Year: 2005

Time flies

This autumn just flew by. It was warm and sunny and really nice for a very long time. The cold weather arrived on November 15th in the afternoon. Just had time to wrap up the balcony plants for the winter so they won’t freeze and die before the cold arrived in the afternoon. The first snow arrived the weekend after that. Not a lot of snow – not like last year – but enough to cover the ground and make everything white. Lasted for about a week and was gone again. Since it has been on and off with the snow. Presently it is warm and rainy but snow expected again in a couple of days. It won’t be a white Christmas in Stockholm this year – actually, that’s very rare.

I left my old job with next to no notice. As I wasn’t really employed there the last two years, but only worked about 25 percent there, I felt no obligation to give any notice. I went back there about two weeks after I left, to give back my keys and the key card. What was their goodbye-present? Well, after 18 years employment, there was coffee and cake and I got a bottle of red wine… Not much of a goodbye present. But never mind – I was just relieved to get out and get on with my life and not having to hang on to that job any longer.

Since October 3rd I’ve been working at the big newspaper. Already the 3rd week the whole department went on conference trip to talk about how we should work. We went first for 2 nights to the south of Sweden, and then 2 nights in Copenhagen, Denmark – which gave us an opportunity to drive over the bridge between Sweden and Denmark and visit the Turning Torso, the famous new tower building in Malmö, on the way down. That trip was done during a week when I should actually have been free between night weeks, so the first couple of weeks in October became very busy.

I’ve since been working nights for seven nights (1630-0330 Mon–Fri and 1900–0330 Sat-Sun) and off seven nights. Those workhours suit me just fine as long as I can sleep in the morning and nobody calls during morning hours. Haven’t got into the habit yet to turn off the phone (only the mobile gets turned off)… Really should do that. I have no trouble with those hours at all. I get home real fast after work by taxi. At those hours there is no traffic. I read for a while and then sleep right away. Having a whole week off every second week is also very nice. You then have time for a lot of things which you don’t when you work normal office-hours. Work-weeks on the other hand, you don’t have much time for anything but work and sleep as the workhours are quite long.

It is nice working at the newspaper. Everybody are very nice and friendly and have made me feel very welcome. It is nice for a change to feel appreciated. Sometimes there is a lot to do, other times, like now, next to nothing. Hope it stays so and that no server decides to break down or something…

I work Christmas until Monday morning, but I am off over the New Year. Two more nights to go this week. It is very quiet presently as there are fewer people than usual working. Gives me some time to finally update these pages. Working Christmas also pays better than usual. I don’t mind working. I don’t celebrate Christmas anyway.

Mimmi the cat

Presently I have a house-guest. I have the cat Mimmi which belongs to one of my colleagues at the newspaper, living with me when her family is off to Thailand for three weeks. She’s been with me for a week now and will stay until January 7th. She is a she-cat, red of color, by the name of Mimmi. Very cute. By now she finally starts getting friendly and has even started to purr. Took its time… But that was to be expected. Cats choose you, not the other way around. It is nice though to have a cat in the house again, even if it is temporary. Was a long time since last.

Visited Ulla and Feri last Saturday. Rafaela and Ronnie (her guy) was there too with their baby-son. So finally had a chance to see the baby. He is big. 9Kgs at five months is big. takes after his father I think. It was a nice evening as always with them. Feri is getting old though (83 in January) and seems more tired than he used to. The dog Igor (12 years) isn’t getting any younger either. I understand if Ulla gets worried. Especially as Feri had a minor stroke in the summer.

Apart from that it is nice to have a real salary. Makes all the difference and is SO nice not to have to be over-cautious with money any longer. To be able to buy what’s needed and not have to worry if there will be enough money for this or that. After two very meager years, there are a lot of holes to put the money into.

Life is good presently.

Posted by nini in Thoughts, 0 comments

Finally – a new job!

is where I will be working from Monday onwards

The new job at the big daily newspaper is finally mine. I start on Monday October 3rd. it took its time to get finalized, but now it is (though haven’t signed a contract yet, which will also be on Monday). I start with working daytime the first week, then nights as from October 10th for a week plus Sat-Sun (together with one of the guys there). Then off one week. The on again from Monday plus Sat-Sun (together with one of the guys). Then off one week. Then nights every second week flying solo for as long as this shedule is effective. I believe nights will suite me fine – I am a born night-owl when I don’t have to get up in the mornings and have always been. Help-desk job for the editorial staff is what I am to do plus whatever installations and such the day-people leave for the night-people.

I am SO looking forward to it. And to meet the people I worked with between Jan 3rd and June 3rd 2005 again.

It is SUCH a relief to finally be out of the hostage situation I feel I’ve been in for the last couple of years (where my knowledge has been used but not really paid very well for). I’ve stuck that out to still have a foothold in the area of work I’ve been in for the last 18 years and to have access to information about what is going on.

To finally get a real job with a real salary is such a relief and I am VERY happy about it.

Posted by nini in Thoughts, 0 comments

September

Autumn is approaching fast and time flies.

Last time I wrote something here, among other things I was wondering where Armand had disappeared to. Turned out he was only very busy and had a lot of work to do. Have spoken to him several times since.

Then Ulla more or less disappeared. I’ve spoken to her though on the phone and she told me that after the birth of her grandson, she became ill (exhaustion probably) but is well now,. Then her husband Feri got a minor clot of blood – which is no small thing at the age of 82 – and had to get checked up. He is also back in business. Then the flat-swopping didn’t get through. Turned out one of the landlords involved wasn’t all that serious or respectable so they backed out of it. Which left everybody exhausted and their flat in a chaos as they had prepared for the moving. I also think she is very worried about her husband. No matter if you have thought the thought or not, I think you can never be prepared for the worst. This time it didn’t happen, but what about next time?

On the job-arena there are some news and maybe by tomorrow it will all be settled. I certainly hope so.

I started to get desperate to get a job and therefore suggested I’d be the temp for S. at my old job during the time she is on maternity leave (about a year – a year and a half). The suggestion has been accepted on condition that they get recompense for me from the employment agency. Which they would get – we have had a meeting about it – if they apply for it. Also on the condition that I would accept a much lower salary than I used to have plus a flexible part for eventual consultant jobs that I can charge for (if I have the time to do them). Still, better than unemployment pay plus the small sum for my approximately 25 percent there which I get now. Job in itself would be mainly administrative. But I was then not in a position to choose and thought it would be better than nothing when I suggested it.

Only a couple of days after the meeting at the employment agency I got an offer about job from the big newspaper where I worked half-time during the spring for five months. They want me back. Full-time. Nights. Well-paid. I said yes of course. If all negotiations and formal things go through the way it is expected to do – which I will probably know tomorrow – I will start there in a weeks time.

I long to be able to say bye-bye to my old job-place and just get out the door and let them survive the best they can without me (which means without somebody updating their website among other things, and nobody to hold courses). I’d love to get out of the “hostage”-situation I’ve been in there the last two years.

I don’t dare to believe in it until I get an all clear. Which should be tomorrow. More then.

The last week has been cold and autumnlike. The colors of the trees are starting to shift. It has until now though been a quite warm, pleasant and sunny September. Sandal-weather is now over for this time even if we might get some nice days still before the real autumn arrives.

I’ve started some kind of blog recently. I’m not yet comfortable with the software for handling the blog so I still write here. The plan is to move what is in the Thoughts department over to the blog. Eventually… Provided I get a better hang of how the blogging software works.

Posted by nini in Thoughts, 0 comments

Latest news

LATEST NEWS:

On July 27th, at 06.40hrs in the morning Rafaela, Ulla’s and Feri’s daugther, gave birth to a baby boy. Baby weighed 4,3 kgs and was 54cms tall. Which is no wonder as his father, Ronnie, Rafaela’s boyfriend is a tall and big guy. Rafaela is smallish though. All are well. Whole family (Rafaela and Ronnie and baby, and Ulla and Feri and Igor the dog) is presently organizing some flat-swopping-changing (in the area where they already live) and waiting to see if all goes through the way they want it. In that case they move in September. All across the yard…

I sent off a postcard to Peter F. the other day to inquire if all was well with him as I hadn’t heard from him for a very long time (learning about Tedy made me think – where IS everybody else?). Got a letter this morning, in his spidery, extremely small handwriting which almost needs a magnifying glass to read, that told me he had sold his house, moved to a smaller flat, changed email, changed mobile number, paid his loans, went twice to Singapore, once to the Philippines (he was married for a while to a Philipine woman, but is long since divorced from her), and once to Tel Aviv. And that he got on the wrong foot with the unemployment agency which caused them to withdraw his payment and is unemployed, soon without any money, but plans to take up his studies again (I have no idea what he studies, but I think it is mathematics). Housemoney now finished. Doesn’t surprise me. He is the most careless person I know when it comes to money. Wonder when he had intended to tell me about all this if I hadn’t written to him? I’ll call him one of the next days.

Armand hasn’t called since June 26th – which is long ago for being him. He usually calls from Manchester about every second or third week. I hope everything is well with him. Emailed him the other day about Rafaela’s baby, but I know Armand is not all that good at checking his email. Do I have to call him? I’d rather not.

My neighbour goes to her sister in the north tomorrow night for three weeks. Which means watering all her plants both inside and on the balcony and the gallery and bringing in the mail and keeping an eye on her flat. No big problem as she is next door. She does the same for me when I go away somewhere.

Weather is still not all that good. Sunny and humid yesterday. Very grey but warm today but no rain. Heavy rains expected to begin during the coming night.

I need more sun and light. This weather is depressing.

Posted by nini in Thoughts, 0 comments

When it rains, it pours…

WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS… it really does. I should never had said on July 16th that I hoped it would rain all of the week when I was going to be at work in the office in town. It started on Sunday July 17th with a thunder- and hailstorm with a heavy downpour that drenched everything. The hailstones were about 1,5 cm in diameter and made big, round holes in the leaves of my pelargonias on the balcony before I had moved them closer to the wall. It has rained ever since. The nature absolutely needed it (which you can see from the color of the grass above), but… it would have been good with something in between very sunny and dry and warm and very wet and copious amounts of rain. The entrance to my house downstairs, which is at the bottom of a hill, got flooded so you had to wade in and out of the house. The garage under the house was probably also flooded. They say it will continue to rain for most of this week too. Feels like autumn with this grey, very dark and wet weather. It is warm outside though with about 20 centigrades.


The pictures above and below were shot by me during the worst hailstorm on July 17th, 2005.

It is again pouring when I write this. Thundering too.

Wonder when the sun will appear the next time so I can use my sunchair again – now under plastic. The sun – when there is a sun – is on the balcony in the morning and until around 11.30 AM. A nice place for breakfast in the sun and reading the morning paper.

The yellow-brown area in the second image is the lawn in the yard. Grass seemingly all dead as you can see. Now, a bit more than a week later, that grass is green again. So it wasn’t really dead after all. Just very dry.

By now all warnings for risk of forest fires are over. And those that started in the south of Sweden no longer burn. It is still prohibited to grill though except on your own land.

All grass pollen is also finally gone and I can breath again and no longer have itching eyes. What a relief. I still sneeze though. Guess there is still some pollen inside the flat.

Posted by nini in Thoughts, 0 comments

The Boohiss Incident on the InDesign mailinglist

THE BOOHISS INCIDENT ON THE INDESIGN MAILINGLIST is a report about what can happen on a public mailinglist, in this case the InDesign mailinglist at OmniPilot (formerly Blueworld, later Lassosoft) when somebody chooses to misunderstand and to read in meanings into something despite what they think is there is not.

Another heading for this report could be BECAUSE HE/SHE/WE COULD which were the keywords for the outbrake.

The mails appear approximately in the order they were sent to the list. I’ve deleted parts of the emails that are not interesting in this context, and I’ve deleted the names of the authors in most cases, and their email-addresses in all cases.

This is where it started with a comment I made to an ongoing disussion about font management programs:

On Mar 20, 2005, at 10:34 PM, wrote:

Mostly because i can, because i’m always interested in what’s possible.

To which fc wrote in response On 21 mar 2005, at 15.53

Good enough answer for me!

And I answered on 21 March 2005 16.02.35 MET

Hmm. Just this morning read an article quoting Bill Clinton saying he did what he did just because he could (concerning Monica)… seems to be a valid reason these days.

To which Isabelle answered with this outbreak on March 21 st 2005 at 18.34.55 MET:

BOO! HISS! Not on this list too! It would be nice if there is somewhere I can go without people bringing up politics.

At the very least it would be nice if a reply like this carried an OT tag so I could open at my own risk. 🙁

How disappointing, on this, of all lists.

So I answered on March 21st 2005 at 18.54.59 MET:

?? I really think you are overreacting and being overly sensitive here 😉

Nothing political in that comment, not in meaning and not in intention.

We were discussing reasons for doing things (in this case using the Font and DA Mover in Classic), among other things the reason “because I could”.

This came to mind then because of something I read this morning.

And just like a lot (and I mean a LOT) of other things the last half year or so has not been labelled OT there was no reason to do it here either.

To which FCLA commented:

Bravo, Nini! Crank it up.

A few rigid young “professionals” have taken over the list and have drained it of humour. It amazes me that MB is allowed to birth the occasional pun run. Not that the InDesign list was ever a barrel of laughs like the PageMaker list could be at times, of course. A bit dry from the offset. But speaking as one who goes back to the old PageMaker forums on AOL, this is sad to see. Very sad to see indeed.

And E. commented the following on March 21st at 18.59.21 MET to Isabells outbrake:

This is not politics. This is a humorous observation of a current trend. Please … I’m only saying this because I can … (or can’t I?)

To which F commented:

Yes, you can. And I’m glad you did. 🙂

So fc wrote:

Oooh – I’m going to be a Bad Boy now…

By the way, have you heard the one about Monica taking her dress to a hard-of-hearing dry cleaner?

So BillB answered:

Oooh – I’m going to be a Bad Boy now…

By the way, have you heard the one about Monica taking her dress to a hard-of-hearing dry cleaner?

And I am unsubscribing.

To the same comment from Isabelle, Bob answered on March 21st at 21.00.18 MET:

Oh for pity’s sake, lighten up. I don’t think Nini (who isn’t a US citizen) was being political.

And Rick commented:

What?s a little humor during the day while we all work?

To Bill JS answered:

If you change the channel how will you get your Daily Dose o’ Dov?

And Bob commented:

We should never have to read anything that we don’t find pleasing. 🙂

To all this Isabelle answered both offlist to certain of us and onlist the following:

People have written:

– This is not politics. This is a humorous observation of a current trend.Current? The situation mentioned is SEVEN years old.

– ?? I really think you are overreacting and being overly sensitive here 😉 Nothing political in that comment, not in meaning and not in intention.

Then why not be safe and use a neutral example (George Leigh Mallory)? Certainly there are more recent, or even older, examples in U.S. politics if you felt the need to add this type of commentary to an otherwise interesting and helpful thread.

– By the way, have you heard the one about

On another list or at least bearing an OT tag.

– Oh for pity’s sake, lighten up. I don’t think Nini (who isn’t a US citizen) was being political.

Oh, for pity’s sake? *You* may not think that the post was political, but do you get to decide for everyone? What’s so hard about respecting everyone and keeping such remarks off the list? I’d be just as unhappy with needless commentary on Prince Charles or Tony Blair or Vincente Fox.

– What?s a little humor during the day while we all work?

Who gets to decide what is humorous for the rest of us?

– We should never have to read anything that we don’t find pleasing. 🙂

PRECISELY why, all excuses aside, it should at the very least have been labelled OT. Better, there are chatter lists specifically for that kind of discussion.

As I said, disappointing.

–end of Isabelles long anser—

To which JS answered:

Two readings from “The Return of the Archons”

==================================

You have come as destroyers.

You bring an infection.

You have come to a world without hate,

without fear,

without conflict…

no war…

no disease…

no crime…

none of the ancient evils.

Landru seeks tranquillity…

peace for all…

the universal good.

The good must transcend the evil.

It shall be done.

So it has been since the beginning.

You will be absorbed.

Your individuality will merge

into the unity of good,

and in your submergence into the common being of the body,

you will find contentment

and fulfillment.

You will experience…

the absolute good.

======================================

Fascinating. This is merely a hollow tube, Captain

To which Bob commented:

Even this will offend someone on this list 🙂

My own comment to Isabelle was:

I am amazed … and I do not understand your reaction at all.

For heavens sake lighten up and don’t read things into to something it never was and make up plots that never existed.

And don’t please start a war about non-existing things.

Nobody has been political here.

Again: we were just making friendly non-sensical comments in general about the tendency to do things “just because you could/can”. And on a perfectly on topic matter: font handling.

To which Bob said:

Nini, you’re entitled to your opinion and I respect that. There was nothing wrong, displaced or offending in your comment this morning about you know who.

And Jims comment to Isabell was:

Did you start this new thread with an OT tag?

Usually the quickest way to stop a thread propagating, or indeed mutating into another one, is, don’t post!

For myself I find the asides just as interesting as the ID stuff… but I was raised on the QuarkXPress List…

To which Isabell answered:

– Did you start this new thread with an OT tag?

No, I did not, because I thought asking people to refrain from politics was completely on-topic. At the very least, the subject was completely descriptive of the contents.

If you think it is off-topic, I apologize to you and to others who may have been misled by my lack of tag. I’ll add it now. Again, my apologies.

P.S. Thank you for not making the “necessary on a firetruck?” joke I’ve heard all my life. I’m sure many of you have thought it; I appreciate your restraint. 😉

Then Isabelle came back with a vengance and said on March 22nd at 00.57.49 MET:

– There was nothing wrong, displaced or offending

In your opinion.

Not in mine.

Why is your opinion more important or more correct than mine?

I am sick of hearing about this adulterer, people making jokes as if what he did was nothing to worry about. It happened years ago yet he keeps being brought up. He hurt his wife, he devastated his daughter, and we think it’s okay to banter this indiscretion about as a joke on a professional list? How is that *not* offensive?

No. There are other lists for that kind of political talk. Stop making excuses for this.

– I am amazed … and I do not understand your reaction at all. For heavens sake lighten up and don’t read things into to something it never was and make up plots that never existed.

That you can’t see what you wrote or even apologize for offending, EVEN IF YOU DIDN’T MEAN TO, is what’s *really* amazing. It’s not up to you to understand my reaction, only to respect it! I don’t care if you didn’t intend to bring up a political matter, you did it, and you should stop making excuses and own up to it. I don’t care if you thought it was okay to skip the OT tag because others had done it, you thought wrong — their OT wasn’t disgusting or controversial or political. You made your choices.

– Again: we were just making friendly non-sensical comments in general about the tendency to do things “just because you could/can”. And on a perfectly on topic matter: font handling.

We weren’t making friendly nonsensical comments about ex-Presidents ruining people’s lives; that has nothing to do with font handling. You made a mistake with your offtopic post. That you continue to duck your responsibility in this matter speaks volumes.

Where do either of you draw the line for what’s permissible? Shall we make jokes about Terri Schiavo? abortion? the Pope’s illness? tsunami victims?

Abu Ghraib? Is nothing off limits?

I made a simple request: To keep politics off this professional list. It is beyond me why this request is being belittled as if it has no merit.

— end of Isabelles long reply —

To which Brian commented:

– What’s so hard about respecting everyone and keeping such remarks off the list?

What about respecting Nini’s right to use a familiar public news event as a parallel/contrasting point in an on topic discussion?!

It would be nice if certain members of this list would stop LOOKING for things to take offense to. It’s more then obvious that what Nini said was not of ill intent. So get over it already.

At which point D. said:

On this list, can’t we all just go back to making bad puns, 🙂 or better yet, solve problems associated with InDesign-based workflows?

To which JS answered:

Only a direct bad-good-pun intervention from MB can achieve what you’re asking.

or better yet, solve problems associated with InDesign-based workflows?

Aw come on…don’t you just love the smell of a good, and very tame, flame war in the morning?

And Brian said:

I suck and making bad puns. I’m too straight-laced! 😉

or better yet, solve problems associated with InDesign-based workflows?

This could work! 😉

So Isabelle said:

– or better yet, solve problems associated with InDesign-based workflows?

Amen. That’s all I was asking.

To which JS commented:

Oh, so what stopped you from asking an InDesign question today?

And DCs comment to D was:

I like to think of every bad pun as a workflow problem that never happened.

By then Bob said:

This has been flogged to death, but some hypersensitive individuals have used more band width whining about a very minor wise crack than the original ever could have wasted. Do what I do: if you don’t like a remark, ignore it — this is a fun, informative gang of people. If you had a guest at a party and they told a joke you weren’t thrilled with, would you have them thrown out?

Jeeze, give me a break.

Which HS commented with:

And then bomb Iraq and kill people because Monica was on the front page…

Because he could!

Bush and Iraq

<chorus now>

Pay no attention to that irony-challenged person….

To which I answered offlist:

No I won’t pay attention to that person. I am just shaking my head in disbelief of how paranoid and touchy some people can be.

She (or is it a he?) sent me (and a number of other people on the list) a mail offline and still goes on about the comment being political. Well, they wasn’t. She demands an apology. She isn’t getting one. That persons comments are so ridiculous they are unbelievable.

To which HS commented:

Especially given the fact that 99.9999% of your posts never mention politics.

The problem is that this is the internet; if it were in person, you would see how they are and avoid them….

And fc offlist said the following:

This off-list note to say that I thought your Bill Clinton remark was funny – and just fine. I think that any list like this gathers its share of weirdo’s (even me?) and they should be disregarded. I have learned a lot from this list, and from your posts. Please ignore the idiots & keep posting as you always have!

To which I answered offlist on March 22nd at 21.17.18 MET

No I won’t pay attention to that person. I am just shaking my head in disbelief of how paranoid and touchy some people can be.

She (or is it a he?) sent me (and some other people on the list) a real hysterical mail offline and still goes on about the comment being political. Well, it wasn’t. She demands an apology. She isn’t getting one.

That persons comments are so ridiculous they are unbelievable. Haven’t had the time today to answer that email (have been with clients all day) but I will when I get the time for it. Offlist. But reply I will or she will think she silenced me (I am not that easily silenced).

I will not carry on the thread on the list though as I couldn’t comment immediately due to the time differences and also because there is enough off-topic chatter on the list these days as it is. I normally try to not contribute to that, but the friendly non-sensical bantering we were going on with under that topic was hard to resist. Especially when someone mentioned “because he could” on the same day that I read a (actually political) comment about the danger of a society where things are done just “because you could”. That article was about some recent happenings here in Sweden in the Social Democratic Party’s Youth wing, but the comparison was done to that particular comment of Bill Clinton (and what that comment related to) and the discussion was about what a danger to a democratic society an attitude of doing things “because you can” could be. It was a very interesting (political) commentary. My comment though was as far from political that it could be though.

That person must have a dull life where laughing and joking about things must be scarce and she must be offended all the time then. Some people unfortunately are like that. I grew up with, made friends with, and have worked with mainly males all my life, and have never really had female friends. So I am very used to the way the joking can be when in a mainly male group and I do not get easily offended. I’m quite thick skinned (or whatever you say in English).

I’ll keep on posting as usual (on and off depending on how much time I have). Just haven’t had the time to since last night because of clients (had to turn over a smallish website to one and then to do some problem-solving plus teaching of OSX and InDesign at another persons place). I just now came home around 20.00hrs my time. It’s been a long day.

That person makes no difference to my participation on the Indesign list. Just proves some people needs to get real about real life and not take everything so seriously.

To which fc commented:

Can you imagine _living_ with someone like that? I would go find a bus to throw myself in front of!

My last reply to Isabelle, offlist on March 24th at 11.36.55 MET was:

Good Morning,

I probably shouldn’t reply to this at all, but I cannot leave it unanswered as that probably would make you think that your mail silenced me. Haven’t simply had the time to reply until now though due to clients and work.

On 22 mar 2005, at 00.57, you wrote in reply to me saying:

“- There was nothing wrong, displaced or offending”

In your opinion.

Not in mine.”

That is your problem. If you choose to misunderstand and read non-existing meanings into innocent non-sensical humorous bantering between list-collegues, there is nothing I, or anybody else, can do about it. That is your problem.

“Why is your opinion more important or more correct than mine?”

In this case because you are reading meanings into something that simply is not there my opinion is the valid one. I know what I was talking about, you apparently don’t. I also know what my intentions was, you apparently did/do not. There was nothing political about it. Nothing. It is all in how you choose to interpret an innocent comment.

“I am sick of hearing about this adulterer, people making jokes as if what he did was nothing to worry about. It happened years ago yet he keeps being brought up. He hurt his wife, he devastated his daughter, and we think it’s okay to banter this indiscretion about as a joke on a professional list? How is that *not* offensive?”

That is your problem. Jokes about public persons are not by automation offensive just because they are made and are something you will have to learn to live with in the real world. In this case the comment wasn’t really about the ex-president at all but about the phenomenon of being able to do things – any things – just because you can/could. You took it out of context and choose to interpret it in a way that was never intended. That the comment of “because I could” was the most important of it you choose to ignore. That that comment happened to be loosely associated to the ex-president was a coincident because of something I read that very morning (which actually neither had anything to do with him or those occurrences but also in that article with the whole philosophy around doing something just because you can).

“No. There are other lists for that kind of political talk. Stop making excuses for this.”

I will never make any excuses for the one innocent comment I made in that context. I am trying to explain to you that it is was not in bad intent or political. But I am not making excuses. Not to you or anybody else.

“I am amazed … and I do not understand your reaction at all.”

For heavens sake lighten up and don’t read things into to something it never was and make up plots that never existed.

“That you can’t see what you wrote or even apologize for offending, EVEN IF YOU DIDN’T MEAN TO, is what’s *really* amazing. It’s not up to you to understand my reaction, only to respect it! I don’t care if you didn’t intend to bring up a political matter, you did it, and you should stop making excuses and own up to it. I don’t care if you thought it was okay to skip the OT tag because others had done it, you thought wrong — their OT wasn’t disgusting or controversial or political. You made your choices.”

You are making mountains out of nothing here. I have nothing to apologise for and am not intending to give any apologise to anybody. Not to you or anybody else. There IS nothing to apologise for. I actually think YOU should apologise for your misinterpretation and your un-called for outburst.

Again: we were just making friendly non-sensical comments in general about the tendency to do things “just because you could/can”. And on a perfectly on topic matter: font handling.

“We weren’t making friendly nonsensical comments about ex-Presidents ruining people’s lives; that has nothing to do with font handling. You made a mistake with your offtopic post. That you continue to duck your responsibility in this matter speaks volumes.”

Again, there was nothing political in the comment. See above. I did no mistake. It belonged in the context it was made. Your outburst does not.

“Where do either of you draw the line for what’s permissible? Shall we make jokes about Terri Schiavo? abortion? the Pope’s illness? tsunami victims? Abu Ghraib? Is nothing off limits?”

Depends on the context and the intention and how it is made. Ever watch a stand-up show about actualities? Probably not. To survive the harsh realities of life you have to be able to laugh at the real life sometimes. Laughing is a common human survival tactic.

“I made a simple request: To keep politics off this professional list. It is beyond me why this request is being belittled as if it has no merit.”

Your request has no merit in this context as there WAS no political comment on the list. You choose to make that interpretation. That is your problem. Not mine or the lists. You crave an apology. As there is nothing to make amends for you will not get one. At least not from me.

Have a nice Easter Holiday and life.

I will say no more in this matter, not to the list and not to you.

— end of my last reply to Isabelle —

And that was the end of the BOO HISS incident. I haven’t really paid attention to if Isabelle is still on the list or not. Might be in “lurk-mode”.

—–

The mailinglist I am reporting from is about InDesign.

Commentary written July 26th, 2005

The philosophical aspects of doing something “just because you can” are interesting in all contexts.

That morning I read an article discussing exactly those aspects – and not particularly Bill Clinton. That his name at all was mentioned was as an example of someone who used that expression for something he did.

The article however was about the general tendency to do something just because you can/could and what that can lead to.

When the exact same argument was used about converting fonts in a particular way, I was reminded about what I read in that article and made that comment.

Who would have known that just by mentioning Bill Clintons name and that sentence in the same breath would push such buttons with somebody? I certainly didn’t.

I will never apologize to anybody for it though. I very simply have nothing to apologize about as I see it.

The difficulty with communication on a mailinglist – particularly an international mailinglist with people from all over the world – is that it is bound to sometimes arise misunderstandings.

It is hard to express in writing what you want to say in a way so nobody ever get offended or reads in meanings into the mails that aren’t there.

Some people on these public lists also are extremely touchy and will misunderstand no matter how you express something or no matter what you say.

Some people like to read in political or religious or other meanings into something said, even though that was never the intention of the author of the mail.

This was such an occasion.

I’ve saved the communication as it is interesting to see how fast something can deteriorate on a public list.

The storm blew over in a couple of days, but it was rather nasty while it lasted.

It’s been quite on the InDesign list ever since. Some people must have unsubscribed…. 😉

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Back to normal

Malca and Nini 1970

BUT LIFE GOES ON AND BACK TO NORMAL. I told Malca about Tedy and she was just as shocked. We also – again – talked about me coming to Israel again. Haven’t been there since 1993. Somehow you realise that sometimes things CAN be too late and also that nobody is immortal. Presently I cannot afford going to Israel even though I can stay at Malca’s. It is more expensive to fly to Israel from Sweden than it is to fly to the US. I first have to pay what I owe the IRS, plus pay back what the unemployment agency by mistake paid me twice. As I now again only work 25 percent, my income is not exactly great.

I don’t really mind being unemployed – particularly not in the summer and when the weather is fine. I’ve always had lots of things to do and even so don’t have enough time for everything I would like to do (some things I am unable to do due to the lack of money, but that is something else).

I’ve been scanning my old slides from Israel from 1965 – 1974. Slow job. Boring job. But it had to be done before the slides become totally unusable. Some are next to unusable and will need a lot of editing to be possible to view. So, now only have the rest of the slides from 1974 to 1991 to still scan… 1992 I went back to regular photos with negatives and paperprints. The oldest slides also are in frames with glass which have destroyed some of them. They look like they’ve got some disease…

It’s been interesting though to see all those old slides. Made me wonder where some of those people on them are today.

My slidescanner, a Konica Minolta DiMage Scan Dual IV, is very slow, but actually quite good at scanning. At least after I switched from the application that came with the scanner to VueScan instead. Good piece of software with lots of settings. I also fell in love with Photoshop CS2 new spot healing tool. Very effective on those old spotty scanned slides.

The last three weeks approximately the weather has been fantastic. Warm, dry and sunny like around the Meditarranean. If only the grass would stop blooming – I’m extremely allergic to it.

Yesterday my bike suddenly had a flat tire. I had no tools to fix it and no spare inner tires either, so had to walk the bike to bike-repair in Skärholmen to get it fixed. I haven’t changed a flat tire on a bike since I was 10, and then it was a one gear bike – my present bike has 24 – so I have no idea how to do that even if I had had the tools for it. It was the back-tire that collapsed. I collected the bike this afternoon. Felt handicapped without it.

Next week I’ll work the whole week at DD. We are taking turns so the office won’t have to be closed during summer. We could lose more clients if we did. So, have to go up in the morning for five whole days… Ah, well.

I hope it will rain the whole week… 😉 Which by the way would be good for the nature as it is ever so dry everywhere.

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Sorrow. Great sorrow.

After not sleeping all that well, being so sad after learning that Tedy is dead and that it really is too late to see him again, I got restless and needed to go out. Went for a long walk with the camera, up on the hill and down again through the woods. It was overcast, very silent, just me and the birds. I shot around 120 photos on my regular trees, the sky, the road, flowers etc. in that area. It is soothing.

At one time when sorrow almost overwhelmed me, I shot some sky-pictures of the summerclouds. I looked at the small cloud in the center of the larger ones and thought of Tedy. It did not make me any happier.

When I got back home, sun was out again and it was time for a coffee in the sun and catching up with the latest magazines. Tedy was never far away in my thoughts.

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Nobody is immortal…

Tedy 1979

Do you get less sad to learn that somebody dear to you died, even if it happened almost four years ago? The answer is no, absolutely not. You get just as sad, when you learn about it almost four years after it happened.

I got the following mail tonight from Tedy’s younger brother Alex:

“Hi Nini,

By chance we found your site and read about Tedy. We are very impressed about the details we have found about the relationship between Tedy and you.

Tedy 1972

We are very sorry to inform you that on 11th September 2001, Tedy passed away because of a heart break. It was suddenly and unexpected. He died at his home alone, without any emergency first aid. We all were shocked and cannot believe this disaster still now.

It’s so symbolic date, a great architect was died when the twins towers were destroyed in the US ….

If you want to contact with us our address is: (deleted for this page) yours, Alex.”

Tedy 1972

Tedy 1972

I was stunned, and shocked, and went all cold and numb. And so sad. It doesn’t matter that it is now almost four years ago. I didn’t know till now. How would I have known hadn’t his brother found my site and my page about Tedy? For a very long time I intended to write to Tedy. I wanted to know if life got any kinder to him, if he ever got happy and content with life? But I never got around to writing for some reason. So we never got a chance to talk again. Or to meet again.

The way he died does not surprise me though, knowing how passionate he could be about things, any things. It kind of fits.

I will of course answer Alex, but first this has to sink in. It is hard to imagine an Israel and a Tel Aviv where Tedy no longer is. He was an important person in my life. I would like to believe that I was too in his. I think I was.

Me and Tedy 1972

Oh Tedy. I miss you so, and I weep for you. I always loved you.

Page about Tedy here.

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It is a BIG difference to work 75 percent instead of 25 …

It is a BIG difference to work 75 percent instead of 25 percent like I did the previous year. I’ve still got the 25 percent at my old job, plus the 50 percent at the newspaper. Much less time to write something here. I enjoy the work at the big daily newspaper. I just wish I could quit my 25% work at my old workplace and get a full time employment in one single place. I have no idea what will happen after June 3rd when the job at the big newspaper comes to an end. Chances to get something full-time and steady are slim. I’ve got age against me. We will have to see what will happen. I’ll try to write more frequently here.

Spring is finally approaching. Snow is almost gone, after a winter with quite a lot of snow and actually rather cold weather compared to the last couple of years. The sun and light is now finally back.

This summer I will probably not be able to go abroad. Simply cannot afford it. Had to buy a new TV (the old one died) and just got advised I owe more income tax for last year. Not at all fun.

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