fantastic4edinburgh

Signing off

2005-11-19T19:21:00.000Z

Apologies for any inconvenience.

An offer we cannot refuse

2005-11-16T17:12:00.000Z

We have been offered a mortgage loan - we will sign as fast as possible and then hopefully move soon, soon, SOON!
Mental note: need to buy one more car.

Frost

2005-11-13T11:08:00.000Z

Quick update after a busy week. Firstly it seems that another mortgage lender has accepted our application. So, now we are moving after all, but nothing is sure until the papers are signed.
Frost this morning, for the first time. The week has been cold and blustery, with lots of rain, and now winter is knocking on our door.
Thursday: Paul Weller concert in Usher Hall. Very good except for things like the crappy seats we had, and that the sound was excruciatingly awful. The support band was very poor as well. But the Paul Weller songs, wow.
Yesterday evening we went to see Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, which was a great and memorable experience. Fabulous entertainment.

Write now

2005-11-10T00:02:00.000Z

Quick update.
Writing 'till my fingers bleed. Trying to keep up. Reached 13,000 words 2 minutes before midnight. That's still 2,000 short of the target. Man.
And everything was down at work today, no server, no network, no internet connection, no way of checking anything, even the phone lines were at times not working or sending German Kodak calls to Greek Motorola agents and so on. Very strange. Why didn't I write like a mad? Because everybody had nothing to do, and they were all staring at my monitor where I had written "breast". That's why.
The word thermometer on the right has been taken down due to too heavy web traffic. Do not adjust your sets.
Must...sleep.

Write on

2005-11-08T17:00:00.000Z

Second week of NaNoWriMo starts today. I am behind. I should have been close to 12000 words yesterday, but work and a roleplaying appointment made me reach less than 10000 within the first week. I have some serious catching up to do. Today I didn't have time to write a single word during work, not even in my breaks.
I managed to write 300 words last night after midnight, when I returned from my roleplaying session, and then another 700 right after I returned to work.
This is the week that will break me or make me stronger. Possibly both.

Happy birthday Susanne

2005-11-06T10:56:00.000Z

Susanne, aka Mrs Rasmussen, is 42 years old today. Happy birthday!

The night before

2005-10-31T14:24:00.000Z

Tomorrow, or rather tonight at midnight, is the kick-off for NaNoWriMo, the mad writing marathon for word masochists. I am ready.
To cleanse my brain and generally have a good time before 30 days of HELL, Mrs Rasmussen and I are going to a concert tonight with the American jazz guitar genius Bill Frisell, at Edinburgh's Usher Hall.

Dudes and Kaukasians

2005-10-30T12:35:00.000Z

Mrs Rasmussen and I went into town yesterday, when the weather was nice and warm and not rainy at all. We have been told that we can borrow money to buy a house, but not this particular house because of its location. The area is close to some of the more rough areas in Edinburgh, and the money lenders seem to have changed their minds. In this we can learn that it takes approximately 2 months for money lenders to change their minds.
Anyway, we bought Wonder Boys and The Big Lebowski on DVD and saw both films when we got home. We had invited S and R, one American and one Canadian, to watch Lebowski with us, while slurping away White Russians. There is no doubt. This is the funniest film ever. Not even the Life Aquatic comes close.
Oh, we also bought the paperback version of Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, a 1000-page monster about 19th century British magicians.

Writing marathon

2005-10-26T11:20:00.000+01:00

November is the month for NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, which is kind of a marathon race for writers. If you volunteer to participate, you will have to write 50,000 words in 30 days.
The idea comes from the mind of an American - what else - writer, who started the craze in 1999 with 21 participants. Last year the event had exploded to 42,000, and let me just predict wildly here that this year it is going to be even bigger.
I am going to be a part of it in 2005, and I will attempt to write a pulp fantasy novel before 30 November. If I don't make it, call me a loser. A wimp. If it is not totally crap, I might even let you read it.
NaNoWriMo also collects money to build libraries in development countries, and this year the funds go to children's libraries in Laos. So, if you are not writing, you can donate instead. Click on the NaNoWriMo picture and do it. NOW!

A few days of rain

2005-10-25T08:08:00.000+01:00

People sometimes think it rains all the time in Edinburgh. It does not, really, and when it rains it usually lasts only a short time. Well, the last days have been an exception to that, because it rained pretty much all day yesterday, and all in all it has been a very wet week. I have been wearing my full-body anti-rain gear cycling to work most of the last seven mornings.
The kids start school today after their half-term break, and Mrs Rasmussen is off on her break this week. It is all very uncoordinated. I am working, looking forward to my next holiday, which is in February 2006. Weee.
Our house deal still has to come through. Nothing is new here either.

Life of a mind

2005-10-20T20:32:00.000+01:00

Matthias has started another blog, Lifelike. Good stuff if you are heavily into gaming and teenage brains.
Sofie writes her Livejournal on a daily basis. Read it at your own peril.

Planzo planning

2005-10-20T11:56:00.000+01:00

Are you still planning your calendar and ToDo lists in Outlook or other similar software on a PC? Man, that's soooo last century. Now we have the interweb. We can do it online.
Check out the splendid and free calendar site Planzo. My calendar is here, but you will not be able to see much unless you are added to my list of special people.

Me, myself, I

2005-10-18T20:13:00.000+01:00

Ahem...

2005-10-12T13:36:00.000+01:00

Sorry for not having updated the blog for so long. My attention has been on other things.
House update: the people that wanted to buy the house instead of us withdrew their offer, and we were offered the house. Great. Except we are still waiting to get an answer from the mortgage people on whether we can borrow the money or not.
You think it's hard if your name is Turkey and you want to join the EU? Pfff. You think Soviet bureaucracy was bad? HA! I laugh in your direction. Try applying for a mortgage in Scotland if you are a foreigner. Then you will see both bureau and cracy click into action.
Life update: we are still alive.
Weather update: rain.
What tarot card I am update: The Fool.

House update

2005-09-19T11:13:00.000+01:00

Well, we are back to square one. Somebody else bought the house we were bidding at. But we are fine and OK with that. Thing is, we actually love living in Colinton, if only it was closer to St Andrews.
I have been working for Kodak Digital for a couple of weeks now, and it is very nice. Good colleagues and good vibes at the office.

Offer turned down

2005-09-11T19:35:00.000+01:00

It was close. The people selling the house we tried to buy decided to turn down our second, lower, offer. So we are back on the house-hunting market. It's not that bad, really, and there's nothing we can do about it anyway.
Besides that, everyday life has kicked in for real, with Mrs Rasmussen driving to and from St Andrews 4 times a week, and me now working for Kodak Digital Cameras. All is normal.

That feeling, you know...

2005-08-30T16:44:00.000+01:00

When you just applied to borrow £150.000. Anyway, it seems like we are part of a house deal, and it looks like we are going to start living here from the end of September.
We've offered. They've accepted. Now we just have to wait for the fiddly bits, like solicitors and mortgage lenders to do their things.

Pure Serenity

2005-08-26T14:09:00.000+01:00

We somehow managed to get tickets to the last screening of the film Serenity at the Film Festival. If you don't know what Serenity is, then you can stop here.
OK, Joss Whedon and the cast had left Edinburgh - they were here - and we only had the film itself. And 1000 nerds in black queuing in front of us to get the best seats.
It was good, mostly great characters and not even a silly plot could do anything to take away the entertainment value.

House found - money short

2005-08-23T12:40:00.000+01:00

We actually managed to find a house we like. And want. But it's too expensive. Like £9000 too expensive. It may not sound like a lot, but if you don't have it and cannot borrow more, it is. So, so far it's only in our dreams.
(If a rich benefactor reads this, just leave a comment and I will contact you with my bank details ;))

Hey nineteen

2005-08-17T10:23:00.000+01:00

It was nineteen years ago yesterday. Mrs Rasmussen, then miss, and I met on a warm summer's day somewhere in Denmark. We've been together since, and I think we are a good team. Tonight we will celebrate. Go see a film. Have a beer. Kiss.

The hunt goes on

2005-08-07T21:37:00.000+01:00

Went to two job interviews last week. one for a good, well-paid job with lots of responsibilities and one shitty paid, shitty job. Got the last one, which involves supporting a very well known producer's digital cameras. Still searching for jobs, but at least I am employed.
Our house hunting goes on. We are narrowing down on what we can afford, and where, and Thursday we actually saw something, a first-floor flat with a garden the size of a handkerchief, which we actually might consider maybe buying, if something better doesn't pop op while we are considering.
This weekend kicks off the many Edinburgh Festivals, and we are only planning on visiting a couple of events on the Book Festival. S from London is coming to stay for a week while checking out the film festival. Maybe we will pop in on a Brazilian or Chinese film or two, who knows?

Back on track

2005-08-02T13:38:00.000+01:00

Finland was great, absolutely great. We had a great time swimming and fishing in the local lake, reading, hanging out in the sunshine, relaxing in the sauna, shitting in a plastic bucket and eaten by moscitoes and flies. All in all it was a splendid holiday, away from TV (almost), news and internet.
I started back at work yesterday, and step one in finding another job was a job interview I was invited to attend this morning. I have another interview Wednesday. We'll see.
This week Matthias participates in a Philosphy week for "gifted children". Yesterday he came home talking about absolute sceptisism, realism and stuff like that. All very cool. And the he went into his room to shoot stuff up in TimeSplitters. If that's not a broad range of interests, I don't know what is.

See you all in August

2005-07-10T17:14:00.000+01:00

Sorry, I kind of lost that "Yay! It's my holiday tomorrow"-feeling when people where being blown to pieces in London. Maybe it's me getting old and sentimental, but I texted my friend S in London (something I normally NEVER do) to hear if he was all right.
Just thought I would say, killing people just doesn't solve anything. Ask Hitler. Ask Stalin. Ask Franco. Ask Amin. Ask Hussein. It makes living people dead, that's about IT. Don't ask Bush, I am not sure that he actually thinks it such a bad idea after all.
Anyway, it's summer here in Edinburgh, with sunshine galore and temperatures close to 30 degrees. And we are leaving for Finland on Tuesday.

T minus 2

2005-07-06T16:27:00.000+01:00

It's getting better...

Holidays T minus 3 days

2005-07-05T15:47:00.000+01:00

It cannot become Friday quickly enough. Summer holidays. Three weeks off. 2 of which relaxing next to a Finnish lake, with the hardest decisions being what to set the exposure time on my camera to, or if you want another beer.
Mrs Rasmussen is playing paintball with some students from her school today, and the first reports say that she is OK, suffering only minor injuries from a hit to the neck, and paint in her hair. There is no news about how the students are doing.

Job Hunting

2005-06-30T20:38:00.000+01:00

My employer told me today that they are moving the operation which I currently work for to Sweden, and do I want to come along. Hell no. No way. Noooo. Nope.
So, effectively from today I am out of a job from 1 September. Weee. Great.
Shouldn't be too hard to get a new one with my invaluable skills and knowledge, except it seems kind of hard getting (good and well-paid) jobs in Scotland if you are not British. Danish is, after all, a cake you eat with your coffee. And the vikings did, I am afraid, after all invade Britain a long time ago. Britons do not forget those sort of things.

Property hunt

2005-06-27T15:51:00.000+01:00

Mrs Rasmussen and I have been house hunting the last couple of weeks. What's new, you might say. Well, new is that we have put our dream about a sustainable house on hold and are now looking to find a house where we all fit, not too far away from the Forth Road Bridge. We've set our eyes on South Queensferry, village just under the two bridges over the Forth. And a beautiful setting it is.

It's my birthday, I can cry if I want to

2005-06-23T08:32:00.000+01:00

Temperature is rising

2005-06-21T19:26:00.000+01:00

Well, it feels like summer in Edinburgh. It's certainly sunny and almost hot, showing off the city from its most delightful side.
Our summer holidays are only three weeks away, a trip to Finland with two and a half weeks of mocking about, moskitoes and midnight gatherings around a fire. And beer. And fishing. And windsurfing.
Who knows, we might even get so bored / relaxed that we accept to join in a little lighthearted roleplaying game, who knows? Don't tell anyone, but I am bringing a couple of possible games to pull out from the rucksack and say, "Hey, what have we got here?"
Not everyone likes to explore or have fun via a game, or even a roleplaying game, but I am confident that there will be a cure for that in the far future.
Two days to my birthday, and I will be rounding that looming Douglas Adams number. Maybe I suddenly get insight into stuff I wasn't meant to know before? Yay.

Taxing

2005-06-14T17:00:00.000+01:00

I just paid the final and last installment of my tax to the Danish state. The tax is from 2000, I think, and now it has been paid. Feels good.
Speaking of feeling good, Mrs Rasmussen found some old packages of paper in a long forgotten place in a cupboard somewhere. It's called "Stencil Duplicator" paper and is 8" by 10", aka 203x254mm. The dimensions are gorgeous. The A4 paper next to it looks completely ridiculous and bland. This paper has got SOUL. Structure. It even smells. I know A4 is probably more mathematically correct and whatnot, but who cares? Eff metric and hail inches. 8"x10".
Weather: rain.

Heat

2005-06-08T20:14:00.000+01:00

Summer hit Edinburgh yesterday, with 20+ temperatures. Last week frost, today bbq in the garden and cycling home from work without a jacket. Man. My skin smells of burnt pork and my forehead is still warm from the sun. Magnificent.

Rainy Sunday

2005-06-05T17:40:00.000+01:00

We went to see Sin City Friday night, but let's forget about that as quickly as possible. Saturday morning Mrs Rasmussen and me went into the city centre to hang out and look at possible new spectacles for me. It's that time again. I bought my last pair of glasses in 1996, and they have to go. They have to. It was raining most of the time,as it has been raining steadily most of the week, and we ended up in the Black Medicine Cafe in Marchmont.
We bought a couple of sea bass at Eddie's Sea Food Market -wonderful shop, bestest in whole Edinburgh, which where marinated in garlic and balsamico later the same day and roasted in the oven.
The picture is from a Fife coastal town called Pittenweem. Seriously.

As time slows by

2005-06-02T11:24:00.000+01:00

Thursday already. Lunch break. It's been raining for more than 24 hours, but has now stopped. Cold. Smoothjazz in the earphones. Warm. Break's over in two minutes. Is that the Sun somewhere behind the dark rain clouds?

Matthias in focus

2005-05-30T20:03:00.000+01:00

Matthias wanted to show one of his photos. This one has been taken with the old Meopta Flexomat, with a weird filter in front. I think it rocks.
Matthias brought home his first high school report today, and it was pleasant reading. Top marks in Music, German and Art, and overall very good.

Half term

2005-05-28T20:46:00.000+01:00

Mrs Rasmussen managed (don't ask how) to survive the last week of this term. I drove to St Andrews last night to pick her up, as her head of department had decided that the exhibition on the last day should stay open until 8.30 (that's PM). We hung out with a bunch of other people, unfortunately mostly teachers, in the evening, dousing out tiredness in red wine, listening to small talk and trying not to wince when someone said "richard and judy" or "sudoku". Anyway, it was quite nice to switch off your brain for a couple of hours.
Mrs Rasmussen is off on her half term break for the next week. Wee.

6 by 6

2005-05-24T19:25:00.000+01:00

Matthias and I have been shooting 6x6 black and white films. Matthias has been using our ancient Czech camera we bought in Prague 15 years ago - for, what, £10? - and I have been trying out the plastic magic of Holga.
It is good to have the old developing tank out again, rolling films up in closets after dark and developing in the kitchen.

Behold

2005-05-23T16:33:00.000+01:00

Holga arrived

2005-05-16T12:59:00.000+01:00

The modified Holga I ordered from Randy's website arrived safe and sound Saturday morning. It is great.
Currently I have fixed two pieces of sponge to keep a 35 mm film in place, which I am using to test the camera. I have also taped the red window on the back to avoid light leaking in. Anyway, we'll see.
In any case it is very satisfying being back to original low-tech (in this case actually NO tech) photography. Haven't done that since the seventies, where I was taking pictures with my dad's Kodak Retina.

Newspeak

2005-05-12T21:38:00.000+01:00

Dear Mr Fischer,

Thank you for placing your first order with Sainsbury's to You. You can now sit back and relax while your order is carefully selected by our trained shoppers and delivered straight to your door.

This is not a joke. This is real copy copied from a real email from Sainsbury. Somehow I cannot get this unsettling image of "trained shoppers" out of my head. The logo is not real, but my slightly modified version.

The milkman cometh

2005-05-11T21:11:00.000+01:00

Another small step in the direction of not having to shop in supermarkets. We had fresh, organic milk, straight from the thing that makes it - a cow - delivered to our doorstep today. Three pints, of course, in glass bottles, not plastic crap you have to recycle by driving your car to the nearest recycle place. All thanks to Pete from the Doorstep Deli. Friday we are having more milk and fresh organic eggs as well. It's heaven. Why we let supermarkets kill the milkman I have no idea, but my guess is something with money. But milkmen doesn't give in this easily. They are back. With milk. Good for them and good for us.

Plastic fantastic

2005-05-10T09:49:00.000+01:00

Holga is a Chinese plastic camera, originally "built" as a cheap medium-format camera for the masses. And when they say plastic, they mean plastic. Everything is plastic, even the lens. The camera is so poorly manufactured that each individual camera is different. What they all have in common are the light leaks, the two apertures which are the same because of a construction fault, and lots of other quirks and mishaps. The built-in flash version of Holga uses batteries, but has no battery holder so the batteries fly around inside unless you gaffa them to the house.
And speaking of gaffa and glue, people love the Holga. And they modify it beyond belief. They drill it. They colour it. They tape it and cut it. A guy from New York even sells Holgas with the most essential modfications, which he perform in his spare bedroom converted into a Holga workshop.
And best of all, people take photos with the damned thing. And they are gorgeous. Isn't that wild?

Going Lomo

2005-05-09T10:35:00.000+01:00

Our friend R bought a low tech Lomo camera, and I had no clue. Man, was I in for a surprise. I have been an amateur photographer since the late seventies, and always thought that the better quality equipment, the better the pictures. Man, was I wrong. Lomo is a Russian built 35mm camera with next to no features, but it has a devoted audience who upload their Lomo shots 24/7, from all over the world. It is truly amazing.
Wait, there's more. There is also a Chinese plastic camera called the Holga. More on the Holga tomorrow.
Lomographic Society

2005-05-07T16:27:00.000+01:00

I managed to buy this fantastic light meter from eBay this week. It is a Weston Euro-Master, made in Enfield here in the UK between 1970 and 1974, and is a pure delight in engineering and design. Plus it doesn't use batteries, only light energy. Brilliant.

School trip

2005-05-06T08:28:00.000+01:00

Matthias left the house this morning with a giant bag full of clothes, toiletries, towels and stuff. He is going to Pertshire for a four day school trip with all sorts of outdoor activities.
Sofie is continuing her exams, with Maths today after completing Art and English earlier this week.
The parents are both working, working...and working.

Magic

2005-05-02T18:00:00.000+01:00

Look, no gloves

2005-04-29T10:41:00.000+01:00

This morning no rain for the first time this week. Windy, yes, but blue sky and bright sunshine. I cycled to work without gloves for the first time this year, which means that it is officially spring in Edinburgh.

Ubuntu to you, my friend

2005-04-23T10:37:00.000+01:00

I know you want to get rid of Microsoft products. Any sane person would. "But how can I?" I hear you say, "Windows is shitty, breaks down all the time and is infected with viruses and spyware. But it's all I KNOW!"
The expensive option is of course to buy a Mac, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. And some people think you're gay if you have a Mac, and that's not good in some communities (but great in others).
The cheap version is to install Linux. It's actually free. Gratis. Zero clams. Unfortunately you have to be a nerd/computer wiz to even get your damn Linux PC on the Internet. Or it used to be that way.
Ubuntu Linux brings an easy, working Linux installation to your computer. They will even send you a CD with it for free. Hell, they'll send you 10 so you have some to give to your friends. And there's is a working Linux installation on the CD you can boot from to have a look how it works. The thing runs on Intel-compatible PCs and on Apple's PowerPC (G4 and G5) and comes with around 1,000 pieces of software.
If you ARE gay, this guy will even install it for you and teach you how to use it.

A gifted child

2005-04-22T11:46:00.000+01:00

Matthias has been nominated by his teacher for a place in The City of Edinburgh Council's summer programme for gifted/talented pupils. And he has been selected to take part in the programme's philosophy group. This means he will spend a week in August learning and discussing with other pupils from Edinburgh schools. Needless to say, the letter from the council is adressed to his mother only, as if his father, yours truly, didn't exist. Now there's a topic for debate.
We have been trying to explain to Matthias for a while now what philosophy is, and being a regular viewer of The Simpsons he had few problems understanding it, though he is of course not sure what the programme might actually contain. Neither are we, but it sounds interesting.
Sofie joined her school's newly formed debating society yesterday and fell ill yesterday evening. I do not hope there is any connection.

Millie down

2005-04-19T12:17:00.000+01:00

Yesterday afternoon a van hit Millie, who is our friends P&P's small dog. The accident happened at Bridge Road during the rush hour. The dog is in a bad condition at the local vet at the moment, with a broken pelvis and internal bleedings.
P drove past the accident just minutes after it happended and tried to comfort the dog, who instictly bit him and several other helpers, as it was in pain and shock.
I spent the rest of the evening with P at Edinburgh's A&E, where he was dismissed after an x-ray and a tetanus injection, with a bandaged hand and a box of pills.
The van driver drove away after hitting the dog and left others to deal with it.

Earthship Edinburgh?

2005-04-16T20:57:00.000+01:00

Mrs Rasmussen and I have been researching sustainable buildings and such, and for a long time we thought we would like to build a straw-bale house of some sort. Until we discovered the concept of Earthships, as invented by American architect Mike Reynolds some 30 years ago. Today we went to have a look at the first UK Earthship, built next to Kinghorn Loch on Fife, close to Edinburgh.
Things are now clear: we are going to build one ourselves.
An Earthship is a self-sustainable house built from earth and waste materials like tyres and cans and glass. It is completely independent of sewage systems and is not connected to mains electricity. In very short, it is a building of the future.
So, we need volunteers to help building some time in the near future, maybe as soon as summer 2006. We just need to find a plot of land first.
Earthship Fife

Back in force

2005-04-11T21:05:00.000+01:00

Back from Prague, back to work, school and house hunting. Mrs Rasmussen an I are looking for very cheap houses, close to Edinburgh, with a huge garden and no nuclear power stations in the vicinity. That's about as possible as finding true love or eternal happiness, but we won't give up. Nope. Nada. Oh, I forgot, it's got to be in the hills, with no neighbors, but walking distance to public transport and shops. We are looking at places with scary names like Livingston, Bathgate and Fauldhouse.
Before I forget, if you are ever going to Prague and want a nice place to stay, we can wholeheartedly recommend http://apartment.wz.cz/prague/

Happy birthday sweet sixteen

2005-04-03T11:40:00.000+01:00

Sofie is 16 years old today, and we have been celebrating here in Prague. Yesterday we dined at an Italian restaurant, and this morning we gave Miss Fischer-Rasmussen her presents in bed. We're still waiting for the shops to open to get some breakfast, since Prague shops close 12pm on Saturdays and does not open until 14pm Sundays.

Tomorrow, we are heading home to Edinburgh after a great two weeks in Bohemia.

16 years? Wow.

Life Prague-matic

2005-03-24T16:08:00.000Z

We arrived all good and well to the Bohemian capital Prague. The weather was chilly and not very nice. The flat we are renting is excellent, though. We did a bit of city walking in the cold Prague evening, and paid a lot of money for coffee at a cafe in the touristy city centre
Today we all went back, and the weather had changed completely. Warm and sunny and we all had to carry our sweaters and coats all day. We walked from the famous "dancing house" north along the river to the Karl's Bridge (or Charles Bridge).
Everything away from the tourist trails is cheap, though far from as cheap as in 1989 when we were here the last time.
We have a great time, Prague is good, life is good.

The Life Aquatic

2005-03-22T15:16:00.000Z

Wes Anderson's new film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is easily one of the funniest and good looking films of the year. Mrs Rasmussen and I went to see it yesterday, mostly because there was nothing else on. It was a treat. Absolutely fantastic. I guess I had expected the normal "haha-funny" Owen Wilson-type stuff, but nono, noooooo-nono. The Life Aquatic is actually up there with the world's funniest film The Big Lebowski, but on top of that you get Bill Murray, never better, animated sea creatures by Henry Selick himself and possibly the most gorgeous set design since anything by Jeunet/Caro or Terry Gilliam. Oh, I forgot to mention the soundtrack: David Bowie songs in Portuguese. The audience actually stayed in the cinema until the screen went black after the last credits. Amazing.

Prague in waiting

2005-03-21T07:36:00.000Z

The whole family is flying to Prague early Wednesday morning, to spend nearly two weeks in Bohemia. The weather situation is looking good, the latest report tells us that the local snow has melteda and that the Sun has set its face to point directly at the Czech Republic.
There is a good price guide to Prague here.

The Times discovers blogging

2005-03-16T20:45:00.000Z

...only 4 years late, but hey, Times is a steady, slow-moving publication.
Thanks to "Anonymous", whoever it is, for pointing to Times Online's article about blogs. Fantastic4Edinburgh is mentioned on page two (the former version, closed a year or so ago, but hey, Times...) among the variety of Scottish blogs.
Springtime came to Edinburgh today with temperatures above gloves and hat level. Very, very nice.

2005-03-06T15:03:00.000Z

Danish friends gone. Took pictures. Bought mobile phone. Went running. Explored Scotland. Went home to Denmark again.
We bought plane tickets for Finland this summer, where we will all meet again.
M took a snapshot of Mrs Rasmussen at work.

Done that

2005-02-27T11:39:00.000Z

Our Danish friends stayed with us last week, I was off work and there was lots and lots of snow, at least for a couple of days. We all had a great time, I think.
Wednesday morning Edinburgh woke up to snow chaos. I let the kids stay home from school, and Matthias as I ventured up into the Pentland Hills to slide down Blueberry Hill. It was a blast, we had so much fun, and a few bruises here and there.
Things are getting back to normal, even though L is coming over next week as part of her studies. She will be staying a couple of nights, while her fellow students are staying at a B&B.

Hunter S Thompson is dead

2005-02-21T17:07:00.000Z

Hunter S Thompson is no more of this Earth. He showed us that writing can be as powerful as a nuclear blast, invented his own form of journalism and inspired a whole generation of wannabe writers, including me.
If nothing else, read his novel The Rum Diary, written 1959 but not published until almost 30 years later. It's up there with the best.
Hunter was probably also a good indication that too many drugs, mixed and in to large quantities can harm your health.

W...what...when...how...?

2005-02-18T16:31:00.000Z

Midterm holiday for the kids and Mrs Rasmussen this week. They have been sleeping until late and had a good time. I have been doing a 7-3 shift, and actually prefer the early working hours. Your day is not completely gone when you come home from work, which is a definite bonus.
Tomorrow old Danish friends are coming to stay for a week, which we are very much looking forward to, even though one of them miscast his vote at the Danish election a while ago. May be spelling trouble, may be an error of judgement or insanity. We'll know more after next week.

Mrs Rasmussen goes shopping

2005-02-11T10:12:00.000Z

When Mrs Rasmussen goes shopping, she means business. Waiting for her, under her table, when she arrives home today are one PowerBook G4 (the latest model out last week), an iPod, an iSight webcam and a red skin to protect the PowerBook.

Politics. Balls. Footballs.

2005-02-10T20:24:00.000Z

It has been a while. Meanwhile there has been Super Bowl (this year broadcast by ITV, so I could actually watch it, yessss) and the Danish election. I prefer Super Bowl. The sitting Danish government, made up of middle-class, middle-aged, middle-intelligent people who should have kept their day jobs, was sort of re-elected. Thank you for supporting USA invading Iraq. Check. Thank you for accepting that there are Human Rights and "human rights". Check. Thank you for increasing unemployment. Check. Thank you for beginning to destroy public transport. Check. Thank you for working closely together with the middle-aged, middle-class no-brainers from Dansk Folkepari, who keeps "den indre svinehund" (un-translateable, sorry) alive. Check.
You'll have four more years. My condolences.

Glorious

2005-02-01T20:40:00.000Z

Today was glorious. Sunny, warm, beautiful. Too bad I had to sit inside all day and miss it all. At least I am cycling to and from work without lights now (OK, a red rear light in the morning, just in case. Cyclists play a dangerous game in Britain), and this afternoon I was even able to take off my woolen hat.
Sofie is doing her work experience this week, at Colinton's Art Shop. She is working 9.30 to 6.30, so she is sleeping when Matthias and I leave the house at 8am.

Goods, brown and white

2005-01-26T18:19:00.000Z

After my departure from Adobe I kind of landed another job within the same company that had Adobe as a client. They needed a Danish speaking agent for their Samsung support. So, there you go. I am learning everthing there is to learn about Samsung products, which happen to be anything electrical. TVs, monitors, refrigerators, microwaves, mobile phones, harddrives, vacuum cleaners, freezers, washing machines, printers, faxes, dishwashers, cameras and more.
In one of the training videos I heard the expression "interactive control panel" twice. That kept me thinking.

Sometimes it snows in Prague in April

2005-01-24T16:59:00.000Z

Our Easter Holidays have been confirmed. After hours of intense battling with Czech Air's hopeless website, we managed to buy tickets online, and now we also found a place to stay. We chose to rent a private flat, quite centrally, to be able to cook our own food and to get away from that cheap-hotel-room-feeling. The flat can be studied online here, along with convenient information about local pubs and cafes and transport. Very nice. Czech Air could learn a lot just by studying Ms Bohmova's accessible pages.

That's that

2005-01-22T13:43:00.000Z

My life as an Adobe software supporter ended Friday when Adobe closed their Edinburgh operations and moved the whole lot to the Netherlands.
After the phone lines closed for the last time - guess who were the last person to be online with a customer after everbody else had stopped? Yes, me - there was pizza and soft drinks for everyone. And a prize draw of Adobe products and the IBM computers we had be working on. I got lucky. Twice. Not even did I get number 30 out of 1000, which meant I was the third person to draw a prize. I drew a brand new copy of Adobe Creative Suite Premium in English for Macintosh. Couldn't have been better, really.
Now I am in the strange position that we own copies of Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS, Indesign CS, GoLive CS and Acrobat 6 Pro. Hey.

Edinburgh 18 Januar 10:05am

2005-01-18T10:30:00.000Z

Our street again, right from our front door, daytime.

Edinburgh 17 Januar 21:05

2005-01-17T21:15:00.000Z

Sorry for the shaky picture, but I thought flash was a bit out of the question.

Trailer trash

2005-01-16T13:10:00.000Z

I watched the trailer for Kingdom of Heaven, kindly pointed to by Sander, and it struck me that the trailers I have been watching lately bore me. They are so alike, so un-inspiring and all seem to be made by the same team of people. Alexander. Elektra. Boring. And that's a crime in an entertainment business.
There are good trailers out there. The Incredibles. House of Flying Daggers. And most notably Sin City, which must be the most stylish trailer in a long time. At least this one was not made but the team that churned out most of the other trailer thrash out there.

Here it is

2005-01-11T21:49:00.000Z

So, sometimes rumours turn out true. The Mac mini is a reality. Words fail me. There is a God(s). Microsoft? See ya.
Mac mini

Apple price blaster

2005-01-08T15:20:00.000Z

There are rumours out there about a new Apple iMac computer hitting the market next week, code-named Q88. The new Mac will sell for less than $500 without a monitor, which is £266 or less than 3000 Danish kroner. If this is just remotely true, this must be the best computer deal in the world, including if you buy used computers. Hell, in our part of the universe.
The Q88 is not only cheap, it's also tiny with its height being 1.73 inches, and comes with wireless built in - of course, who would even consider buying one without these days?
If you are a cheapskate Windows-sufferer out there, then you can now buy a second PC, which is a genuine Mac instead of this new harddisk/motherboard/processor/video card/whatever that keeps breaking down or is not working properly.
The picture is a design concept of how the Q88 could end up looking. If it's true.

Project 2005: Clay Oven

2005-01-03T21:33:00.004Z

I have been toying with this idea for many years now, nearly ten I think. The crappy gas oven I've got at the moment has been the last straw. I want a real oven, an oven that can be hot as hell, or at least 350 degrees centigrade. I just have to build one myself.
This spring/summer is going to be it. I just need a place to build it and the good will of the gods. My practical/masonry skills are about as good as George Bush's ability to make a coherent point in a speech - even if he only has to read aloud.

New Year?

2004-12-31T17:48:00.000Z

I cannot believe it. I cannot. I have been working all week and even today, New Year's Eve. Was there actually anything to do? No. Any customers to help? Nor really. The British must be the only Europeans who are stupid enough to have 31 December as a normal working day.
For my part, I hope it's the first as well as the last time.
Happy New Year to all of you out there.

Matthias designed and baked a cake house

2004-12-29T18:34:00.000Z

Christmas is coming to a place near you

2004-12-24T13:37:00.000Z

It's the 24th of December. My alarm clock rang 5.25 this morning, because I had promised to drive P, who lives upstairs, to the airport. P was flying home to her parents in Prague, where she is going to spend her Christmas.
After the airport I thought I would do a bit of the last shopping in the big 24 hour Tesco in Corstorphine. For some strange reason I wasn't the only one there at 6 in the morning, and it was one of the strangest shopping experiences ever.
Tonight's menu: Pork loin with rosemary and garlic, braised red cabbage, sugar-browned potatoes and pepper sauce, and Ris a la Mande for dessert.

Meet the parents

2004-12-23T22:15:00.000Z

Susanne's parents are visiting over Christmas. We have been playing tourists in Edinburgh, and been to Dean Gallery and Edinburgh Castle so far. I have been to our local butcher to collect a piece of pig for Christmas Eve, and Susanne cooked rice pudding for our dessert tomorrow night. It is all well and good.
Matthias went to the optician's the other day to have an eye test, and today he collected his new, cool spectacles. He only needs to wear them when he is reading or playing games, which is most of the time.
Except for the weather and the British banking system, there seems to be little to complain about.
Happy Christmas.

Faster, little mouse, kill kill

2004-12-20T13:03:00.000Z

I am a killer. The last couple of months I have lured three, innocent little mice into a trap via the cunning use of high quality chocolate. The trap then has bluntly broken their little necks, snap, just like that.
The mice are entering our kitchen cupboard from somewhere only they know. In here they feast on our rubbish bin, soap flakes and other stuff mice are crazy about.
One thing that attracts a mouse nose more than anything else is dark chocolate of the best quality. We use Green & Black's dark organic chocolate, and it has worked every time. One time we only had a piece of shitty Cadbury's milk chocolate, which was left in the trap by the mouse.
Tonight I am going to set the trap again, but I hope we have caught all the mice in our house. It's a bit depressing to get up in the morning, and unload the stiff body of a mouse into the bin while the tea water is boiling. It's really not mice. I mean: nice.

What a wonderful life

2004-12-18T19:28:00.000Z

Friday evening I left my job as an Adobe software supporter to enjoy 5 days of Christmas holidays. I have been working 9-5 for 5 weeks and I think it sucks. It doesn't leave you time to do anything. Who the hell invented that shit?
Maybe I am just getting old. My last real 9-5 job (I am omitting full-time teaching jobs, because they are, well, different) back in 1999-2000 left me plenty of time to write my own stuff and play games and all. But not this one.
Anyway, it's Christmas, and Mrs Rasmussen and I went shopping for presents in Edinburgh today. We took it very easy and relaxed, had coffee at Valvona & Crolla and lunch at Cafe Rouge, and all in all a splendid time.

Meat

2004-12-13T22:33:00.000Z

We had lunch. We had all sorts of meat. And beer. And snaps. It was a hoot. There are even photos from the event, complete with read-eyed people holding glasses and smiling. It was a hoot.

The day we have all be waiting for

2004-12-11T11:16:00.000Z

Today is the day of our Christmas Lunch. Preparations have been hectic all week, and they are continuing as we - well, I, really - speak. The dough for the rye bread has been rising since yesterday evening. The herings are marinating in the fridge. And much, much, more.
Today is also the day when Scottish bloggers, like myself, were going to meet in real life, face to face, in a pub in Edinburgh. Needless to say, I have had to cancel my appearance. I hope you have a good time there.
Sofie was up early this morning to help out in the local Colinton Arts shop just up the street. She will be working until four o'clock in the afternoon.

Whoa

2004-12-09T19:38:00.000Z

What happened? Time is whizzing by at insane speeds. Mrs Rasmussen started her holiday yesterday, albeit hit by a nasty cold, and my new work eats everything. I have been speaking german to people I don't know for three days now - it's tough and hard work, much harder than I expected. And writing emails in german as well, that's even more scary. I wonder if speaking or thinking too much german is unhealthy? Nah, guess not. Bzzz. Ping. Ddddt.

Banking, training, closing in on Xmas

2004-12-04T19:23:00.000Z

The days are passing by in a blur. Working 9-5 has a lot of disadvantages. Firstly, you can't get into a bank while they are open. That's a big let-down if you have to pay rent the old-fashioned way. I guess I have to set up another online banking solution - I already have it with our Danish bank and also with my Natwest account, but we never needed it with our Royal Bank of Scotland account. Until now.
I have had three weeks of training now, and I am about ready to go online to provide German and British Adobe users solutions and answers over the phone or at least by email. I've been whizzing through the coming version of Acrobat, and DTP packages PageMaker, InDesign and FrameMaker. FrameMaker is the scary one. It looks like an application from 1989 - and probably is - and it handles huge volumes like dictionaries or thick manuals.
The big Christmas three down by our local church has been lit, and Mrs Rasmussen and I went for a walk tonight to have a look at it.
In a week's time we are having friends over for a traditional Danish Christmas lunch, complete with herring, liver pate and snaps.

Lights on

2004-11-30T20:01:00.000Z

Two new headlight bulbs did the trick, and our car may again shine in the darkness. Monday morning saw freezing temperatures, while today was almost mild. One week to Mrs Rasmussen's Christmas holidays. Had linguine with garlic an olive oil for supper. Matthias was "going out" with someone yesterday. Today they were no longer "going out". I seem to remember this phase in life. I recorded two brilliant films over the weekend, only to find out the tape didn't record any sound. I've got a hole in my shirt.

Lights out

2004-11-27T10:58:00.000Z

I was going to drive to St Andrews after work Friday to spend the night there, because Mrs Rasmussen was working Saturday. When I got into the car I realised that the headlights wasn't working, so I crept home on parking lights only. Then I rushed to get a bus to get to a local train station and catch the next train to Leuchars. Then taxi from Leuchars to St Andrews, where I managed to arrive around 8.30. What a day.
This little headlight problem has so far cost £25 in train tickets, £16 for taxis and a couple of quid for Edinburgh buses. And the headlights are still not working.

Huh?

2004-11-25T23:33:00.000Z

What happened? I wrote on this blog last Sunday, turned my back for a second and it's THURSDAY already! It's crazy. Bizarre. And real.
It's been a "normal" week. School. Work. Sleep. UK Snooker Championship.

Films this week

2004-11-21T16:31:00.000Z

We have been watching several films this last week, both in the cinema and on DVD and TV. Last Sunday it was Finding Neverland, a gentle, nice experience.
Monday night I tried to stay awake through all of First Blood, but no, it's just too lousy. I didn't make it.
Wednesday night Mrs Rasmussen and I watched It's All About Love, directed by Thomas Vinterberg, and that must have been the greatest disappointment for a long time. This film is a must-see for film students if they want to study pointless dialogue, scenes with no apparent purpose, wobbly story and at times painfully bad acting.
Saturday night I finally got to see Moulin Rouge!, a film close to being a true masterpiece had it not been for the totally miscast, and incompetent, Nicole Kidman. She might be a huge Hollywood star, but she doesn't kid me. All non-Kidman scenes, and even some scenes with her in them, were glorious and extravagant. Aften Moulin Rouge! we stayed up to watch Quills starring Jeffrey Rush and the always brilliant Kate Winslet. Though the film had potential it was not good enough to stay awake until 2 in the morning.
Today we finally got to see The Incredibles. I thought it was fabulous. So did Matthias. Mrs Rasmussen was dissappointed with her old master Brad Bird - I admit it, The Iron Giant is a masterpiece - and Sofie liked it OK, I guess.

Thursday it became cold

2004-11-20T16:49:00.000Z

Thursday morning last week saw below-zero temperatures, and I cycled to work in Susannes extra-extra warm winter gloves. It's been that cold since, and we are doing stuff in the house at the moment while a fire is burning in the stove.
Earlier today we went to the yearly Christmas Market at the local Rudolph Steiner School. It was great being "back", as we used to participate in the Christmas Bazar at the Steiner School in Århus for seven years. We almost forgot how great it was. Matthias stayed there from they opened until they closed, and Sofie joined him in the afternoon.
Winter has come. We have made the syrup base for Gløgg, a Danish variation on mulled wine, and will have it tonight. Tomorrow we are going to see The Incredibles, and I will make doughnuts when we get home. All is well.

Adobe Acrobatics

2004-11-18T19:05:00.000Z

Wow, time does travel fast. I mean, not as fast as light or crap reality TV, but just fast. I have been working 9-5 this week, doing my initial training and now I have begun to look into the up-and-coming version af Adobe Acrobat - oooh, I've seen things...
Funny as it may sound, the company needs technical support for exactly this product - and in German. So hey, I speak German, so why not? Alles klar, herr Kommissar.
The point is, I haven't had time to write as much as I would have liked, but I know that's one of the hazards having a normal job-type job. It takes your time away.

Adobe support

2004-11-13T17:34:00.000Z

I am starting a temporary contract job as a supporter for Adobe software products from Monday. The contract expires at the end of January 2005. The company that handles all UK support for Adobe is located in Sighthill, which is almost a neighbour to Colinton.
So, for the next three months I'll be working 9-5, as they sing in that song.

Smokin'

2004-11-10T19:15:00.000Z

I have to admit I didn't believe it until today, but the Scottish Executive have decided to ban smoking in public places from 2006. In fact I still don't believe it. But if it is true and will be put through, it's fantastic. All my life I have been used to the fact that it was a human right to poison me with smoking. The vision of being able to enter a pub, have a pint in a non-smoking atmosphere, is perhaps no longer a dream. And Scotland, of all nations, who would have thought that?

I don't drink...wine 2

2004-11-08T19:20:00.000Z

Happy birthday Susanne

2004-11-06T10:16:00.000Z

Matthias was the logistic operator behind this morning's celebration of Susanne's birthday. He got up, set the table and sliced bread and made tea before waking us up.
This afternoon we are having friends over for hot cocoa, rolls and brunsviger, black treacle cake, like we use to.

Prelims & fever

2004-11-05T07:59:00.000Z

Sofie started her preliminary exams yesterday, or "prelims" as they are called (Danish: terminsprøver). Yesterday was English and French, and today is more French, and History. She will be doing her prelims the next couple of weeks.
Matthias has been down with a fever since Wednesday, but he was better yesterday evening. He will still be off school today, though.

Watch this swing...state

2004-11-03T19:31:00.000Z

My condolences to the American people and to everyone else who will be so unfortunate to have the hollow, artificial and money-backed American version of democracy crammed down their throats the next four years.
If nothing else, you know there's something very wrong when Putin and Berlusconi endorse something.
I know we have had our share of political madmen - and mad women, hell, we still have - in Scandinavia, but I have to say that our democratic heritage is something to be proud of.
American politics are a bit like presenting a BigMac and a Whopper and call it "choice".
OK, next stop 2008. Hilary?

Do you Kerry?

2004-11-01T23:17:00.000Z

Hell, I'll jump right into it: I think John Kerry will win the election tomorrow. It's just a feeling. Unfortunately it will probably not mean a great deal. American politics have moved so far away from democratic ideals, it's become a farce, a freak show. We will all lose in the end.
I saw John Kerry, who has been one of the most steadfast spokespersons for gun control, wielding a shotgun at a rally in Idaho, with the words: "This is a great gun!" Meanwhile George "watch this swing" Bush has been dancing on Lincoln's grave by blending religion and politics in exactly the way old Abraham vowed would never happen.
Great. Welcome to your nightmare.

I don't drink...wine

2004-10-31T15:48:00.000Z

Mrs Rasmussen and I went to a Halloween party yesterday night at our friends' P&P. We came as Poison Ivy and Count Dracul (Gary Oldmand-style from Coppola's film). Look at the picture, I think I was really convincing.
Anyway, it was great. We had a ball. I mixed and burned a special-CD-for-you-my-friend Halloween soundtrack. We drank champagne punch. We danced.

All is well in Apple Land

2004-10-27T09:38:00.000+01:00

One of the good things about being an Apple Mac user, apart from that everything works as it should and looks good too, is the absence of viruses and similar nasties. There are Mac viruses out there, especially for the older versions of the Mac operation system, and until this morning I had never heard of a virus for Mac OS X. For a second I was worried.
The news was about the worm Renepo, AKA Opener, which is a script that specifically targets Mac OS X. If installed on a Mac computer, the worm can do a lot of damage and open the computer up for outside attacks and such. The virus is not out in "real life", but only being analysed by anti-virus software companies. So, big deal.

At least it's raining

2004-10-25T09:33:00.000+01:00

Mrs Rasmussen went back to work the last six and a half weeks before her Christmas holidays. I went back to my PowerBook and my desk, which is completely filled with notes and print-outs and books. I am writing a childrens' book, the first draft hopefully to be finished before the clock strikes 2005.
We have managed to persuade Mrs Rasmussen's parents to come and visit us over Christmas. Their visit will of course include a mandatory tour of some of Edinburgh's best sites, as well as trips to Fife and Loch Lomond.

A taste of winter

2004-10-22T15:57:00.000+01:00

Mrs Rasmussen and I went north on our own a couple of days. We stayed at a B&B in Stonehaven, a small fishing village on the east coast, about 15 miles south of Aberdeen.
The following day we drove to Aberdeen, just to have a look at it. We hung out in a bookstore, did some shopping and eventually drove west, into the Highlands. The weather got worse and worse, and we reached a small town called Braemar, right in the middle of the mountains. We found a small B&B in the darkness, and had dinner at the local, and only, hotel. It was raining and windy. And so quiet.
We woke up the following morning to minus degrees outside. According to the B&B lady, Braemar is the coldest place in Britain, and we felt the winter had come along far too early.
Our way home took us right through the mountains around the ski resort Glenshee, with miles and miles of empty mountain road and snowclad peaks. We stopped for a couple of hours in Perth, did some more shopping, and the rest was easy with motorway all the way to Edinburgh.

Scotball

2004-10-14T09:31:00.000+01:00

We were talking about Scottish football yesterday, after their national team only scraped home 1-1 against the less than scary opponents from Moldovia. The question is why Scotland has, and has had for a very very long time, an appauling national football team. It's painful to watch. Almost like those Sunday amateur games you only watch because somebody on the pitch is related to you or is your friend. Otherwise you would leave and do something sensible.
Scotland has five million inhabitants. A professional football league. Much like Denmark. The Scottish supporters seem to think it has something to do with the coach, but the problem was there long before Berti Vogts took over. A different coach might make a difference, but I feel that a change in the attitude to how modern football is played is also required. It seems to me, though I am no expert in the game, that the general view on how football should be played is very rooted in 60s and 70s tactics. It doesn't matter how well you play as long as you score more goals than your opponent.
The trouble is, Scotland not only plays badly, they also don't score more goals than their opponents.