Door to Door Bus Service

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Gun Roswell

Posted in the Daily Incidents series
Poetry, Tale, Humour & Photography
Photo credits Google and YLE

“Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down” Oprah Winfrey

Door to Door Bus Service

“The story you are about to hear is true.
Some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent.”

They say, Finland has one of the best public transportation networks in the world. But, who could have imagined such door to door delivery, and on a bus no less!

If it hails, rains, or storms
Just slam shut the car doors
Hike your way to the nearest bus stop
It’s easy as a skip and a hop

We are having the worst weather in Finland currently. Iced roads due to rain upon melted snow and rapid temperature rises from minus 28 degrees to + 2 degrees Celsius. This is causing what we Finns refer to as “skull weather” or in Finnish: “Pääkallokeli”. Yes, I know what you think; they have cold and snow there all year around. One could imagine they had gotten used to it and perfected the vehicles to run according. Alas no: Each year the snow “surprises” the drivers, train gears are frozen and heavy transports such as trucks and buses run amok on the roads.

Yesterday, this story on the news broke, regarding a bus hitting the wall of a building. Luckily the whole incident was managed with only a few minor injuries and some plaster off the wall!

In general us Finns are a no-nonsense no small talk people and we like to keep things on the factual level only. Our firemen are top of the line professionals and as we found out, in this case none the less so.

The reporter on site was interviewing the lead fireman, who was responding in his unique professional no-nonsense way.

The Fireman:
“We have five units on site. The injured parties have been taken to the hospital. The bus hit the building wall. The police is investigating the accident.”

The reporter:
“Who were injured?”

The fireman looking at the reporter in a “duh” way:
“The passengers.”
He then replied curtly.

End transmission.

Blue (Poetry and Photography)

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Gun Roswell

Posted in the Daily Photo series
Poetry & Photography

“I want to die with my blue jeans on” Andy Warhol

Blue

Feelings of
Utter sadness
Out of focus
And deepest of blue

Thinking
Adjusting
Accepting
Letting go

The picture
Getting clearer
Pain slowly
Fading away

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee, and some more Coffee…(Repost for TBT)

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Gun Roswell

Posted in the Throwback Thursday Series
Poetry, photography, tales and things that nature!

“There really is no life before the first pot of coffee in the morning”

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee and some more Coffee…

Since the dawn of time when humans first dropped down from the trees and started walking, their first trip must have been to the closest Starbucks for some coffee.

Remember the classic film “2001: A Space Odyssey” and first scene where the prehistoric man is bewildered when a big black block lands before him? What if instead of the monolith a giant cup of coffee would have landed? I think we would have evolved much faster and would be more advanced today if that would have been the case 😉

But let’s move forward in time and to present day.

I have dropped in a quite a few suggestions (read request) in our office “suggestion box“: Add to the list of necessary office supplies an IV drop filled with coffee. Each worker would then be hooked into the IV every morning and during the day; a dedicated person would circulate around the office and re-fill the empty ones.

But seriously, coffee is the one good drug that keeps this world up and running. Here is an example of an ordinary working day:

1^st cup: 06.00 AM: Eyes barely open reaching for my glasses on the night stand sniffing for that precious aroma. Nothing yet! Half running downstairs praying the automated coffee maker has not suffered from any kind of electrical stroke during the night and my coffee would be there waiting for me.

It is! Hallelujah let the day begin!

2^nd cup: 06.20 AM: Morning ablutions behind me, standing fully clothed ready to take off to work, gulping the second cup of coffee while reaching for the door.

3^rd cup: 07.00 AM: In the office, turning on the coffee machine before even reaching for the lights in the darkened office. Impatiently waiting while the machine is making its morning sounds before I can insert my coffee capsule into the damned thing and get my coffee (Note: It’s a double shot just to make sure I don’t run out before I can tackle today’s pile of work).

4^th to 6^th cup: 08.00 to 11.00 AM: A steady flow of “double shots” for each cup to keep up the pace of the day and a smile on my face.

7^th cup: 11.30 AM: A cup of coffee to complement a tasty lunch, of course 😉

8^th to 9^th cup: 12.00 PM to 02.00 PM: One for each scheduled meeting for the afternoon.

10^{th (to 11th)}cup: 02.15 PM: It is finally time for the afternoon coffee break! (In reality this is a very large cup so guess it counts for two or more…).

12^th cup: 03.00 PM: Last squeeze (and cup of coffee) before the day’s work is done!

13^th cup: 04.00 PM: Time to leave for home, one more for the road…

14^th to Umpteenth cup: 05.00 PM to Midnight: After a full day of work, I managed a full hour of exercise, went grocery shopping and vacuumed the whole house. Albeit I was so perked up from all the coffee I managed to get to bed early (around 2 AM) after cleaning a few closets and taking the dog out three times during the evening for a brisk walk and of course, having a cup of coffee here and there; P

The lesson learned: There is no such thing as too much coffee!

By the way, last time I had my yearly check up at the doctors, the conclusion was: there was far too much blood in my caffeine circulation!

Service or no Service, That is the Question (Repost for TBT)

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Gun Roswell

Posted in the Throwback Thursday Series
Poetry, photography, tales and things that nature!

“Someone calling oneself a customer says
she wants something called service?”

Service or no Service, That is the Question

Those of us who work in the field of Information Technology know very well, that nothing is as certain: If something can go wrong, it will go wrong, especially when you least expect it. Oddly enough, the supposedly most reliable functionality used on daily bases tends to break down most frequently.

This is also true for any IT related appliances. Then you realize you need to call for help. But sometimes it seems getting the support for the actual issue at hand can be difficult at best.

For your amusement, a telecommunication between a PC Help Desk agent and the end user as it may have happened in real life:

“PC Service Desk, how may I help you today?”

“Hello, Yes, I have a problem with my emails, it seems I cannot send any.”

“I see. Would you be able to answer a few basic questions before we can start troubleshooting your issue?”

“Yes of course, fire away!”

“Thank you Ma’am. First question: Have you been diagnosed with any kind of debilitating disorder?”

“Umm… no.”

“Good. Next question: Are you currently experiencing nausea, dizziness, headache or dryness of the mouth?”

“No?”

“OK. Moving on: Do you feel numbness or swelling in any of your extremities?”

“No!”

“Are you currently on any kind of medication?”

* Getting annoyed *

“What has any of this got to do with my issue with email?”

“Just answer the questions Ma’am so we may move on!”

“Fine! I took some antihistamine this morning.”

“I see. Would you mind if we establish a link to your PC?”

“No of course not, please do!”

“Excellent. When you see the pop-up window, just click on the ‘accept’ choice”

“Done”

* A window with a face of the Help Desk person appears on the PC screen *

“Can you see me Ma’am?”

“Yes I see you clearly.”

“Great, we can see you as well.”

“OK, so now can we get back to my issue?”

“Hold on Ma’am. Can you stand up?”

“What?”

“Please stand up!”

“OK, standing up!”

“Now, please walk a few meters in a straight line to your left, then back to your right”

* Shaking head but complying *

“Walking…”

“Perfect. Now, stand perfectly still, move your right hand to the tip of your nose and back down again.”

* Frustrated sigh *

“OK…”

“Fine, now please do the same with your left hand.”

* Requested activity completed *

“Excellent Ma’am! We are all done here. Thank you for your co-operation and calling our emergency service desk! Have an excellent day!”

“What the… hold on! What of my issue with the email?”

“HAVE A GREAT DAY MA’AM! Goodbye!”

“But.. OK, Bye!”

* Sighing hevily *

* Looking around the office for colleagues *

“Does anyone else have an issue with their email?”

“Yes!”
“Me too!”
“Yup!”
“Diddo!”

“Did any of you call the help desk?”

“NO!”
“Never!”
“Not me!”
“Not in a million years!”

Saying out loud: “OK, then! Guess it’s back to work!”

Thinking: ‘Guess I just have to fix the issue myself!’

Lesson learned: “Self service is the best service!”

An Homage to Nichelle Nichols, Live Long and Prosper!

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Gun Roswell

An Homage to Nichelle Nichols, Live Long and Prosper!

“All the people in Star Trek will always be known as those characters. And what characters to have attached to your name in life! The show is such a phenomenon all over the world” NICHELLE NICHOLS

An Homage to Nichelle Nichols, Live Long and Prosper!

From science fiction
To science fact
From Lady Actress
To Lady Astronaut

A many of myths
You have broken
A multitude of gifts
And truly outspoken

An eternal beauty
With a sense of duty
A voice like an angel
With an attitude of the devil 😉

Uhura, Nichelle
We’re so very glad
Onto our screens you fell
Without you we’d be sad

This might sound a cliche
Live Long and Prosper!

Throwback Thursday 2015-12-24

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Gun Roswell

Happy Holidays to One and All!

“I look my best when I’m totally free, on holiday, walking on the beach” Rosamund Pike

Throwback Thursday 2015-12-24

Today is time for a walk down memory lane again and dig into the archives of Rantings Of A Third Kind since the beginning of time. Well at least from the beginning of this blog 😛

Here are a few featured today:

Highly Illogical (Repost for TBT)

Stuck Between a Poem and a Hard Place (Repost for TBT)

Let the Rantings continue!!!

Highly Illogical (Repost for TBT)

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Gun Roswell

“It is curious how often humans manage to obtain that which they do not want” Mr Spock

Highly Illogical

I find You

Absolutely fascinating
Extremely interesting
Utterly charming
Highly intriguing
Totally captivating

I am

Spellbound and transfixed
By all certainty, bewitched

Wrapped around Your little finger
If I could, I would linger

I am only

Admiring You
From a distance
Still with persistence
But slightly askew

An instance
Would arise
It would be
My greatest price

Up close and personally
Give my thanks, my gratitude most cordially

Yet

I find myself

Highly illogical

Stuck Between a Poem and a Hard Place (Repost for TBT)

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Gun Roswell

An homage to Poetry

“Breathe-in experience, breathe-out poetry” Muriel Rukeyser

Stuck Between a Poem and a Hard Place

I am a poet
But did not know it
Now I am writing
Lyrics without biting
The bullets
My mind to the fullest
Hammering the keyboard
Not a big chore
No, not anymore

Ever since I started
I cannot be parted
From the blank page
That clean slate
Words pouring
My heart roaring
I feel elevated
Totally animated
Full of excitement

I am completely and utterly
Lost in Poetry

A poem a day keeps the Shrink away!

Throwback Thursday 2015-12-17

Posted on December 17, 2015 by Gun Roswell

“By Thursday morning, we’d gotten over the worst of it” William Scranton

Throwback Thursday 2015-12-17

Today is time for a walk down memory lane again and dig into the archives of Rantings Of A Third Kind since the beginning of time. Well at least from the beginning of this blog 😛

Here are a few featured today:

It’s About As Funny As A Root Canal (Repost for TBT)