I got to experience this lovely little place on the Danish North Sea coast during a conference. The flat, rolling landscape and the high, high is fascinating as it constantly changes character with the wind and the weather. Walking among the sand dunes on a foggy night with the roar of the North Sea in your ears and only the faint rays of a nearby lighthouse to illuminate the scenery is enchanting.
Blog
-
How to make businesses grow and prosper
How to make businesses grow and prosper
Why is it that the media and politicians always emphasize the importance of growth and development in private sector, and yet cry out loud whenever a business goes down – claiming that it should be obvious to anyone that such an idea or such a concept couldn’t possibly be commercially viable.What is a good idea in the first place?
Being brought up in a small farming community in Western Norway certain values have been imposed on me. Everything should be for a reason and and everything should be reasonably priced. These are the basic consumer laws where I come from. This corresponds well with the laws of nature saying that everything is moving towards an equilibrium.
If I – a mediocre cook – told people that I was going to start a restaurant selling thin, dry hamburgers with a greasy salad and fried potatoes, they would laugh at me and persuade me to abandon the whole idea – simply beacuse the food wouldn’t be good. Nobody can run a restaurant without the food being good. Or can they?
McDonalds have succeeded in this respect. They prepare poor food, and yet they are swarmed with people who want to buy it. Why is this? It is because McDonalds, and many others witht them, have redefined the values associated with a meal: it is no longer to eat food that tastes good – it is to eat food (that is) fast. This idea represents a major shift in the principles of business development.
In the childhood of industrialization a typical starting point for developing a business was to identify a need which was not already catered for in a specific region. Having done this, the next step was to create the answer to this need in the form of a physical product. Currently it seems business development is a question of already having a product, subsequently manufacturing a need for it.
[ (Stein) Runar Bergheim, 6 . 2.Sat, ] -
When you really want to celebrate!
When you really want to celebrate!
There are events and occasions in life that calls for celebration. In my own humble oppinion rugby is not to be found in this number, but it isn’t so for everyone; according to the Mirror a welsh rugby fan was so convinced England would win over Wales in this years six nations rugby tournament, that he said he would separate from his abilty to reproduce, in the odd event that Wales won over England. And then they did.RUGBY FAN CUTS OFF OWN TESTICLES
Feb 8 2005, By Richard SmithA WELSH rugby fan chopped off his testicles after his country’s epic victory over England.
Geoff Huish, 26, was so convinced England would triumph he told friends at a social club: “If Wales win I’ll cut my balls off.”
They thought he was joking but he went home after the match, severed them with a knife and returned to show his mates what he had done.
Staff dialled 999 and put the testicles in a pint glass filled with ice cubes.
Geoff was “seriously ill” in hospital yesterday with his family at his bedside.
He will need cosmetic surgery and may be given a prosthetic scrotum.
Another fan who was with Geoff at Leigh Social Club in Caerphilly, Mid Glamorgan, said: “He came back later wearing a kilt with his testicles in a bag.
“He lifted the kilt up to show everyone what he had done. There was blood everywhere, it was terrible. That’s when he collapsed.”
Another club-goer said: “We’re all in a state of shock, no one can believe what happened. He must have been in terrific pain.
“It was amazing he could walk the 200 yards from his house back to the club.”
Police said Geoff had a history of mental problems.
“The incident is closed as far as we are concerned,” a spokeswoman added.
A family member said: “Geoff’s had his problems in the past but has been on medication. We’re just grateful he will live.”
Dr Ian Banks, of the Men’s Health Forum said: “This is a horrific injury. There are so many veins down there, I’m surprised he didn’t bleed to death.”
In Saturday’s game, Gavin Henson kicked a late penalty to give Wales an 11-9 victory – their first win over England at Cardiff for 12 years.
[ (Stein) Runar Bergheim, 1 . 2.Mon, ] -
Edinburgh (Scotland) 2005
Edinburgh (Scotland) 2005
A project at work brought me to Edinburgh in the beginning of February. Still shaken by the climate change between Norway and Brazil I set out together with a number of exellent friends and colleagues to enjoy the Scottish capital during the Six Nations Rugby Tournament.
[ (Stein) Runar Bergheim, 0 . 1.Thu, ] -
English skills in Rio de Janeiro
I picked up this brochure at my hotel in Rio. It told me to visit the Belmonte bar, a fine establishment that seems to be packed with people most of the week. I do not doubt their capability of producing wonderful food and serving cold beers. It is this brochure that interest me. The design is professional – or at least semi professional, the layout is not unattractive, but who did the translation.
As you read through this wonderful text you might understand the meaning of most of it. But one of the passages remain a mystery to me: “More the icecream, the most flavorful at last car head of the Belmonte Bar”. I will gladly pay R$ 1 to the anyone who can tell me what this means.
(click to enlarge)
-
Natal & Rio (Brazil) 2005
Just like the month of december is a month of cheerfulness and anticipation before the holidays, january is the month of hang over. It is cold, it is dark, it has tons of work on store and the next holiday is yet out of reach. This if any is the month to leave Norway behind in favor of the southern hemisphere. Like january past, I headed for Brazil, for Natal and for Rio de Janeiro.
-
Ford Sierra 2.0 CL 1998 – 2004; Eulogy to a (trustful) Companion!
Ford Sierra was bought by its second owner in 1998, it was 10 at the time and had spent his childhood in the hands of an owner who – except from fitting it with a most unsuitable styling set – cared for it with fatherly love. Thus ended the happy days of Ford Sierra.
In the course of its life, Ford Sierra brought his new owner to numerous destinations, over hill and under hill, through mountaneous and desolate lands, through rural and urban areas, on-road and on rare occasions even off-road. But everything comes to an end.
Ford Sierras death was brought on by his owner. Thrilled by realizing that the car could get by on practicly no oil at all, the owner started experimenting to see if it was possible to make the car stop using gas as well. Water for the cooling system was completely off marks, likewise brake fluid and gear box oil.
Remembering good old days, the late 80’s and its previous owner, Ford Sierra carried on living for a while, feeding on the memories of past glory. However, in the end, 6 years of systematic neglect and failure to carry out even the most obvious maintenance operations eventually got the better of it. On the 3rd of December 2004, it was left to its fortune outside a car dealer in Kaupanger. The last thing it saw, before its clouded front lights, was the smug, unrepentant smile of its previous owner, as he seated himself in a Peugeot 406 and sped away.
Rest in peace old friend.
-
Which are the (7) wonders of the world?
We often talk about the seven wonders of the world, but which ones are they?! The number of natural and cultural sites that claim to be among them is enormous – this article tries to narrow down the selection a little.
The seven wonders of the ancient world
The wonders are listed by their age here, oldest first.
- Pyramids of Khufu, 26th century BC
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon, 6th century BC
- Temple of Artemis, 6th century BC
- Statue of Zeus, 5th century BC
- Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, 4th century BC
- Colossus of Rhodes, 3rd century BC
- Lighthouse of Alexandria, 3rd century BC
Howard Hilman
Howard Hilman claims that we make five notable mistakes when we still refer to the same seven wonders of the world today as we did in ancient times, namely:
- The wonders are all located within a very limited portion of the earths surface, thus not representing the overall variety.
- Natural wonders are completely ignored in this list.
- The list over-emphasize greek culture omitting once again the overall diversity.
- Structures we regard as ancient and wonderous today were not even thought of for another (5) thousand years at the time of the making of the list.
- A lot has happened over the past 2000 years that might qualify for reconsidering the content of this list
Hillman therefore suggests this list as the seven wonders of todays world:
- Pyramids of Egypt
- Great Wall of China
- Taj Mahal
- Grand Canyon
- Serengeti Migration
- Machu Picchu
- Iguazu Falls
The National Geographic Society
Taking on another approach, the National Geographic Society enters the ring and introduce their own list of wonders of the world. They do not claim that these are the seven wonders, but state quite clearly that they are the seven NATURAL wonders of the world:
- The Grand Canyon
- Mount Everest
- The harbor of Rio de Janeiro
- Iguazu Falls in Argentina/Brazil
- Yosemite Valley’s giant sequoias
- The Nile River
- Aurora Borealis (the northern lights)
Readers Digest Magazine
Reader’s Digest Magazine, allthough not a great research organization agrees with the first three choices above from National Geographic, but wish to replace the latter four choices, rendering this final list of natural wonders of the world.
- The Grand Canyon
- Mount Everest
- The harbor of Rio de Janeiro
- Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls
- The Great Barrier Reef
- The caves of France and Spain
- Paricutin, a volcano in Mexico.
The Seven Wonders Homepage
The seven wonders homepage also address the problem of defining the seven wonders and adds a number of candidates to the list:
Forgotten Wonders
- Abu Simbel Temple in Egypt
- Angkor Wat in Cambodia
- The Aztec Temple in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), Mexico
- The Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines
- Borobudur Temple in Indonesia
- The Colosseum in Rome, Italy
- The Great Wall of China
- The Inca city of Machu Picchu, Peru
- The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy
- The Mayan Temples of Tikal in Northern Guatemala
- The Moai Statues in Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile
- Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, France
- The Throne Hall of Persepolis in Iran
- The Parthenon in Athens, Greece
- Petra, the rock-carved city in Jordan
- The Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar
- Stonehenge in England
- Taj Mahal in Agra, India
- The Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, Mexico
Modern Wonders
- The Channel Tunnel
- The Clock Tower (Big Ben) in London, England
- The CN Tower in Toronto, Canada
- Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
- The Empire State Building in New York City, USA
- The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, USA
- The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA
- The High Dam in Aswan, Egypt
- Hoover Dam in Arizona/Nevada, USA
- Itaipu Dam in Brazil/Paraguay
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, USA
- The Panama Canal
- The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- The Statue of Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- The Statue of Liberty in New York City, USA
- The Suez Canal in Egypt
- The Sydney Opera House in Australia
Natural Wonders
- Angel Falls in Venezuela
- The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada
- The Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA
- The Great Barrier Reef in Australia
- Iguazu Falls in Brazil/Argentina
- Krakatoa Island in Indonesia
- Mount Everest in Nepal
- Mount Fuji in Japan
- Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania
- Niagara Falls in Ontario (Canada) and New York State (USA)
- Paricutin Volcano in Mexico
- Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe
Further reading on the topic
More information can be found at at these addresses:
-
Ahmed Yusuf, Chief Accountant. Nigerian Ports Authority (N.P.A)
FROM THE DESK OF:AHMED YUSUF, CHIEF ACCOUNTANT. NIGERIAN PORTS AUTHORITY (N.P.A)
Reply email: ahmedyusufesq1@hotmail.com
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a Chief Accountant with the Nigerian Ports Authority ( N.P.A) and member of a 6 MAN presidential account Review Panel (comprising 2 Snr.Staff of CBN and 3 Snr, Staff of the finance ministry set up by present Civilian administration after just 3rd quarter account review of this finacial year 2004.So far, we have come across a surplus of the sum of US$14.5M.(FOURTEEN MILLION FIVE HUNDRED UNTED STATES DOLLARS)which accrued as a result of deliberate re-award of the reconstruction of TIN-CAN (RORO) PORT,a contract awarded by the past military government of Rtd.General Abdusalami Abubakar.
This conatract has been already awarded , executed and the full contract amount disbursed to the rightful contractors upon the completion of the said contract .Inspite of this fact,this contract sum keep re- appearing yearly for payment,by the government through our apex bank , which is the Central Bank of Nigeria hence the emergence of this fund in question.
What I want from you now , is that you stand as the beneficiary of this fund which we(my colleagues & my humbleself) have agreed to release to you as the beneficiary . Do note that every documentation has been secured and all modalities have been put in place to secure this fund in your name as the contractor/beneficiary of this fund.
For your assistance , you will get:20% of the total Sum.
10% for expenses during transaction. While-
70% for me and my colleagues.
Please notify me of your acceptance to carry out this transaction through the above E-mail address and provide your full phone/fax numbers & contact address so that we can commence immediately.I shall in turn inform you of the modalities for a formal application to secure the necessary approvals for the immediate release of this fund.
Finally, be informed that this transaction will only take (7) working days.Also note that due to my priviledged position I advise that you accord this transaction the utmost confidentiality that it deserves.
Best Regards
AHMED YUSUFThe following are some notes in Norwegian from my colleague, Per Andersen, who contributed this letter to my collection:
Jeg vet du har hatt mange skuffelser blant blant de mer useriøse aktørene i dette markedet, men disse hører heldigvis til unntakene. Så jeg tenkte jeg skulle formidle et 沬ig og seri?ent tilbud som viser Nigeria-brevenes sanne ansikt.
– Ahmed Yusuf, som du vil se, er en solid embetsmann og har i alle 岠tjent sitt land langt utover det noen kunne forvente. S堨ar han ogs堥n klar plan n岠han n堶il eksportere noen millioner tilsynelatende for 堳ikre sin alderdom.
Han skj? skepsisen han er utsatt for pga de h岲eisende tilbud noen av hans kyniske landsmenn tidligere har kommet med. Men Ahmed er ikke gr天g og han er villig til 堤ele sin gevinst gener?ed en 沬ig og helst allerede velst奮de samarbeidspartner. Han vet at slike partnere ikke vokser p場r沬 men at det fremdeles finnes genuint samfunnsengasjerte borgere i v岴 land som skj? at han egentlig ikke gj?tte for seg selv, men for alle sine millioner av landsmenn som – hvis regjeringen hadde f崴 kloen i disse pengene – ville g崴 ytterligere statsfinanisert undertrykkelse i m?br> Ahmed er b夥 klok og modig. Han vet at det ikke er mange han kan stole p堭 gjerne bare ham selv og kanskje en h室plukket rettenkende nordmann. Han trosser b夥 opinionen og negative avisskriverier. Hans m嬠er at disse millionene aldri mer skal brukes til korrupsjon, eller til 堳pre frykt – ja til og med til 堤repe hans landsmenn.
Ved 堨jelpe Ahmed kan vi endelig drive ekte utviklingshjelp. Ikke bare gir vi menneskene i Nigeria et bedre liv ved 堳vekke regimet finansielt, men som bonus vi f岠store summer inn i landet isteden for 堳ende penger ut.
Ahmed er en visjon沠mann. Han er i frontlinjen for 堵trydde terrorregimene i verden – mye mer effektivt enn alle Bush’s v尥n. Og samtidig klarer han det Bush ikke klarer – 堧j?e rike landene enda rikere. Ahmed er sann helt jeg ville v沴 stolt over 堫jenne!
