Finally, some positive news from Iraq.

I was moved by the high voter turnout in today's election in Iraq. I was also relieved that the bloodshed was limited. I don't agree with how Iraq got into its current situation; I was against the U.S. invasion. However, I feel like today's election may be a turning point and that things may be set to improve significantly in the near future. Let's hope so.

Thorns of a dog rose, sprinkled with frost. The red fruit of rosa canina is commonly used in Sweden to make nypon soppa, rose hip soup.

A sunrise photo.

Our flight from Steamboat was delayed a bit because of a fog bank covering the airpoirt in Denver. In this photo, downtown Denver and the Rockies can be seen in the background, and the South end of the airport appears through edge of the fog bank or right in the foreground.

IBM Sweden's 2005 kickoff party

IBM Sweden's 2005 kickoff party at Globen (the globe) arena.


The place was hopping!


Lena Philipsson was there. She sang a few songs for us.

Quick trip to Säfsen

Yesterday I went on a day trip for a little skiing at Säfsen with some colleages from IBM. Here we are posing at the warming cabin at the top of the mountain. With me in the photo are Torbjörn, Martina, Annette, and Håkan.


I skied a few runs wearing my black felt cowboy hat, but that was a bit chilly.


Annete, Håkan, Tobbe, and Tina posing at the top.


Ski pro Tobbe lost a ski while boarding the lift. Ha ha!


The snow was pretty thin, and the snowmaking machinery was running the whole time.


There was a lovely sunset over the mountain as we packed to return to Stockholm.

Delayed in Chicago

When I flew through Chicago on the way home from to Stockholm, my flight from Austin to Chicago was delayed due to a big snowstorm there in Chicago. By the time my plane landed in Chicago, it seemed too late for me to catch the SAS flight to Stockholm. My AA flight from Austin taxied by the international terminal on its way to its gate in a different terminal. In the distance through the snow, I could see the SAS plane I needed to catch. But by the time I had gotten off the plane, gotten through the terminal, taken a train to the international terminal, gone back through security, and made my way to the gate where the SAS plane was, it had already left. I had to wait six hours in the Chicago airport for the next SAS flight, a 10:30 p.m. flight to Copenhagen. This also meant that I had to catch yet another flight from Copenhagen to Stockholm. As a result, I arrived home in the evening on the 6 January instead of the early morning. C'est la vie.


There was a lot of snow falling in Chicago, so the de-icing crews were out in force.

Strawberry Park hot springs

I'm testing Picasa 2. Here's a photo of me in Strawberry Park hot springs near Steamboat. It was really enjoyable. The water coming out of the ground was well over 150 F, and was collected in several pools along the banks of a river. I warmed up in the hottest of the pools and then took a swim in the ice-cold river. I could only stay in the cold water for about 15-20 seconds before my legs began to ache and I had to get out again.