Moving

Find me in www.igmosi.com from now on.

See you there!!

thanks!

Comtemporary telephone box

These are some of the few telephone box that there are in Helsinki. The fees are around 0,20€/min, at once you are speaking you can facebook, youtube, email… etc. There is nothing similar to classic old telephone box.

Location: Finland » Helsinki » Central Railway Station

Helsinki travel card

That is the Helsinki travel card used for all public transport  in Helsinki and neighbor cities; buses, commuter trains, underground trains and trams, as well as the Suomenlinna ferry. Besides does it makes easy to travel working as a proximity card, the card has another useful feature. Finland, a country where on winter the darkness is presence most part of the day, reflecting objects are useful and essential everyday. The card has a reflecting side which helps to site you when the bus is coming; simple and useful.

Location: Finland » Helsinki

Eyewriter

The EyeWriter project is an ongoing collaborative research effort to empower people who are suffering from ALS with creative technologies.

It is a low-cost eye-tracking apparatus & custom software that allows graffiti writers and artists with paralysis resulting from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to draw using only their eyes. The project is development teams consists of members of Free Art and Technology(FAT), OpenFramework and Graffiti Research Lab.

One of the member of that teamwork is Zack  Lieberman. I had the opportunity to share a workshop with him in Barcelona during one week. I am huge fan of him, I love how he uses technology in a playful and enigmatic way to explore the nature of communication and the delicate boundary between the visible and the invisible. Take a look on his site and check his works, are amazing!.

Recycling@Design

Last Saturday morning I was attending the TOKYO’s Christmas sale. TOKYO, the Student Organization of the University of Art and Design organized a market where art student gathered to sell their own products. It took place in Mediacenter Lume and the main lobby of TaiK, around 40 desks carefully set up and friendly led by the students.

Besides comics, photographs and clothing, there were  lot of products combining recycling and design. What i liked most was Elli Saarinki’s stuff. She gathered to sell her collection of jewellery like bracelets, necklaces and earring made of coloured pencils, really really original.

Location: Finland » Helsinki

Buzzers, intercoms

Saint Petersburg, most of the entries still keep the old buzzers in doors. They seem from many years ago, without brand and signature. To help guests find out which buzzer is, each block has a signal that shows you how apartments are distributed. In the below picture, the signal means ..2st floor, apartments from 1 to 4; 3th floor apartments from 5 to 8, etc…

But most of the old buzzers have been recently replaced by a modern intercom. As lock an electromagnetic lock.

Location: Russia » Saint Petersburg

Pipe

Location: Russia » Saint Petersburg

Time management norms.

How time affects behavior is a relevant area of study in intercultural communication. Basically, how we manage time is how we use it and for what purposes, how people think about or orient their behavior to time can vary considerably across cultures.

Last week in Saint Petersburg, we collided with time management behavior. Neither restaurants nor clubs wanted to split the bills for each one. To split bills means to take for each one so it means time and time means money. Can you imagine a group of not Russian-speakers trying to figured out how much each one pay?

I wasn’t easy to do it. As solution of this deal, the service borrows you with the bill a calculator to do it…brilliant!!

Examining how people relate to time, we can learn a great deal about how they communicate and how they value in communication.

Location: Russia » Saint Petersburg

Face to face

Unisex bathrooms in restaurants and clubs of Saint Petersburg. I had never seen before a toilet with two pans in the same room and I had never imagine myself sharing those privates moments.

Location: Russia » Saint Petersburg

Aggressive street art

Location: Russia » Saint Petersburg

We did it!!

Yes, we did it!!. Last 7th of November, we broke the Guinness World Record for the most nacionalities in a sauna. It was 56, it is now 76, thanks to multinational participants. It was a really great day, unforgettable. More information about the record in the works content asap.

Location: Finland » Helsinki

Covered

Useful for rain, good for typing?

Location: Finland » Suomenlinna » Military Sauna

Disconnecting from food habits

Everyone who has lived in Finland knows that there is not much more culture of food there, in fact, Finnish food has a poor reputation. There are three meals per day: early breakfast, lunch time between 12 and 2pm and dinner time between 5 and 7pm. If you have a chance to share weekly days with Finnish people, you can realize that sometimes lunch time can goes unnoticed, it is not a moment to enjoy eating, is not a break time when journey stops and afternoon starts, is just another one more.

However, there are some traditional dishes. Weeks ago, I was attending a Finnish cuisine course where we cook some of then. Among other dishes there are Karelian Pastry and Sautedd Reindeer and as typically deserts Cinnamon Buns ans Blueberry Pie. Finnish cuisine shares a lot with Swedish, German and Russian cuisines. Read more here about it.

But the real eating life in Finland is not an easy issue, and much more for someone who is used to Mediterranean diet like me. In my personal opinion, this is the biggest cultural shock for us. Food is really expensive at supermarkets (lettuce 2.3€, bread 2€, packet of chicken breast 6€) even thought some of the fresh food…is frozen food. A way to take it easy if you are student is to eat a meal at schools lunch service that costs 1.3€ and which includes on small salad plate, a principal dish which can be chosen between two possibilities, water and bread. Everyone eats at school services even Finnish student. Other way, is fast food. Finland has its owner fast food chain: Hesburger.

Two and an half months after getting into Finland, I have started to forget my food habits, I have forgotten Mediaterranean diet, I have forgotten to enjoy eating, just taking hungry away, in other words; disconnecting from food habits. Does it means I getting over cultural shock??

Location: Finland » Helsinki

Leader gear.

That is the typical teacher’s desk in Haaga-Helia, full of equipment; two flat screens, a modern project working with an aerial video camera, a desk computer, a multimedia touch screen control (speakers, overhead projector, screens) and an audio-recorder.

I wonder if all of this equipment is really necessary for leading lessons. Do you think it’s too much??. I think so.

Location: Finland » Helsinki

Central heating for cars.

The cars can be switched on a kind of electric heating to keep it warm.

Location: Finland » Helsinki » Pihlajamäki

Taking care of symbols

The winter is coming up.

Location: Finland » Helsinki » Central Railway Station

Asleep.

Location: Finland » Turku

Conventional maps Vs iPhone.

Last Wednesday 21-Oct, Chen Yi, Laura and I was visiting Turku, last capital of Finland (before Helsinki) and one of the oldest cities of the country. To be honest, not much places to see except the river banks and The Turku Castle . It was my first journey close to an iPhone. I usually like traveling with a conventional travel guide, normally Lonely Planet. I am used to carry it; history about, check the maps, where to go, where to eat, are really useful info… always or almost, it works. After looking how Chen Yi interacted with his iPhone, I realized it plus broadband lets enjoy in a much real-time way your trip. Wiki-travel and Google maps with GPS application were one of the tools used by him. Chen Yi close to his iPhone and Laura to her Lonely Planet were fighting on many situations. Laura checked the map and follow her intuition to get the place having a nice walk while Chen Yi pretended to follow the iPhone’s instructions.

While they argued, I was thinking about travel guides for mobiles. It would be really useful a guide for phones which approaches Internet assets. As I am used to Lonely Planet guide, I was thinking about it. For instance, “where to go part” plus GPS which guides you to the restaurant chosen, or “where to sleep part” using a services which lets you checkout places, prices and availability. In few words, a travel guide using IT services.

Once at home, I started to checkout how travel guides are update with new IT services. And yes indeed! it exists. Lonely Planet Mobile has on-line guides to download in phones and be used like I thought. Great!!

What about Laura and Chen Yi fight?, Who won? Battery’s iPhone died in two-three hours. So, Laura’s intuition guided us and we had nice walk around.While they argued, I was thinking about travel guides for mobiles. It would be really useful a guide for phones which approaches Internet assets. As I am used to Lonely Planet guide, I was thinking about it. For instance, where to go part plus GPS which guides you to the restaurant chosen, or where to sleep part using a services which lets you checkout places, prices and availability. In few words, a travel guide using IT services.

Location: Finland » Turku

Credit card Slot machine.

Much gambling addiction in Finland. Besides casinos and pubs, there are slots in supermarkets and train stations. I have never imagine slot machines accepting credits cards. Can you imagine the impact on your card?

Location: Finland » Helsinki » Tali bowling alley

Finland# Don’t waste anything!

Huge culture about second-hand markets in Finland. Finnish people, mostly young, are used to sell their personal things, they  usually neither  keep it or throw it away. That is due to apartments are smaller or just they keep nothing that they do not use.  Why do not sell it? This kind of markets are frequently visited by couples with newborn babies to look for some clothes or whatever they need for their children. Also, once they have grown up, parents resell their stuff as third-fourth-hand. It is like a wheel that never stops.

We often visit Flea Market Valtteri (find it here) on Sunday mornings. Our earlier buyers have been a really nice dress[jacket+trousers] (1€), a skirt (3€), a piece of corduroy trousers (3€),a  nice hat (2€) and a iron-machine(4€).  You most likely find what you are looking for; clothes, furniture, games,  books, flowers, even thought there is a old-technology stand… where everything works.

Talking to one of the sellers, one desk costs 26€/day. It can be rented by Internet (here) and you just need put your stuff over and seller abilities.

Sure if I leave Finland, I will be there selling my stuff and Laura’s…

Location: Finland » Helsinki » Flea Market Valtteri