Hurray!
Best news in a while, for me anyhow. Stargate SG-1 is going to get an 8th season!
Posted 21:30

Sports lunatics
Found this old article on CNN: Europe: A continent of bizarre sporting endeavour.

Finland's sporting heritage

Nowhere is this sense of sporting innovation more evident than in Finland, which boasts more sporting competitions than almost any other country in the world.

Here, alongside better known events as football, skating and cross-country skiing, you will encounter such delights as the World Mosquito-Killing Championship -- won last year by Henri Pellonpaa with 21 kills in five minutes -- and, of course, the unmissable Air Guitar World Championships.

If you head north into the Arctic Circle you can take in a bit of reindeer racing, at the same time keeping yourself warm by participating in one of the country's legendary vodka-drinking contests.

The jewel in Finland's sporting crown, however, remains the Sonkajarvi World Wife-Carrying Championships.

Originating in the 19th Century when, apparently, it was common practice for men to steal wives from neighbouring villages, the contest involves husbands carrying their wives over a 253.5-metre (277-yard) obstacle course, cheered on by 7,000 ecstatic spectators.

The winner receives his spouse's weight in beer, and, more importantly, the honour of being Wife Carrying Champion for a year. Such things can mean a lot to a man.

They forgot about the swimming contests, in frozen water in the winter or the one that determines who can stay in a sauna the longest.
Posted 10:49

Hot, hot, hot
I don't think I've ever in my life, in Finland, seen the weather broadcast predict +30C (86F) temperatures before. As crappy as the summer has been so far, weatherwise, this week is certainly making up for it. I burned my face at the beach yesterday and now look like a drunkard with my red nose.
Posted 10:46