Hand(y) phone

Can you imagine not having to search for your cell phone when its making a hell of a noise with your newly acquired ringing tone in your purse or pocket? Instead you can press your arm and just talk. Check out the article here: http://www.tu.no/forbrukerteknologi/article141997.ece (in norwegian)

In short, we might be a lot closer to a wireless future than we ever could imagine for 2008. A designer has now developed a phone, that is operated in underneath your skin. It will be with you for as long as you live and not visible when its not in use. When in use, it looks like a tattoo and power is provided by pressure from the blood streams in your veins. Bluetooth enables talking, listening and internet I assume.

S people having various technological gadgets implemented in to their bodies is suddenly not so unlikely? What if someone calls you in the middle of the night? Or the ligth malfunctions and you can't turn it off at night? That would be annoying. Or if something malfunctions and you need to place it to service three times before you can have a new one? That would require a lot of operations?

Another thing is the security issues. Can you then be tracked down when wearing it? Just how (un)fortunate can it be that personal information can leak out if your blood pressure, heart condition etc can be measured by this apparatus as well?

Anyhow, they are still testing it, so we will have to wait and see what they come up with. I can't hide the fact that I think the phone looks really cool though =)

Christmas pre preparation time

So now i am soon heading for a warmer climate once again to avoid the jolly spirit of pre christmas preparations! =) I am very much looking forward to it - I found a picture somewhere on the web that I imagine provide a good description of what I can expect.

The most Christmas spirit I found myself in was when they brought in the Christmas tree that stands in the city centre of Bergen on Torgalmenningen. The tree was being dragged by a huge truck to its destination. It was a fascinating sight and I had to take a picture of the tree blocking the pedestrians crossing as I was about to cross.. I´ve also been to the Pepperkake village (gingerbread cookies) which is supposedly the largest in the world, but I don´t know how many countries actually hosts these kinds of events in the first place =) It was great fun and I allowed myself to take on the appearence of a five-year-old that never had seen so many cookies in one place before! In addition to that the people I live with and I held a Christmas workshop where we made various candles, candy and decoration - as we played Christmas songs for eight hours! It was the best of times!

Oh well, I guess I have done a lot of christmassy things lately, and enjoyed it! I´m still gonna enjoy a vacation in 20 + degrees anyway! Have a great Christmas pre preparation time - may it not exhaust you before Christmas...!

Outside the borders..

Since I will be heading to China next year right before the Olympics I find it interesting to pay attention to articles that have been written about China as you might have noticed by now.. Most of them focus on problems that China could run into in relation to the Olympics. But, in addition to the more common angles on Chinese politics (one child policies, poverty gap, olympics reforms a.s.o) there are other views that also have caught my attention.

The most nuanced article I have read in a while on China's success doesn't concern itself with the above mentioned things in particular or other issues which concern China's situation internally. It brings attention to how China, as a rising nation, has been forced to take a stand in issues - internationally. Often, articles on China tend to focus on internal problems, but doesn't focus on why this has become of current interest. Which is why I think this is a breath of fresh air in the row of articles about China because it says something about the fact that China can no longer hide behind its closed doors to the extent it has done before by just putting a lid on tough political issues. Perhaps this development not only leads to emerging diplomacy, it could also lead to further secrecy and increased cencorship, but the international community is paying attention. Still, China is not only a manufacturer anymore, but a participant and a partner in global issues - a change that results in an increased focus on solving internal conflicts - which in turn forces it to take action within its own borders as well. Hopefully.

Its status is anyhow different now from what it used to be - not only being a booming country and a factory for the world. We are entering a new era of China.

THE GOLD IS HOME!!

GULLET ER HEME!!!!!!!

The city´s soccer team where I live - BRANN - just won the gold in the soccer series in Norway for the first time in 44 years!! It is being celebrated like only the supporters of Brann can as I write!! Congrats - you deserve it!!!

e-learning in china

E-learning is a big issue in China and can be a factor for improving many issues concerning resource, economical and social gaps in the society. Retraining people for new and different tasks that follow from the continuously changing markets has become a high priority in China. Educating people in rural areas where children not always have expert help within reach might now have the opportunity to connect with teachers and other co-students through the internet and various e-learning tools. For now this project is located in the 20 major cities in China, but it has passed the crucial seeding and has now grown roots in the chinese educational system and it will be exiting to see how e-learning`s full potential can be exploited in a country with so many differences and variables.

differentiated one child policy - a BBC view.

On BBC news they discuss some of the viewpoints of the one child policy in China. This gives a short overview of some of the issues. Some months ago China once again declared that they would sustain an even stricter one child policy to enforce the development - they say they`ve prevented 400 million births till now since the beginning in 1979 when the policy was first introduced.

Although the rich can afford having more than one child it is unfortunately an arrangement that is hitting the poorest hardest and has lead to further problems such as protests and stripping homes for valuables in order to collect the fines. This has created dislikement amongst the less economic fortunate who are angry with the rich and famous who can write a check each month without noticing much difference in their credit balance and thus plead to the government to stop them from having two and three children. Ironically it has turned out that many of the rich are government officials which doesn`t exactly send out the right message.

The rules are of course not as black and white as most people think. When I was in China I spoke to some of my chinese friends who had siblings who explained to me that if their parents did not have any siblings they could have two or more children. This is just one of the exeptions which most Westerners don`t know about. Thus there are grey areas in this policy which you can read more about here.

One of the major problems China will have to face is that the country will host approx. 40 million single men by 2020 which BBC news has reported on before. What will they do to bring on the next generation? How will this induce sustainable growth within the economy and the future job market?

How will also the low number of young generations be able to take care of the old and elderly? Traditionally families take care of eachother and the elderly are of course provided for by their children. The results are showing already as schools are turned into old people`s homes. As it is getting gradually even more difficult for young people in the cities to move out and get a life of their own due to high living costs and crowded city spaces, they cannot start saving with only their own future in mind.

Traditions haven`t changed in the same pace as the society has changed and so these children still need to attend to many issues by themselves and feeling responsible for the "face" of the family, which previously would be shared on several siblings. The "few" children which the past AND future generations are now relying on, are facing enormous pressure and many fear they cannot live up to this. Many children feel they must live up to an image of the "perfect child", an image arisen due to the fact that the parents only have "one shot" of making it right. It`s a tuff reality.