I sometimes train by myself like today because we didn’t have Krav Maga yesterday. There are very few pictures of me training despite I’ve done budo/self-defense for more than a decade. So I give you: Susie Goes Gungfu. The techniques are mostly from Escrima/Panatukan/Silat/WingTsun KungFu and Karate/Kick/Thai Boxing/Krav Maga. It’s a bit hard to tell these days. The pictures were taken from 5th floor. My favourite pictures are perhaps these: 615, 616, 617, 618. I was more impressed that I was able to kick on that surface than to deal w/double sticks. This was the first time I actually worked out on such a narrow surface.

An interesting aside is that Modern Mano Mano Finland has a new course in the autumn which I might join, if it pleases me. I’m considering getting their DVDs to see for myself that what stuff is taught in the system. The curriculum is from Ernesto Presas Sr. I’m almost certainly going to keep going to Krav Maga once a week, even if I join Mano/Mano.

As some of you may already know, I’m joining GTECH Finland as a Software Engineer in two or three weeks. I find this opportunity very exciting because my professional background fits their business very well and I really felt right at home when I visited GTECH Finland last Friday. The company and the people seem great. So I’m very happy to be joining them soon!

GTECH has been listed in the "100 Best" of Great Place to Work four times [1] [2] [3] [4] .

As far as I know now, my duties there will be related to C programming.

Mikon blogissa on jälleen kerran varsin perustavanlaatuinen kirjoitus ja keskustelu , johon innostuin kirjoittamaan ehkä enemmänkin kuin mikä kohtuullista olisi.

I just received the latest issue of Scientific American Mind and read the story Knowing your chances - What Health Stats Really Mean. Even if I’m somewhat knowledgeable regarding these things and have read at least eight courses of mathematics and physics in the university, I still found the article well worth the read. Reading this article is highly recommended! It’s great that it’s available online, as these kinds of articles always should be that consider public health issues.

Jonathan Haidt: The real difference between liberals and conservatives is a thought-provoking speech. It explains how the morals of liberals and conservatives differ.

I just said goodbye to a very dear friend who is now off to the New Continent. It’s bitter-sweet, as things like this always are, because it’s a great opportunity for him - and even more importantly - a Great Adventure!

In the time of the Internet and airplanes it’s not too bad, but it will inevitable lead to seeing the person a lot less often who used to always be just a five minute drive away. Still, I hope him all the best in the world and am really happy that he’s going. Such rare opportunities like the one he got now should never be taken lightly. It could very well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and you take them if they come your way!

We’ll keep in touch and meet soon enough, I’m already waiting for all the good stories that will be told then. Life is too short, and the Great Adventures are very important! :-)

I was invited by Flander to attend their Qt morning session. I had already looked into Qt 4.5 a bit, but still found the session worth the while. It was good to get an overview from someone who knows it, and of course, the Q&A part was the salt of the seminar. It’s interesting also to know that Qt/Nokia is looking to get 8-10 times the current amout of developers developing w/Qt.

It seems that Edward James Olmos can speak as well IRL, as he does as Commander Adama. See him speaking about race at the UN. I have to say that I’m very touched and deeply impressed by the whole event held at the UN. If you too feel like watching the whole thing, follow this link , or try this command in *nix:

mplayer ‘rtsp://157.150.195.57:554/ondemand/specialevents/2009/se090317pm.rm?cloakport=80,554,7070′ .

This story was originally posted to /.