Mikael Fernstrom

>I wish you a Merry Midwinter. The real midwinter happened 22 minutes past midnight, the 22nd of December. We went out into our garden, reading a verse each from the Old Nordic Edda. Midwinter is a time to reflect upon what happened during the year, in our life.
What can we do, from now on, that will make things better for creatures on this planet – the only one we have… This is, of course, an impossible question. But, the more people that ask themselves this, and understand the question, the better it may become. If you don’ know how to, ask. If you know, just do it and be happy.

>Tonight I realised how right they are. Why travel? If you want to talk about my work, you come HERE. I have heard that Stanley Kubrik refused to travel. For a number of years, I have tried to invite Michael B. Tretow (amongst other things, ABBA’s sound engineer) and Ralph Lundsten (one of the world’s finest electronic music composers). They refused to travel. So, here I am, trying to plan my work for 2007. Invite from European Commission for Luxembourg in January, keynote in York in February. I might skip Luxembourg, but for York I’m currently checking out the possibilities using trains and ferries. That’s life. Hopefully this approach will enable a low CO2 footprint.

>I’ve been really excited for the last few days, since NASA launched the STS-116 mission, including the Swedish (Norwegian?) astronaut Christer Fuglesang. This evening I’ve been watching NASA’s TV-feed while Fuglesang and Curbeam try to do some re-assembly and assembly of some of the gear they brought up on the mission to complete the International Space Station.
I suddenly realised why I would not have been suited for the job. Part of the conversation the two guys had with Houston was asking if they would be allowed to use a different sized wrench to untighten a bolt. I would surely have picked the tool I found appropriate and done the job. I guess from the likes of NASA’s point-of-view, that would be unacceptable frm a disciplinary point of view.

>Today, we had Mr James Devine working with us. We’re testing him and the software we have developed for him. Our software enables real-time analysis of tap dancing, in terms of taps per second. Today, James broke his own Guinness World Record. His fastest tappng today was: 43 taps per second!!!!

>Tonight, we watched our DVD of the latest Hitchhikers movie, again. Alarmingly, it wasn’t the same movie as when we watched it the first time! The only rational explanation is the Effect of the Improbability Drive, i.e. each time to watch it, it’ll show you different versions….
Whatever you do, Don’t Panic.

>Tonight, I finished my local infrastructure – as far as networking is concerned. House server is installed, wrireless at 54 MB installed, etc. Next: get a new printer to connect to house server.

>This evening I had a lovely experience. I went to the Soundings concert at Daghda in Limerick. First, we had Slavek’s piece, including some live stuff, then the three winners of Diffusion 2006, and finally the finale with Stockhausen’s “Gesang der Jünglinge”.

>I’m just back after a week’s holiday in West Clare. Ahhhh! Every time I go out there, I find it increasingly difficult to go back. One day, I’m sure, I won’t. After a week out there, normal semi-urban reality seems unreal and irrelevant. I’ve read three books while out there, and as many newspapers as I could find. Out there, time is not focussed on the Clock. It’s the tide and the weather that controls Life, the Universe and Everything.
Some good news: Sealyons a.k.a. Lyon’s Seafood have started a delivery service of fresh fish to Limerick!

>John Kelly is back on air, now on RTE Lyric FM. The first week, he was on the verge of referring to trains and train drivers, but this week he seems to have settled in. Still, I wonder, why can’t he play Jimi Hendrix on Lyric?
I sent him an email yesterday, recommedning Armenian Navy Band. Today, wich was lucky, I managed to listen to half of the program over the web in real-time. I think he should choose themes (odd and awkward themes). Perhaps, for Women’s Day (I think it’s the 8th of March), do female punk rock artists? I’d love a programe with, for example, Nina Hagen.

>The web is fantastic. Broadband (although only 3 Mb/s) is great. This evening I rediscovered a Swedish radio program that I really love – Eldorado – by Kjell Alinge. It’s pure art, pure sonic experience. Great stuff.