Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Sound advice indeed. Is it a specialty of Finnish cuisine, then?

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Usually American cuisine. Hot dogs and such nonsense. If you're vulnerable, eat something healthy instead.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Finnish food is great IMO. Ah, the breads.... mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Oh, and thanks for the advice allnames... but this is my 7th trip so I've got the hang of it. ;)

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Well now that you mention it... we do have this traditional Easter dessert called mämmi... :rolleyes:

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Looked again... still don't see anything for a guy with an English Literature degree and a passion for the tablets. Seriously, I will gladly take help and guidance here; where could I, an enthusiastic generalist, fit in? I can hack a bit, talk a bit, write a bit...

...wistful sigh...

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

No idea but in case of doubt send me your CV. :)

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Finnair lost my checked-in luggage somewhere between Paris and Helsinki.

O boy.

Good thing I carried on the essentials and one day's worth of clothes...

Also, I expect to meet with a Maemo project manager for supper Monday evening.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

It's been a fun and exciting week in Helsinki (especially since my lost luggage found me) but tiring as well. One of the highlights was having supper at a nice Czech restaurant (Vltava Ravintola) with two Jaiku friends and the guy behind the maemo.org web page. Very sharp young man. I did not get to see ragnar or Quim on this trip but I'm sure they both want to choke me by now anyway. :D

Anyway, it's good to be heading home tomorrow but I really hope I get another chance to come back before year's end.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

I have no idea why that would be. Certainly nothing you do here on the forums. You tease more, but in the end, you don't seem to tell us anything more than the other Nokians.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

My sources indicate they're riddles, and whoever solves them has to privately give the solution. Quite a contest.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

It's more of a code, in the mode of the "talking horse";
"Hee" means "Yes,"
"Hee Hee" means "I'm not saying," and
"Hee Hee Hee" means "I'm really not allowed to say."

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

It could be worse.

I could be qolling.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

no texrat, please don't qole in public.

There are laws against that, and it was only through the grace of god we managed to survive the summit without being arrested once Alan was nearby ;)

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Not sure god had anything to do with it. Qoling in c-base while crossing Berlin to buy an interdicted French liqueur was probably altogether too alien for anyone there to even start realizing anything was amiss...

That, and the LHC being under repair, should at least get us through the winter.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

The LHC was only under repair BECAUSE qole took a wrong turn and poured his absinthe directly from the core of the collider.

He mistook it for a massive stil.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Berlin was a great time, wasn't it? A bunch of tablet geeks all hanging out... I was amazed at how many dads there were. A significant number of us are in long-term relationships with kids, as opposed to the stereotype of the geek living in his mother's basement. I was also surprised at how varied our interests are; who knew that Tim Samoff is also a professional musician with several CDs under his belt?

Sadly, still not many women involved. I think most of the women there were Nokia employees.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

qole,

Berlin was amazing in so many ways.

I loved hearing the languages and differences in people and watching and listening to Jamies' videos brought back lots of it ( http://linuxuk.org/ )

I have walked away from there with my head up high and I smile every single time I think of it.
The only thing I was unhappy with was not remembering peoples names and faces, its the primary reason why I needed the png writing :)
I won't be caught short next time.

also, not all the ladies were nokia employees - there were a few freelancers and a load of c-base bods, but point taken.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Oh yes it was. Reminded me of geek get-togethers of another century, in the old BBS days... albeit grander and higher on the weirdness scale :-)

My one regret is that I somehow managed to not bump (knowingly, at least) into John Costigan (gnuite) and express my gratitude for his maemo mapper. I still can't believe it.

More generally, I think we missed a great and obvious opportunity : that of rounding up all ITT members present at the summit and taking an official group photo in the c-base courtyard. Unfortunately, as usual, I only thought of it after Reggie had left.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

The women will arrive with Maemo 5! :D

Which French liquor was it? Cointreau is my fav. Works great against cold. ;)

Absinth is also good but you need to know the right brand to buy.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Ask qole. He's the rezident spezializt, and he hasn't gone blind yet.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

As I keep trying to tell everyone, it wasn't French, it was Swiss. Actually, Absinthe was originally a Swiss digestif, the French just liked it so much they began making it (and drinking it) in huge quantities.

The guy at the Absinth Depot really helped me choose; he poured out samples from several bottles.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3221/...115cc14d58.jpg

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Don't you go listening to the Swiss now, they're always trying to make believe inventions are theirs and we've been copying on them for centuries. Like, you know, that silly cheese full of holes :-)

(TomW is an exception of course. For a start, he was the only Swiss in c-base...)

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Hmmm. Well, the best ones aren't from Czechia or Germany thats what I know. France is known for quality absinth. From Switzerland everything is good :D.

It should be green though, but not due to chemical crap making it green coloured. Otherwise very cool you were allowed to sample :D how much did your bottle cost? Did you drink it in Berlin? Don't tell me you took it with you on the airplane cause that is illegal ;)

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

There was a reduction in force today, and I was told by my employer that my services are no longer required.

So, one less insider.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Oh no! My condolences!

Time to move to Finland.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Wow, Texrat, that's terrible. They don't know what they're losing. . . .

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Texrat: Very sad news... :(

Maybe try to come over this side of the street and check if we have any openings... I know we have but may not be in the areas of your expertise/interest.

EDIT: We do have over 40 (internal) positions open and at least some of them looks like good match... Let me know if you are interested...

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Grr. That's awful. Any chance you could fit into one of the positions Quim keeps mentioning?

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Not cool. :( Good luck finding a (hopefully even better) job.

On the other hand... They can't fire you twice, so now you can tell everything, right?

You need to open a donation fund, and every time it hits $xxx, tell us some new info. Then you won't have to look for work at least until the N900 ships. ;)

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Nah, I but I bet they can sue him, and it sure ruins your chances for getting a job in another part of the company. ;)

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Sad news! Good luck Texrat! I'm changing my job next week too (but at least voluntarily).

The NDA probably covers some years or more after he loses his job...

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Sorry to hear that, Texrat. As usual, the people at the top have no idea what's going on.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Sorry to hear that. It had been a pleasure reading your insider views. Good luck Texrat.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Sorry to hear that too.

I just got laid off too (Lehman Brothers) and do understand how it feels to go through a lay-off. Allbest to you Texrat and always think that this is going to bring change for the better.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Good luck Texrat, hopefully things will work out as far as a new job is concerned...its always scary job hunting especially with the economy as weird as it is now.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

sorry to hear that texrat

im sure it'll work out!

kep posting whatever the outcome

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Thanks for the support all.

No luck with the jobs Quim has mentioned; I would have to relocate and I can't.

And Mara: I did not see that many jobs on the NSN external site (I don't know if I can apply for internal) but I did find one I can do in Site Engineering (database work). I will update my resume and apply.

My main concern is matching my current pay and benefits. History and the economy tell me to expect a 30% cut or more...

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

Good luck, Texrat. It was a pleasure to hear your riddles under the Connecting People flag.

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

??? I don't follow...

Re: Tablet Advocacy
 

I read somewhere that the only regrets people have on their deathbeds are the risks they didn't take.