sunday dinner, sushi. A real Swedish dish that is just perfect as a Sunday dinner, every Sunday.

Well, where am I? I have been rather invisible here and I haven’t been able to find the time to write anything here. I know it is just a question of prioritizing but my evening just seem to vanish these days (movies, reading, surfing, working).
February has been a rather eventful month… We went on a very spontaneous vacation where Tovah broke her arm the first night there and we had to spend two days at the local hospital. We were at the hospital yesterday removing the plaster and pulling out the pins in her arm! That was actually quite scary. She had to 10cm long pins inside her arm sticking out from her elbow and the doctor pulled them out using pliers!! Scary!!! Tovah is doing very well but is not allowed to go to daycare this week as there is still a small small fracture so she is spending time at home with Johanna. We will get money back via the insurance company but I don’t know how much yet. The total cost excluding food was about 19500:-
Work wise my application for associate professor is now being reviewed by the “sakkunniga” and I have applied for the professor in Media Technology. Otherwise it has been rather uneventful now when I no longer is division head.
I became with an iPod as well!! Cool little device but I must admit that they could have done the user interface much much better. I am a bit disappointed in Apple. They are supposed to be the best on UI, right?
Yesterday, I updated the flash on my Tungsten C with the update 2 which was release March 1 in the US. Unfortunately it didn’t work on the international version of the device and I got sync problems and totally lost wavelan functionality. Called support and they told my I am a stupid user and I have to pay 140€ to get it fixed 🙁 Well, I found a solution after a nights bad sleep. I copied the flash from Johnny’s Palm using the JackSprat application. Beta 3.0b3 supports Tungsten C. WOOHOO!!
Last week I started reading a new book on how to loose weight without training and I actually lost 4 KG in 5 days!!! It is all about eating right. This morning I was actually up 1 KG (i.e. 3 KG loss total since I started). Not bad at all and I feel much better. Less fat, more fibers and more vegetables.
I have also been trying to live more in the present and that has allowed me to attend a few parties during the last month. The D-sektion 20 year dinner where we were 4 oldies (hey I was on the 10-year dinner as well 🙂 and here I am on the scene making a fool out of myself. I was actually supposed to go out and party the day after the dinner as well but I didn’t succeed with that. I guess I am getting to old 🙂 The weekend after that it was Ludd Taco-party and to that party this old man brought his daughter and wife 🙂 Two very good parties indeed! I had very much fun and just by being myself in the present I guess I can have very much fun even though I don’t know to many people there.
I have watched a few good movies such as the Calendar Girls, Lost in Translation, Stolen Summer and Love Actually just to mention a few.
I think that is all that has happened during February! 🙂
At 19.45 I have a date with my wife and we are going to watch Tears of the Sun with Bruce Willis. Perhaps not the most romantic movie but it seems good.

We are now back from Tenerifa. We actually got back yesterday around lunch. The version is that the place and the weather was wonderful, BUT unfortunately we had to spend two and half days at the hospital as Tovah fell and cracked her elbow the first evening we got there. Below is some random notes I wrote on my palm when I was down there. Have fun!
By the way, today we went to the local hospital, took another x-ray and everything looked fine. They will remove the cast in two weeks and then one week later remove the pins in her arm.
Friday February 6, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8.
We are now sitting on the plane to saturate. Tovah is watching Barbapappa, Johanna is studying and I am reading a book (The Generals daughter).
Yesterday we spent in Stockholm together with Jennifer. We got into town at 0730, had breakfast at McDonalds. Actually we only spent 15:- SEK on pancakes for Tovah and ate our leftovers and food that we had brought with us from Luleå, pizza, yoghurt and hard bread with boiled eggs.
Around 0900 Jennifer joined us and we headed out on town. It was rather cold and after hitting some shops we headed out to the Technical Museum where they had a new exhibition on robots. We were rather disappointed though as many of the robots were broken or you couldn’t interact with them. They e.g. had the famous baby seal (health care usage) but it was locked inside a plastic bubble.
The rest of the museum did not have much new things since the last time we were there 3 years earlier. It was a pleasant time anyhow.
At around 1400 we headed into town and had a large family pizza at Pizza Hut. Tovah ate nicely and after one large slice she puked up everything. She filled two plates. Now that is a refund.
After the pizza we were so tired so we just did some food shopping, took the train out to Arlanda. Once there I bought two hamburgers for Tovah and we had to wait for 45 minutes for the transportation to the hotel, the SAS Park Inn. Well there we found out that they had sent the transport to the wrong terminal the first time. We also found out that the breakfast did not open until 0600 and we had to leave at 0525. BUT after giving us a scare she told us that there was some sandwiches served before 6.
We went to bed at 1900 and all three of us well asleep immediately. I woke up at 4 and took a shower.
The transportation out to Arlanda took about 30 minutes including changing busses at Arlanda Hotelby. Sigh. But we should not get excited, should we now. We are on vacation 🙂
Somewhere we read that flight food was not included so I had taken a few extra sandwiches at the hotel but on the plane we found out that it indeed was included. Tovah got a bunch of small pancakes which she devoured and the rest of us got omelette with small sausages. Quite ok for airplane food. All drinks were extra and expensive of course.
During the week we at the division decided where we are going to have our summer retreat, Madeira. We are going the whole division for a one week trip to Ocean Park hotel. The same hotel I stayed at a couple of years ago. We are going to have halfboard and I have booked one two room apartment with a real kitchen where we will be having lunch (I am food meister) and which we will use as a conference room. We will do some levada hiking and really try to get the group together. 13 persons are going! I must admit that it felt a bit strange to book a 13 person trip the same day I was leaving on vacation. I think Madeira will be a wonderful place for the summer retreat though. I just hope I can get all the logistics settled for food etc. and that everybody will be satisfied with the trip.
We have had colds all week but today I think all are ok again. Tovah still has a bit of a cough but not too bad.
Monday Feb 9
Sunday evening when shopping food Tovah fell down and hurt her arm. She cried all the way home and fell asleep in mommy’s arms. She woke up around 5 and around 7 we decided we had to go and see a doctor. She cannot bend her right elbow. Right now we are waiting for the x-ray to come back and to see her doctor again. It is fun being moved around the hospital not being able to understand what they are saying. We did get a translator when registering and seeing the doctor though.
Tuesday February 10
We are now back at the hotel again and are having a siesta.
Tovah had a crack in her elbow and they performed surgery yesterday around 17 and she woke up 1 hour later. She is doing very well but now we cannot go bathing anymore as her arm is in a cast.
She was very scared yesterday and in the evening when the doctor just wanted to check she started crying just by seeing him.
It is amazing how children adapt when they are broken. She only has one arm now but does everything anyhow. She would do well from sleeping a bit but she is too tired.
It is very frightening having ones child rolled off into surgery and you cannot watch what they are doing.
In general the service a the hospital was very good. It is a private hospital with a large staff of translator working as administrators and there seems to be a never ending stream of work pouring in.
I cooked a meat stew for dinner today and the meat here is much better than in Sweden. Soft and tasty.

I will be gone on vacation between today afternoon and February 16 (afternoon). I won’t be reading email!!
My phone is 070-6614567 if anybody needs to reach me.