A good article on the problems in the Finnish startup environment

Finland is Missing the Bowling Alley or How to Find the First Pin

The linked article discusses well why it is hard for Finnish software startups to become major worldwide players.

A correct implementation for the 'halts' function in the Buddhist context

Yields a correct answer for all programs P.

halts P = 無

Flu^3

We all have noticed the mass media hysteria around 'swine flu'. Give it a cool name and it feels more dangerous. Make it dangerous and sell more papers. Were there a high profile war going on, the press would have other things in mind. Now it is the flu, however.

What a coincidence that I just got my third flu virus infection this month only. Normally I get flu once/twice a year. Haven't caught the SWINE (it intimidates more in caps, doesn't it) version yet, though - so they say. I'm going to write to Guinness if I get my fourth infection.

All this even though I use Linux.

Feynman on the feeling of inadequacy

The linked quote is great, well worth linking!

You have no responsibility to live up to it!

Book: Founders at Work

I'm only halfway reading Jessica Livingston's Founders at Work - stories of startups' early days, but I can already say that this will be one of the top books I have read this year.

Did you know that Yahoo, then already one of the biggest sites in the world, was running on diesel fuel for several days during a power outage?

New startup and a word about types

It's been a while. I joined a new tech startup in Helsinki and have had no time to write to my blog. But I'm always returning! See?

My summer adventures at TKK went smoothly and I'm happy that I had the opportunity to work in a very interesting project and enhance my C/C++ skills there. Now I'm writing mostly Python and it feels great after months of C, almost like if somebody just imported antigravity. I have to admit, I have long been a strong proponent of explicit typing as it is a form of self-documentation, but when you just need to build something quickly, as in startups, explicit types are simply slowing you down. I need to add that I'd still love static typing, something Python does not offer.

Days are already dark in Helsinki and it's getting cold. Now we have to face six months of darkness, which is always so... intriguing. I have always wondered though how quickly it passes. Now that I have Python with me, the spring will surely return in no time.

Have you ever wondered why your relatives are always asking for your help with computers? It's not that they are stupid, but the computers are still way too difficult to use. That's going to change in the next decade(s). I bet the whole platonic idea of the computer is going to change. It'll be more like that everything is a computer, and we will start calling these devices something else that more accurately describes their function.