Jarrah's Uplink

More melbourne for me... just a single day outing this time, though. Hung out with a huge number of my friends and associates. Visited John's colledge (his student union has The. Most. Awesome. Lounge. Room. Ever. Seriously, they have huge leather couches).

One of the reasons I went was to collect my printed copy of The TransStellar Poster! You can check it out here, as well as three more variations on it here, here, and here. And you'll be able to order them from us for a small sum of monetary resource, just as soon as I work out a way to add shopping page or something similar...

Today I spent most of my time watching these three videos over and over again. Not terribly productive, really.

And now, a link to the webcomic entitled Riceboy. Surreal. Epic. And downright cool.

John's Uplink

Finland. From the island-splattered reaches of the Baltic coast to the cold norther reaches of Lappland, this small and mildly irrelevant country constantly manages to embarass larger, more important countries with their consistently high ratings in diverse areas such as education, health outcomes, human rights and the functionality of civic institutions. What gives this ice-covered state on the periphery of Europe its economic and civic vitality? I think the answer is clear: Saunas. In most Finnish houses, apartment blocks, and community centres, you will find saunas. These small wooden rooms are designed to flush toxins from your body through the simple measure of raising the ambient temperature to something approaching that of an active volcano. Spending an hour or two in these wooden torture chambers is seen not only as healthy but as a fun and pleasant way to spend an quiet evening with friends. If you're invited to a dinner party at a Finns' home, it's more than likely you'll see the naked, sweaty bodies of your fellow diners, draped across the pine planks of the sauna.