Currently, as I see it, Finland is inflicting serious and potentially long-lasting damage to its society and economy through continued excessive restrictions. Sweden, with its more pragmatic approach, will undoubtedly emerge as the winner in the end.
Read MoreThere’s always something lurking around the corner
There’s always something ominous lurking around the corner and the corporate media (or some politician) will always be eager to point it out for us. After all, they need to get your attention, and we all know that bad news sells better than good news.
While I do think it’s occasionally beneficial to think about all the bad stuff that could happen to us, I don’t think it’s healthy to constantly worry about disastrous things. I hope the media would also adopt this philosophy.
Read MoreNo sign of coronavirus in Helsinki
As the old saying goes, Finns turn into different people in the summertime when the vacation season kicks off. Suddenly this law-abiding rational people turn into a bunch of hippies that couldn’t care less about anything but sauna and sunshine. Let’s hope we get lucky and don’t end up with a bad situation in the autumn. But to be honest, I don’t feel too comfortable with the way most of us in Finland are behaving right now – and I definitely don’t believe in luck in these kinds of situations.
Read MoreIs the stock market completely decoupled from reality?
But has the economy recovered at all? Is the COVID-19 crisis really over? Nobody can know for certain what will happen in the autumn, but many researchers and medical professionals are warning about the possibility of a serious second wave of the virus. And in the US they have – on top of all the misery caused by a pandemic – massive civil unrest and political uncertainty ignited by the killing of George Floyd. Yet, if you look at the stock markets and the US markets in particular, it would seem as though everything is just as rosy as it was in January. I find this completely absurd.
Read MoreLaptop cameras must become better
Why are modern laptop cameras so bad? Why has there been so little improvement in 10 years? It seems like the camera is an area which, prior to COVID-19, was completely neglected by laptop manufacturers. When comparing the camera of my mid-2017 MacBook Pro to the camera of my mid-2012 MacBook Pro, the difference is negligible. According to Apple’s tech specs, both devices feature a 720p FaceTime HD camera (not sure if you can call 720p HD anymore), and yes the newer camera is slightly better in low-light conditions, but that’s it.
Read MoreThe NYSE trading floor is a great marketing gimmick
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) announced a few days ago that its trading floor is reopening, following its temporary closure two months ago in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the stock markets rallied in response to this news, my initial reaction was: What? There’s actually still a physical trading floor on NYSE!
Read MoreI really miss travelling and vagabonding
After nearly three months of working from home due to the COVID-19 crisis, I’m really starting to miss traveling and spending some time overseas. I even started reading Rolf Potts’ wonderful book Vagabonding once again. I think this is the third time I’m reading it, or actually listening to it, and I highly recommend the audiobook version narrated by the author himself.
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