And mounted upon the orange dot

Blue

The photograph was taken on January 26th.

(Posting title is from the poem Night Fighter Kill by Arvid Shulenberger.)

I saw four walls of photographs

Blue 1

Blue 2

The photographs were taken on January 26th.

(Posting title is from the poem The Meaning of the Shovel by Martín Espada.)

With that great light going on

Blue

The photograph was taken on May 10th.

(Posting title is from the poem Blue by Robert L. Jones.)

Who sang out of their windows in despair

Blue

The photograph was taken on February 28th.

This morning I walked for two hours in Nuuksio, walking across the Soidinsuo swamp and visiting lakes Ympyrkäinenlampi, Holma-Saarijärvi and Kolmoislammit. There was fog at the swamp, smoothing the landscape.

(Posting title is from the poem Howl by Allen Ginsber.)

And received its calm

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The photographs were taken at Kytäjä-Usmi outdoor are in Hyvinkää on December 28th.

The weather forecast promises 20 cm of snow for tomorrow. Traffic conditions won't be great. I'm planning to commute by car and train instead of bicycle.

(Posting title is from the poem Portrait of a Figure near Water by Jane Kenyon.)

If they want to pull they should pull at their own pullables

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Blue 3

The photographs were taken at Juvanmalmi industrial area on December 23rd.

It was cold this morning, -12 °C, but I didn't get too cold while commuting by bicycle. The new back tire is narrower than the old one, with just 106 studs instead of 240, but it has been good enough. In some places there has been ice underneath the snow on the street, and it has been rather slippery, but I haven't fallen yet.

(Posting title is from the poem Sweet Tooth by Russell Edson.)

But now it makes my cheek turn pale

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The photographs were taken on December 17th.

I commuted by bicycle today and got over two hours of exercise. The temperature was -7 °C in the morning and -8 °C in the afternoon. For tomorrow morning the weather forecast promises -12 °C.

(Posting title is from the poem I once rejoiced, sweet evening gale by Amelia Opie.)

Walks in a world of wilderness

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The photographs were taken on December 16th in Petikko.

The weather forecast promises rather warm weather in the middle of next week, which may mean that the snow we got will melt away. But Monday and Tuesday will be cold, down to -15 °C.

(Posting title is from the poem A Sweet Nosegay, or Pleasant Poesy, Containing a Hundred and Ten Philosophical Flowers by Isabella Whitney.)

Or should I say a dream

Blue

The photograph was taken on December 9th.

The weather has been cold, especially because of strong south wind from the sea which makes -7 °C feel much colder. I have been commuting by bicycle through the central park in Helsinki. Later this week we may get 10 cm of snow, and that may cause some difficulties for the commute.

(Posting title is from the poem Sweet Dreams by Joyce Armor.)

Outside was all noon and the burning blue

Sky 1

Sky 2

The photographs were taken at Kytäjä-Usmi outdoor area on May 13th.

I have been rather busy today, and haven't had time to follow what is happening in the world. Is Trump still president?

(Posting title is from the poem A Death in the Desert by Robert Browning.)

To a rhythm you can’t hear, but you can see it

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Blue 3

The photographs were taken at Kytäjä-Usmi outdoor area in Hyvinkää on May 13th.

Today the temperature rose to 22 °C in the afternoon. There was 8 m/s backwind when commuting by bicycle. Sometimes it is just too easy.

(Posting title is from the poem Democracy by Dorianne Laux.)

Oh, when will they ever learn?

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The photographs were taken on May 7th in Petikko.

Last week I got 11 hours of exercise, most of it when commuting by bicycle. I took a rest day on Saturday. Today it felt good to ride the bicycle, even though it was raining in the afternoon.

I admire the attitude of the British people in their approach to terrorism. During the weekend I reserved flights and hotel rooms for visiting London with the children during the summer vacation. We'll spend almost a week there, but it is of course quite a short visit considering how much there is to be seen in London.

I have been thinking what to do with my investments in an index fund targeting "global top brands", 2/3 of which are in the US, companies such as Apple, Alphabet, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, etc. It is not a great deal of money, but I have been a bit worried anyway.

When Trump was elected, I sold 1/4 of the investment. I was worried that the stock prices would crash, but that hasn't (yet) happened. The value of the index fund is now at the same level as it was when I sold it.

However, this may not last, and thus I'm once again thinking about selling. The destructive actions of Trump will certainly in the longer term affect the value of US companies.

(Posting title is from the song Where Have All The Flowers Gone by Peter, Paul & Mary.)

That reminds me of the time

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The photographs were taken on May 6th. I have taken over 52,000 photographs with the second Panasonic LX100, but I'm lagging behind with the processing. Today there are over 4,000 photographs waiting.

(Posting title is from the poem Bean Spasms by Ted Berrigan.)

The image comic, as I might have known

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Blue 2

The photographs were taken on April 30th.

It is getting colder. Today we had 17 °C in the afternoon, and for tomorrow the weather forecast promises 14 °C. Well, at least it isn't too hot for commuting by bicycle.

(Posting title is from the poem Duncan by Thom Gunn.)

I get them to make a list of many-colored things

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The photographs were taken on January 4th.

Thomas Wilhelmsson, Chancellor of the University of Helsinki, wrote on Twitter: ”US and UK researchers, welcome to Finland! Finnish people still believe in science and real facts”.

Welcome to Finland – WTF for short – sounds rather good.

I can’t believe what is happening in the US, which has become a dictatorship with an easily lead narcissist as the frontispiece for unscrupulous fraudsters and all kinds of evilness. Science – including humanities, liberal arts, etc. – is no longer open or to be relied on because of political control, and access to information is being drastically curtailed.

The blindness to facts (and preferring “alternative facts” and putting forward the big lie) will lead to suffering and dying people. All this will be blamed on “the other”, as it is impossible for a narcissist to acknowledge that he is to blame. And thus there is need to hide the real facts, such things as global warming, unemployment statistics, public health, etc. Otherwise people would see the emperor having no clothes (and tiny hands).

What will happen unless plenty of people #resist?

Here are some scenarios: Collapse of the educational system. Shipwreck of research institutions. Large-scale economic misery and unemployment, except for some of the wealthiest robber barons and baronesses. Extreme weather destroying property and killing people. Bankruptcy of health care, and manifestation of diseases that had almost been vanquished.

What can be done? The Women's March which was organized on January 21, 2017, showed the way. One needs to #resist, and it helps to have plenty of humour on the way.

And coming back to WTF. We do have problems here in Finland as well, including some populistic politicians who are doing hateful and unlawful things and fermenting trouble. Still, I trust in the sanity of the Finnish people.

(Posting title is from the poem Husky Boys' Dickies by Jill McDonough.)

Let them not say: we did not see it

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The photographs were taken on January 1st.

This morning I did some walking in Tikkurila. I realized that I know very little what there is to be seen, because usually I just pass by along the roads or railway tracks.

And concerning "alternative facts": #resist.

(Posting title is from the poem Let Them Not Say by Jane Hirshfield.)

You’ll see soon

Blue 1

Blue 2

Blue 3

The photographs were taken at Oittaa on December 31st.

I have got 272 km riding the bicycle this year. Last year I got over 6,500 km of riding, which now feels quite a feat, perhaps because in winter riding the bicycle is much heavier and slower than during summer.

But at least the days are getting longer. This morning I saw a little bit lighter sky in the east while commuting by bicycle, even though it was over an hour before sunrise.

(Posting title is from the song Springtime for Twittler by Irwin Collier.)

My eyes started seeing less

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The photographs were taken before sunrise on December 18th.

This morning we had -19 °C. North wind was 5 m/s, and thus it felt even colder. I walked for two hours and took photographs of the snowy landscape.

(Posting title is from the poem Since Unfinished by Richard Blanco.)

Our scene is foggy we are asking you to clarify

Blue

The photograph was taken on December 17th.

Today the temperature is at -4 °C. Later this week the forecast promises as cold as -20 °C weather. That would feel like winter, especially if there would be a little bit of snow as well. For two weeks we have had warm weather, and it has been dark. The length of day is today six hours, 14 minutes longer than at the shortest.

(Posting title is from the poem Now you are all here you might as well know... by Thomas James Merton.)

And the light seems to be eternal

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The photographs were taken in Luukki on November 21st.

This morning I started walking before sunrise. When the sun was above horizon, there were ice crystal halos, of the type known as "sun dogs".

(Posting title is from the poem "Khrushchev is coming on the right day!” by Frank O'Hara.)