AKA Göteborg!

I've been there now! To the city of... well I really don't know much about what this city is about. I haven't read up on its history at all, but I know it's a seaside city, of historical stature, with a big port and stone buildings, that I roamed around for a day yesterday.

It seemed to be a nice place.

Most restaurants had a lunch alternative with fish fresh off the market too, which Stockholm does not! I tried Bror & Bord (Brother & Table - though in meaning it's more like 'good friend and place to sit'), and would recommend it warmly. Affordable yet great food, generous servings, fresh salad, bread, butter and coffee. Chocolate too. And the cleanest bathrooms I've maybe ever seen in a restaurant! Plus hospitable staff.

One thing you commonly hear here about Gothenburg is how kind and courteous the people there are - to the point they've had issues with crime and violence, since they've welcomed in basically anyone, and it's true!

The welcoming part, I mean.

You might run into some pretty tough-looking guys on the streets, and so many redheads I'm wondering if this particular port is where most of our Viking descendants assimilated, yet if you happen to interact with them you get all but the cold and callous call-outs you'd expect. They're nice. Don't judge manners by the banners, as they say.

Though I assume I also fortunately didn't run into the wrong people.

I get the impression Stockholm's still way worse, but what do I know after but a day here. People did seem to be staring at their cellphones unusually much though, walking around without looking up at all, that surprised... considering how social they seem to be otherwise even with strangers.

The sidewalks were different too. Almost all were in cobblestone, with lines of larger, smoother rock in the middle. Oldskool, yet with a flare for the ergonomic, modern and more easily walkable.

I bought home some locally brewed Två Feta Grisar (Two Fat Pigs) beer as a souvenir (for my parents - I'm not a fan of bitter brews), made good use of the free WiFi on the VR trains - first time traveling with them too, and had a good five and a half hours to eat and explore the city.

Here's a glimpse:

Read on...

Went shopping today... well hey!

Water molecules ain't the way they once were anymore...

This might not make much sense without a translation but... WTH! Google if you wish to pursue more info dude. It's a blurb about how water molecules have changed since the age of the dinosaurs.

The screenshot above's taken from a random Swedish company website that deals with water, and the circulation or filtration of ditto.

Pretty cool way to showcase their expertise.

Happy 2025!

This one finna be a vibe and lively! Let life be nice as these skies now lighting! The year full of adventure, all grand; exciting! When in times I'm tired, and in trials, I might sink. Climb up as the sparks shine! Depart this here dark mind!! Get out and then start rhyme!!! Some bad peeps leading the way these days. What a waste that eh. 2025? It's OUR TIME.

Let's start this with doodle and Cheer! If you want to peep Last Year's first post you can do that right here.

I hope Harry Mack posts something like this again, that was such a nice way to start the last one.

But he's a great way to start any day anyway. Always bringing smiles and good vibes everywhere his feet lead him, to the beach in Venice, where the trees are knee thin like the water's freezing (though I doubt it is).

The fireworks here are cracking again! And I am inspired. Like Harry Mack with a pen.

The year that's been?

I sped up in the blogging department again, with two more pages in the archives compared to 2023. :) I write more each year apparently, though each year I feel less and less like I do... ain't that some strange magic?

A large part of that's definitely thanks to Inktober and reviews though. I post quite a bit of those, and amped up my efforts a bit with the latter if naught the former compared to last.

I had all the more plans though. And I still have leftovers...

We actually hit the 2,000,000 word count just a few days ago - thanks to those reviews again! So that's like... 28.5 full books! That's cray cray. And when you compare it like that, imagine if I'd spent all this time actually writing books instead of blogging...

How many of those could've been bestsellers? How rich could I have been at this point?!

Who knows. And who cares! That's neither here nor there.

The comment count keeps increasing too. Shout-out my continual compadre in commentary @S3C, and on surprise occasions - like just now - @soulard. :) Wherever did @Biterrrr go though...

In the real world the wars still rage. In the online one I've watched less Yes Theory, and more stunts, and skits, and reactions...

I've succumbed to simpler things again, it seems.

I blame back issues, and look forward to a time where my posts will have less to do with anatomy, and more to do with say autonomy, or my bond to sea, or other interesting things.

I do still follow Çenet though. He recently explored the deepest cave in the world, that was pretty cool.

Did you know that a week underground easily has you go down around 10 kg, even if you eat plenty? The crux being, that if for example I was to attempt such a venture, I'd have to be in hella good shape before I attempt it, and would thus want to lose no more kilos when I'm down there.

There's a reason you can't be underground too long, with cold and exertion slowly but surely depleting your bodies' fat reserves no matter your diet.

There's no miracle cure for anything is there? No pain no gain. No loss without accomplishment. And less YT...

Though I'm not in great shape I've succumbed to a surprisingly small amount of ailments this year though. Maybe my microbiome's better at least. Maybe I'm eating better - I'm definitely not sleeping better. Whatever the reason for it I haven't had a cold for months now , even though I seem to be surrounded by sick people.

*pepper pepper*

Christmas went well, and I watched Interstellar at the cinema today.

I can't think of a better way end the year than with that. A spectacular trek through time and space, to remind us of the adventures we may miss when we self-bind in place, and let us face our fiends, and friends, and families in the best possible way... it's the 10th Year Anniversary of that friggin' masterpiece this year. Glad I got to relive it on the big screen.

I don't think anyone in the room didn't get teary-eyed.

Sat beside a dad and his cool emotionless teenage son, who initially didn't seem too happy about being there, and witnessed how good film truly transcends generations, and breaks everyone.

Maybe a plot like this is a special case though. It's like a glue for broken bonds. It's like the very fabric of family, and yet one of the most bad-ass and (theoretically) authentic space exploration movies of our time too...

Speaking of exploration: Though finances are currently at an ongoing all time low I have done a bit of traveling this year. Dublin went well, Åre went well, Gdansk and Barcelona too recently, and of course I've been back and forth between the city and civilized life and the wilder North throughout most of summer, and a fair bit of spring and autumn too...'

It's been a good year, all things considered.

Even if it oftentimes feels like I don't have time for anything, and that my life has somehow reached a stage where what my days contain is beyond my control.

It's not though. They're not! I'll start the New Year by reminding myself that I'm leading the charge after all, and head out on a few new adventures.

Just booked four cruises the next month... very favorable New Year pricing.

I started my resolutions post late this year, and it's getting late as I write this too. Almost two. The fireworks still pop occasionally outside, but I'm all out of energy... I'll be back tomorrow to better tend to these... posts.

2025! Let's give it all we got, so we then remember it the most, when it's o. Ver

^ Thought about doing something better with that O after a good night's sleep, but you know what? It's not so bad. The O rhymes. The O is also synonymous with a circle, as if to symbolize the cycle of life, and the year, to a smaller extent. And the 'Ver' that follows not only adds a word to the symbolism, but a new line. A blank slate. A new iteration. Another Version of the O, that is now over...

Long stretch? Let's hope the year that now brews is that too. :)

Happy New Year y'all!

In the early days of the web, pages were made primarily by hobbyists, academics, and computer savvy people about subjects they were personally interested in. Later on, the web became saturated with commercial pages that overcrowded everything else. All the personalized websites are hidden among a pile of commercial pages. Google isn't great at finding them, its focus is on finding answers to technical questions, and it works well; but finding things you didn't know you wanted to know, which was the real joy of web surfing, no longer happens. In addition, many pages today are created using bloated scripts that add slick cosmetic features in order to mask the lack of content available on them. Those pages contribute to the blandness of today's web.

The Wiby search engine is building a web of pages as it was in the earlier days of the internet. In addition, Wiby helps vintage computers to continue browsing the web, as pages indexed are more suitable for their performance.

That's taken straight from their about page, I lack the energy to write up something about it myself tonight. :)

But check it out! It sure brings me back. To the days when the Net was free, a creative free-speech decree, and not so under attack...

They've got some nice buttons if you wish to link to them too.

Also. <- Just like the old days!

This was a while back! This December they've been giving out 'golden chairs' at the main cinema franchise over here, for the first time ever! It's a marketing gig designed to get more people to the movies again, and I sure hope it's working. One 'Golden Chair' = FREE CINEMA VISITS FOR LIFE!

So I've been to the cinema a few times this month. No golden chair yet alas. Saw the final flick today, and tonight we cheer in a New Year...

But this really was a pretty cool initiative.

Read on...