Bengt Johanstroemmer - Blog on the Run

Will see how this works. Chances are they could.

Extra

Ooh the seventies.. (When PG was still around...)

		Friday, 13 July 07 - 10:47 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

Genesis before the drummer took over!



Take some time off and listen!

F-Word

		Saturday, 24 March 07 - 11:39 AM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

Meaning of Life... (Initially published April 19th 2006)

		Friday, 16 February 07 - 08:22 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

Matz took a deep breath and dialed the number. "You only get to call once, Matz, you know like when arrested or submitting your självdeklaration, so don't blow it," he muttered, trying to keep the shudder out of his voice. He brought the receiver to his ear and sweated for what seemed an eternity, had another sip on his beer and waiting for the line to connect. Finally, he heard the other end ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Click. "Hello, Matz," a deep, rich voice said. "What can I do for you?" Matz swallowed hard and thought about his sweet daughters feeble future . "Uh...um...Is this really Göran Persson, prime minister of Sweden?" "Yes, it really is. Now get to the point, Matz, I'm a very busy increasing taxes and duties and getting SSU Anna off the hook." There was just the slightest hint of irony in Görans's voice. "Well...uh....You see, I just wanted to know, uh, what's the meaning of... uh... you know... life, i.e or why paying taxes." "The Answer," intoned Göran Persson, prime minister of Sweden, over the phone, "is the Question, and the Question is the Answer." "Er," began Matz, sorely perplexed and with and increasing discomfort, "Er, how so?" "Well, Matz, I've been around for a long time. A really, really amazingly huge amount of time, you know like back when I was a chairman of the board of the local municipal government of Katrineholm in Sörmland. So long that even I do not remember my own origin, or whether I even have one. Because of this, I have spent countless eternities pondering my own purpose in life, other than getting discounts of purchases at Systembolaget (thru my dear wify). I could never come up with a satisfactory reason for my own existence, and I have therefore concluded that I cannot find such an answer due to my paradoxical nature, i.e. being born in the forties and still being a communist, even after the fall of USSR and the demise of Gudrun (not fair after all she was never a communist, only in love). So I created Sweden or better known as Folkhemmet and all of the Life in it to find out the answer for me (and Bosse Ringholm). Do you understand now, Matz you cog in the great socialdemocrat machinery?" "Yow," Matz replied, hoping he didn't appear too dim in the slightly dimmed eyes of the prime minister of Sweden. "Not quite," he said. Göran gave forth a truly thundering, earthquaky and cosmic sigh that even have the scaffoldings shaking at his newly purchased mansion in Sörmland that’s going thru an extreme makeup. "It is my hope, Matz, that somewhere within Life's infinite diversity in infinite combinations there will arise a final, conclusive and easily digestive to the red (communist coalition partner) and green (environmental friendly coalition partner) solution to the meaning to it all, at least to the next budget negotiations begins in four years or so." "Uh," spake Matz, "could you maybe put it in, uh, simpler terms?" Again, Göran Persson sighed. "I'll put it as simply as possible for you, Matz: The Meaning of Life is to discover the Meaning of Life or maybe to shoehorn in a few more taxes and duties." "But," Matz sputtered, "but that's recursive - it keeps addressing itself in its own definition! How will we ever know when we've found it?" "I'm sorry, Matz, but your two minutes are up, anyhow the självdeklaration is on the www." Click.

Snowmen at Balshaya Dimitrovka

		Thursday, 15 February 07 - 12:36 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

 A sequel of very cold men in the Moscow centre(1):

 A sequel of very cold men in the Moscow centre(2):

 A sequel of very cold men in the Moscow centre(3):

Week in passing - January 30th to February 6th

		Wednesday, 07 February 07 - 03:41 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

Tuesday, January 30th 2007:
Went to the American Medical Clinic to give a blood sample in order to test for HIV infection, to get a very much needed affidavit for the renewal of my Russian visa. Very cold morning, some -18 Celsius, must be due to the nipping feeling in my nose and end of my ears. As many knows, visitors to Russia, needs this test to show for the consulate officials, but only we who apply for multi entry long-term business visas, i.e. more than six month usually one year. The, in theory, promiscuous casual tourists seem to do without it. Anyway, there might be some ground breaking theory behind that.

The clinic fucked up immediately confusing me for someone else but at any rate got me to a nurse who jabbed me a couple of time unsuccessfully with the needle trying and find an artery or a vein, which ever they’re looking for to suck blood coming or going from/ to my heart. Finally a good nurse materialized and she did the right thing. Left the clinic with a little light headed, feeling like: What about if the test would come up positive? Would that be the end to the life as I know it? Would I be reported to Russian authorities, would they incarcerate me? Hmm.

Wednesday January 31st 2007:
Not much of a day, made a few presentation for the companies I work for (www.sitronics.ru and www.strom.cz). There’s this project in central Eurpope that we are preparing to kick-off. Had a video conference with Pavel and Ladja, a good advice is not to move to fast when the frame rate is under 15 frames per second, it doesn’t come out right. That’s like the family amateur double eight movies in the fifties and sixties. Anyway had lunch with Elina, Evgeniya and this fellow Oleg who seem to work all day doing price tables in MS Word instead of Excel. I’m not gwanna offer my advice. Haven’t talked to my sons for a couple of days, made a mental note to do this ASAP. In the evening, terrible news, got a call from Matz (my brother) who told me Mother had a stroke yesterday. I’m so packing my bags. But Agreed to hold it until tomorrow since no flights are available at this time of day.

Thursday, February 1st 2007:
Lunch with Valery, before that preparing material for him in order to, hopefully, close my contract, mind you I worked on this assignment already for almost 3 month, severe sequence error. Will I get paid?, flies thru my head.

Dinner with Colin, I knew this man now for ten years and more. Our dinner takes always the same format of: Him: My life is stupid; I didn’t have a holiday in so and so. Then going on about business stuff and his extensive travelling and his detoriating, stress related, health, I think kidney stones were added to the list at this occasion. Anyway I updated him on my life and whereabouts and the bleak progress of my current assignment. I also gave him a pirated copy of MS Office 2007, which was appreciated. Good thing with Russia is that: whatever software, you can only download peer to peer elsewhere, here you can buy on a DVD disk with no traces whatsoever in e.g. Garbushka, Metro Bagrationskaya. Must buy MS Vista Ultimate edition and another MS Office 2007 copy next week.

Thinking about migrating to Mac OS X Tiger since window drives me bonkers, to many balloons emerging for unnecessary reasons.

Talked to my sons and my ex wife about the condition of Mother, today much better, i.e. stable.

Friday, February 2nd 2007:
Finished up the last slides for Pavel and went to lunch with Elina, Evgeniya and Oleg. We usually go to this resaturant called Vauxhall (or train station). After lunch called Matz who explained that the prognosis for Mother looks still slim but relatively better. Must hang in Moscow to get the results on the HIV thing. Went back to the American Medical Clinic, near Prospect Mira, same mess here in trying to get things done. But this time the delay, I thought paranoidly, has to do with a positive test and reporting to Russian authorities, etc. How wrong I was, no problem, left the clinic with the paper works and with forceful light steps.

Saturday, February 3rd to Monday morning February 5th 2007:
Wrong start of my weekend. Went for dinner at Starlight the American diner at Mayakovskaya, good steak, then off shortly to Night flight. Same, same working girls with the same scripts, when they talk to you. Only had a couple of drinks and talk with the Swedish staff. After that to Doug & Marty’s sport bar, bad decision made some acquaintance that ended up with me getting Rohypnoled (date and rape substance) and robbed off my Omega Semaster watch, Nokia phone, Sony PSP, gold chain, DVD collection and all cash in my wallet. Welcome to Moscow.

Could be worse: she/ they could backed up a car and take everything from the furniture to the toilet paper. I still have a life, it seems.

Increasingly better news about Mother.

Spent the rest of the weekend with Cynthia feeling sorry for myself.

Tuesday, February 6th 2007:
Lunch with Andraz (accidentally), promised him to interview I*****h, will see how that turns out. I know Evgeniy should feel restless by now, time for a new job. My cleaning lady took all my towels, but ironed all my shirts. Can’t have it all.

My Paveletskaya apartment depresses me so much and the shower is still leaking down to my neighbor even though it’s been fixed three times. I’m leaving for Sweden next week, will be a good break and the chance to se Mother.

Started to read “A Writer at War: Vasily Grossman with the Red Army 1941-1945” by Anthony Beevor and Luba Vinogradova, looks promising.

CE performing user acceptance testing

		Thursday, 25 January 07 - 12:40 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

What is Carmen E up to now?

(Courtesy of the ol' sex freak Howard Stern's show)

Move from Blogger to Terapad

		Thursday, 11 January 07 - 02:47 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

We will see how this will work out. Hopefully I will find a way to do mobile blogging. With Blogger beta this stopped working and most of the client tools aslo. My old blog can still be visited (click).

My posting dates are all January 10th

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 05:49 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

I moved away from Blogger (especially new Blogger) to Terapad and in conversions of legacy posts the original date could not be saved.

New year celebration

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 03:22 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

New year celebration at H&L's place. Great party.
Happy new year!!!
Party Pics: (double click to enlarge!)

Party Pics, cont'd.

Party Pics, cont'd.

Party Pics, cont'd.

Party Pics, cont'd.

Party Pics, cont'd.

Party Pics, cont'd.

Party Pics, cont'd.

Iceman the later years

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 03:19 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

 So funny SNL...

Jennifer Love Hewitt

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 03:18 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

 

JLH rocks!

Back from fancy golfclub in Hua Hin Thailand

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 03:16 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

Well, we had to get back from the fancy golf club of Imperial LakeViwe Golf Club outside Hua Hin, Thailand. Thanks to Singha beer it was quite pleasant. Me, my friends Jörgen and Niklas are all featuring in this video. Enjoy!

Swedish astroNOT

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 02:59 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

Anyone really believes he's going? BTW the betting odds are at least going down a bit

Boggie Boarding in Bar

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 02:58 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

My son boggie boarding at Crane beach in Barbados. Nothing else is to add, the picture tells it all.

Today celebrating Kalle's birthday

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 02:57 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

My son Karl is now 15. Happy birthday!

Moblog via Picoblogger

Tuktuk to fancy golfclub in Thailand

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 02:56 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

Imperial LakeViwe Golf Club outside Hua Hin, Thailand. Got there with Niclas and Jörgen in Jörgen's Tuktuk. The Tuktuk, however, decided to quit on us the last kilometer but our devote caddies pushed us, Tuktuk and all the last bit using two golf carts. Nevertheless, finally we arrived, in grand style. Btw the bandama dressed golfer is Jörgen Mårtensson and he's proprietor of Mårtensson Taverna in Hua Hin and there you can enjoy Swedish dishes if you need a rest from the chilli.

Fabio Cannavaro the True Giant of the FIFA 2006 WC in Germany

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 02:43 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

Go on strip the golden ball award from Zizou for his unbecoming behavior and give it to the tournament's true giant: Fabio Cannavaro. On the same note: Zizou apologize for his head butt and, quite hard to grasp, stands by the very same action. Very French indeed. Forza Gli Azurri!!! 

Stop over in London

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 02:42 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

Had a half day to spend in London before getting over to Stockholm and what is better time used than having lunch at Harrods. They have probably the best pizza in London and good wine bye the glass to go with it. Only jeers is that they don't serve grappa any more(either good grappa i.e. kerosene style or bad i.e. vintage bull shit grappa) together with the superb espresso coffe. Anyway I met two Swedish ladies who were in London to see musicals and bye hats(!).

Saturday at Golf (again)

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 02:41 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

Played a game of golf with Charles, Emmy (in the middle) and Peter last Saturday. Emmy whose real name is Emir and originates from Bosnia-Herzegovina told me about the old days of oppression of combined Tito Yugoslav and Soviet rule: "Even tough we were very poor and life didn't have much in store for us I can say this about what we experienced: As I said, life was tough, but I kid you not, every morning we were able to put on a pair of clean underwear and so then at the end of the week, I remember, it was extremely hard to get the pants on!" Emmy now enjoys a partnership and trades wine to the Bajans.

Barbados GC - Second hole - Easy Birdie

		Wednesday, 10 January 07 - 02:40 PM (GMT +01:00) By Bengt Johanstroemmer in TravelBlog

Below movie outlines a good shot and a subsequent birdie on Barbados GC second hole, I'm happy to announce!

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