As a water lover, I’ve visited another Danish coast line with my drone the other day.
More exactly Helgenæs on the main land’s east coast. It is located at the very tip of the ‘nose’ in Denmark and has a light house that serves a very important role guiding traffic in and out of Denmark’s largest commercial port – Port of Aarhus.
Have a look and let me know what you think:
Coffee has always been a big part of my life – perhaps too big. I started out early in a coffee culture family. Back then we only had drip coffee aka normal black coffee made on machines. Typically quality trumped quality during that time. But my country, Denmark did not really inherit the espresso experience before people started to travel to southern Europe and the overall economy started blooming again after the oil crisis in the early 1970’ties. The Americans ‘discovered’ good coffee much later migrating away from their beloved ‘rose water’ in the pre 2000 with the rise of the Seattle gang of Starbucks among others. Today Americans gladly pay $5+ for a cup of fresh brewed coffee.
Well, a long story short, I bought my first expresso maker back in 1990 and have never gone back. I’ve flirted with automatic and semi-automsric machines over the years but always ended up with more manual machines.
So, yesterday – after many many years of espresso making (and drinking) – I took my first Barista classs. Learning about the green coffee beans, roasting process, the chemical process of making a great espresso and finally learning the art of using milk and steaming.
Of course the Barista world goes much deeper than what a single day of training can cover but drinking the amounts of coffee that I do, I should have done this years ago.
But I guess it’s never too late as they say.
As you embark on every journey – you will – eventually return back Home.
Whether you have been:
It could also just be mentally through your mind…
All travel will eventually complete and the distance from Home will cease to increase (the 180 turn).
I am always connected to my Home and enjoy traveling out but always happier returning back Home – I love coming Home – to recharge the energy.
Please enjoy the relaxing mood of the video above as I will try to capture more Danish coast lines during 2018.
We have now reached the time of year when we have to say goodbye to something well-known and welcome to the still unknown.
2017 started out well in my world but became a more challenging year as time passed through the months of 2017. Many fronts have been under pressure and not exactly developed the way “it was supposed to”. But as Heraclitus goes “change is the only constant” and plans are to be altered when the status quo cannot sustain the outside or inside pressure.
Changes are, by most, considered uncomfortable and sometimes life-threatening but to allow and learn to “live in the question” makes you see how change often can open new doors, give new perspectives or simply make you think about things more carefully and in another context.
I am curious of what 2018 will bring me and my loved ones but one thing is certain, something new will evolve and set the direction for the year to come.
With that, a very Happy New Year to everyone reading this and a small wish from me, that 2018 will be a safer, happier and more sustainable Earth for all people.
My country, Danmark, has a long legacy of wind power and renewable energy.
We love and enjoy the ‘free’ energy and strive to become fully self sufficient with regards to renewable energy production to create a sustainable living form on Earth.
About 42% of the Danish energy production comes today from renewable energy sources – primarily wind.
Today, on a very windy Christmas Eve, it is estimated that 100% of the country’s high energy demand is being provided solely by wind power. Actually the production is estimated to be 110%. And this is on a day with really high demand for energy as everyone is cooking, cleaning, showering and we have all the Christmas light lit up (but factories shut down 😊)
That’s a first in reaching the goal of 100% renewable energy production for the entire country
Merry Green Christmas 2017.
Today Finland celebrates the 100 years since the independence from the Russian empire on the 6th of December 1917.
I have grown up my entire life with Finland as a parallel universe as most of my mother’s family is Finnish. So today is a big big day up-there and I could not be happier for them. The former dominance and intimidation from the Russians have always been lying latent in the Finnish people as well as the winter war with Russia during World War 2 where Russia tried to invade Finland without success.
As I have the Finnish blood flowing in my veins, I have visited Finland on a few occasions and enjoyed their beautiful nature and lovely people. The natives don’t say much though and their language is difficult to understand too, but they like to be perceived as “we speak when we have something to say“. So in general calm Nordic people who has given us the great composer Sibelius as well as the rise and fall of Nokia to mention a few,
A big congratulation on the BIG day for Finland from a distant relative 🙂
(Picture is from a family summer visit to Finland in 1981)
Food and water are essential components for us humans to survive. Food can take various forms and ingrediences, and be good or bad depending who’s asked.
The new Nordic kitchen which has gotten a new blooming in the past decade takes the bare and simpliest ingrediences from nature like ants, leaves, ash etc. and prepares simple but fantastic and tasteful dishes.
My angle to this topic is another though.
In order for food to be “right” it has to carry the correct balance of nutrients in order to work most efficiently. A trained cook will understand that it is not only the taste but the balance that makes the difference in how you feel and perform after eating.
In my workplace we have a saying that “great ideas come via the stomach” – so in order to catalyze innovation and ideas, eating great and well-prepared food made from original biological ingrediences – all made up from the ground – is essential. Ahhh…
Now to the point, Niels Bohr (A Danish physicist – 1885-1962) who is one of the founding fathers of the quantum theory and a Nobel prize winner and a very prominent figure among the other leading scientists (Einstein etc.) back then. I could be writing long about Niels Bohr (referencing my mother) as he was served well prepared food every day in the early 60ties where my mother worked as the chief cook in the Carlsberg mansion – his residence and home. Each day she prepared meals for Niels and his family as well as all their guests including the royals, scientists and celebrities from all around the world.
My mother is to me, the foundation of the saying “great ideas come through well prepared food” and I am sure Niels Bohr got some of his brightest ideas during my moms five year tenure…
In the picture (to the left) you can see my mother, Ulla, standing next to Niels Bohr and his wife, Margrethe, raising her arm and together with the rest of the staff in the early 1960ties.
So mother Ulla, thank you so much for decades of great food!
(Photo: unknown)
In Danish, we have something called Tycho Brahe Days from the Danish astronomer (1546-1601) of the same name. These are days that are simply unlucky and where bad things can happen.
I had one of those yesterday.
Everything from dawn to dusk – and the night included – went wrong. Things like bad messages, missed opportunities, misunderstandings, arguments, loosing money with a bankrupt web shop, meeting up alone with three corporate lawyers (ok it’s my job but anyway), my partner got a speeding ticket, nightmare – not getting enough sleep and so it went on. And then, as always, the weather sucked big time.
What else can you ask for? These days arrive once in a while but Tycho Brahe was forced by a Czech Emperor (as a recognised scientist) to identify days during the course of a year that could be considered bad or unlucky and where people was advised to stay at home and avoid certain activities.
It is actual an unfair legacy that we connect these days with Brahe as he never himself believe in astrology and the theory that some days are generally better then others.
Yesterday was September 28th, and it is not listed as one of the Tycho Brahe days so I guess that disproves the theory and I am ready for new day filled with luck and happiness.
For those who may have an interest, Tycho Brahe days were set to the following dates. So go knock yourself out and test the theory.
1., 4., 6., 11., 12., 20. Jan.;
11., 17., 18. Feb;
1., 4., 14., 15. Mar;
10., 17., 18. Apr.;
7., 18. May;
6. Jun;
17., 21. Jul;
20., 21. Aug.;
16., 18. Sep;
6. Oct;
6., 18. Nov;
6., 11., 18., Dec.
A few weeks back I visited Dallas, TX. I have been there several times before and Dallas was actually the first city I visited in the US back in 1993.
Each time I am there, I always stop by Daley Plaza to pay my respect to the 35th US president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who was shut dead here on November 22, 1963 when his motorcade drove into Daley Plaza.
I belong to the group of people who do not believe in the one magic bullet thus a conspiracy must have taken place here. Both in the planning and execution of the assassination as well as the post-murder events that happened.
The history of JFK is a fascinating read and very sad that a great man like JFK was unable to live his life in peace and get to carry out all of his great ideas and vision.
In memory of JFK and to the great president you were while you were here!
(The Daley Plaza is in the lower left of the picture above. Look for the famous book depository building where Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly shut from)
The other day I received my new underwater housing. Soon I'm going to test it and I think the best practice is to test it without a camera inside 🙂 However, I am tempted to just dive in and start taking fine pictures and some great video from under the surface. One small problem is the value you bring with you down under when you also add camera and optic etc. You really don't want to see saltwater in your DSLR camera…!
Underwater housings is a big jungle but I have over the years enjoyed the way Ikelite produces their housing and the features and controls they provide you with while in the water. I have other housings too and they also work, but typically they have some limitation that over time starts to annoy you.
So, I cannot wait to see how much better this should perform compared to the old one I been using for years – I need to do some comparison shots.
Stay tuned for some underwater footage.
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