From the category archives:

Finland

Heating by Bytes

March 16, 2010

File this one under Green.
Sometime in the near future, district heating in Helsinki will be supplemented by heat thrown off by local data centers. This will enable them to cut back on greenhouse gases produced by more traditional methods to heat the water that is pumping through radiators across town.
In a first of its kind experiment, the [...]

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USPO should copy Finnish NetPosti

March 11, 2010

A recent editorial in the New York Times spoke of how internet commerce is eating into the US Postal Services’ bottom line.
The Postal Service made a profit until 2006. Since then, declining mail volumes — as more Americans use e-mail and pay their bills online — and the demands of its retiree health benefit system [...]

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Nordics Bathed in Broadband

February 3, 2010

More pretty infographics via Focus.com’s 2009 State of the Internet report. What is it about the internets up here in the Nordics. Norway, Sweden, Finland are the top three for internet penetration (I believe that’s number of households). In terms of speed Finland is quite a bit shy of Japan and Korea but still pulls [...]

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Santa Lucia

December 16, 2009

It’s cold and dark in Helsinki.  Minus 10 Celsius with a bitter wind blowing off the Baltic. Snowing too. Coming down sideways, blinding at times and so cold the snow doesn’t really collect on the ground but just blows around like sawdust that squeaks when you walk on it. The sun doesn’t make an appearance until 9 am [...]

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Berlusconi Pizza with Reindeer

December 7, 2009

Finnish humor at its best.
The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was famously quoted as saying he had to “endure” Finnish food during a visit several years ago. So it certainly amused me when I found out that the a Finnish pizza chain has named one of their pizzas in his honor.
Thumbing their noses squarely at Berlusconi, this [...]

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The Largest Ocean Liner in the World

November 2, 2009

While we’re making lists, Finland topped another one earlier this week with the launch of the Oasis of the Seas which was built in the STX shipyard in Turku, Finland. 1,180 feet long and grossing 220,000 tons this ship is longer than an aircraft carrier and carries more than 8,000 people (including crew of over [...]

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Finland has 3rd fastest internet

November 1, 2009

Finland recently declared broadband internet access a legal right. The site billshink.com also calculates that Finland has the third fastest average access speeds.
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WaveRoller, a childhood dream realized

October 2, 2009

I used to read Popular Mechanics magazine back in elementary school and would read about all the cool inventions (Robotic Surgeons! DIY Jet-powered Go Kart!) and it got me in trouble more than a few times because what I learned there was not part of the 3rd grade curriculum.

I still remember a test where we [...]

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Winter Ahead, Watch out for Elk

September 22, 2009

Picked up the Helsinki Times, the weekly English language newspaper here in Finland. Front page headline screams, Shorter Autumn Days Increase Risk of Elk Collisions followed by 600 words on the dangers of driving when the elk are out and about as the days grow shorter.
Riveting sections such as “Tips on avoiding collisions” and a [...]

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Finnish Ingenuity

September 13, 2009

We had some house guests over last night who shared some observations about the Finnish people and their incredible spirit and creativity, especially when their backs are up against the wall.
World War II was a time of extreme struggle for the Finns who found them up against the full wrath of Stalin’s Army. Out-numbered and [...]

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