mandag 31. desember 2012

søndag 30. desember 2012

”Vil gjøre det vanskeligere å bli erklært utilregnelig”


er overskriften i en notis i Aftenpostens nettutgave nå rett før nyttår.


Valget av akkurat dette bildet og denne overskriften kan neppe ha vært helt tilfeldig? Overskriften dekker dessuten ikke innholdet i artikkelen på en god måte. I så måte er linken nedenfor bedre: Vil ikke at psykotiske lovbrytere automatisk slipper straff.

Humor av denne sorten er vel over streken, Aftenposten? Vi får regne med at Aftenposten regner Faremo som tilregnelig selv om bildet taler for det motsatte… (Atle regner med at de fleste vil regne bruken av ordet regn som dårlig humor spesielt når det er vinter og de fleste ønsker seg snø fremfor regn)

søndag 23. desember 2012

”Samuel Steinmann, den siste gjenlevende norske jøden som ble sendt til tyske konsentrasjonsleirer med «Donau»”



Artikkelen avsluttes slik:

”Snøen på den jødiske gravlunden på Helsfyr i Oslo gjør gravstøttene svartere. Samuel har denne gammelmannens vugging der han med vante steg beveger seg langs stien til minnesmerket. Alle navnene. Han tar av seg hanskene, stryker over bokstavene i steinen: «Harry Steinmann».

Så går han derfra, over den jorda der han en dag selv skal graves ned. Den siste av dem alle.

Kanskje glemmer vi også ham?

Alt forsvinner. Vi er bare spor i snøen.

Som de siste linjene i Hans Børlis dikt om jødeutryddelsen:

Tiden -

Glemselen -

den mest uovervinnelige

makt på Jorden.”

lørdag 15. desember 2012

”Paraglider and groundhandling”








I am still waiting for my paramotor. At Khao Phrik it is possible to fly now, but you (I?) have to cut away grass and bushes for safe takeoffs.

When the wind picked up a bit in the middle of the day I decided to release my paraglider from indoor custody.

The glider seemed happy to feel fresh air and wind because it played me some pranks today. Although there was not very much wind it managed to lift me up a meter or so in pure happiness after being bagged for a long time.

tirsdag 11. desember 2012

”Merry Christmas”


Write Merry Christmas on both cakes was the message to the bakery. And that was what the bakery did: God jul på begge kakene or Merry Christmas on both cakes.

Atle showed the photo to a man from Sweden (everybody in Norway at least knows there is something special about the Swedes).

- Was that supposed to be funny? he asked…!!!

mandag 10. desember 2012

”Princes of China or the biggest robbery in history”



You will find lots of info in English if you google ”gang of princelings”.

Worthwhile reading for high level robbers in Russia, North Korea and other countries?

søndag 9. desember 2012

”Global warning from Doha to citizens of the Earth?”


Beware! Beware! Two weeks in Doha spent by representatives from about 200 countries did not result in tangible outcomes.

IF global warning is a fact of the near future, IF global warning is as threat to the existence of much of life on Earth, how can we respect and look up to politicians who openly close their eyes to what they know is going to happen?

lørdag 8. desember 2012

”Flowers of Thailand”


To get a better view of small flowers like this one you have to get down on your knees.

torsdag 6. desember 2012

”No paramotortrike so far,”


but it is assembled in Chantaburi and will probably be ready in the latter half of this month. The rainy season is definitely finished, and the wind has turned to N, NE.

When the new road up to Khao Phrik is ready for driving that will be a superb takeoff. Steady wind almost all the time. You just go there in the morning waiting for the thermals to pick you up in the blue sky. Easy!

torsdag 29. november 2012

”Stoltenberg avviser at 22.juli-kommisjonen avdekket en «ukultur». Det bør bekymre oss,”


skriver politisk kommentator Berit Aalborg. Mer på http://www.nrk.no/ytring/stoltenbergs-_u_kultur-1.8834565
 
Den første setningen i kronikken lyder slik: ” «Jeg vil ikke bruke ordet ukultur. Det handler om en kultur som ikke har god nok beredskapsforståelse», sa statsminister Jens Stoltenberg (Ap) under 22.juli-høringen på Stortinget i går.”

Tja…! Hva skal man si til slikt? Atle har ikke ord, men er storlig imponert over alle toppfolkene som stadig messer om å ”ta ansvar” uten at det synes at de gjør nettopp det. Atles inntrykk er dette er en snedig form for ansvarsfraskrivelse. Lite eller ingenting skjer. Trolig er det best slik! For Stoltenberg og hans kumpaner i det politiske og offentlige liv.

Ett av vannskillene mellom demokrati og diktatur går på den måten lederne tar ansvar.

tirsdag 27. november 2012

”Flowers of Thailand”




This is the start of a cucumber like edible vegetable (boap in the local language). You have to boil it before eating. Not very tasty but possible to eat.

free counters

søndag 25. november 2012

”Only cutting grass…”




The wind and weather did not cooperate. Saturday there were heavy showers, and Sunday there was tailwind as you can see on the photo. However the grass is cut in the take off area.

fredag 23. november 2012

”Ready for Khao Sadao on Saturday”




But will the wind cooperate? That remains to be seen. The meteorogram promises wind from southerly directions, and the sun has moved a bit to the south so there is a possibility of thermals generated in the hillside tomorrow or on Sunday. I bring my hangglider in case it is windy (which I do not believe) and my paraglider just in case…

Then there is some grass to cut. You cannot believe how fast the grass grows in the tropics after a few heavy showers.

torsdag 22. november 2012

”Flowers of Thailand”




This exquisite blue flower is in fact a widespread weed around here. I didn’t recognize the beauty of this flower until I magnified this photo.

onsdag 21. november 2012

”Flowers of Thailand”




Is this a flower? Definitely yes. You will find it everywhere around where people live.

tirsdag 20. november 2012

”Flowers of Thailand”




Not very nice but gives yous omething to eat  some months from now:

B
A
N
A
N
A

søndag 18. november 2012

”Flowers of Thailand”




Looks like an orchid, but is not. This is a flower of a tree. It produces edible bean looking seeds. The wonders of the world are very close to you…

lørdag 17. november 2012

”Flowers of Thailand”




Believe it or not – chili pepper has flowers – and they look like this. Nice, isn’t it?

mandag 12. november 2012

”Wills Wing Falcon 3 at Khao Sadao, but not at Khao Phrik…”




I hope my hangglider enjoyed the trip to Khao Sadao. No flying due to tailwind. I walked up to Khao Phrik – 10 minutes of sweating, sun, and 34 degrees in the shadow.

The wind was from the left, that is NNE, so I didn’t carry any glider (para- and especially hangglider). Someone had cut bushes and trees in front of the start, but still there were some obstacles. I would not start there with a paraglider if I was not more than 100 % sure to be lifted up right after take off.

Today machines start making a road up to a new take off at Khao Phrik. Ten days from now the road will be finished (so they say), and we will have a supreme take off on wind from northerly directions. Then Khao Sadao and nearby Khao Phrik will be the Mecca of paragliding and hanggliding in Thailand.

fredag 9. november 2012

”News from China – Some animals are more equal than other animals”


Sorry! This article is in Norwegian, a language spoken by a privileged few…:

”«Alle dyr er like. Men noen dyr er likere enn andre», skrev George Orwell i sin satiriske roman «Animal Farm». Snart er Xi Jinping det aller likeste av alle dyrene i Kina.”

For more see http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/verden/1.8378061

søndag 4. november 2012

”Underwater bicycling!”


I know Paul has been a diving instructor. Still I was surprised at Had Chom Tawan today when Paul did not stop at the water’s edge as John and I did.

He got rid of his backpack and went riding straight into the lake. Deeper and deeper and deeper. At last he disappeared underwater.

People around were quite astonished.

Half a minute later he surfaced, still bicycling…

Some fun, sure!

fredag 26. oktober 2012

”Farewell paramotor”


Tomorrow I will sell my old paramotor trike. It is more than three and a half year old now. It has a Yamaha motorbike motor of 150 cc.

In about one month I will have a new one. I change because of security reasons. You never know with these homemade paramotors if something will happen. Sooner or later there is surprise, surprise!

onsdag 24. oktober 2012

”Can we (homo sapiens sapiens) perform better?”


Atle won’t give any answer.

Which means it is up to you who are reading these words to find the answer. Atle guesses you have an inkling about your own abilities, what you can do, and what you can not do.

Right or wrong! Most of us have an inkling about what we CAN do. Don’t waste your time about pondering about all the things you can not do – this is a quagmire, and a deep one, too. Keep away from that quagmire before it swallows you.

Think about the things you can do better. And choose a few of them which you know you can improve. Maybe there is even someone who wants to help you? Have a try. Good luck!

Which leads to a far-fetched digression: On the Nullarbor Plain in Australia there are many caves, holes and cavities. You cannot peep into every one of them.

Which leads to one more digression (Atle loves digressions): If you want to have a look into the unknown spaces, click the link below.


One last digression: What is beyond on both sides?…

tirsdag 23. oktober 2012

”PPG-meeting in Khon Kaen”









Last Saturday our club went to Khon Kaen. 75 pilots arrived. There was quite a lot of action. Too much for a timid Norwegian. Only a few of the pilots used helmets. Mai pen rai as they say here – no problem…

Sunday morning there was cross country flying to Ubonrat Dam, some 40 kilometers away.

Impressing arrangement: Food to eat, music and entertainment in the evening, and breakfast at Ubonrat Dam.

tirsdag 16. oktober 2012

”Hanggliding at Khao Sadao”


or at least I tried to. Tailwind on Saturday (photo 2), but weak headwind a few hours on Sunday.

The grass is now cut in a wide area on the start. It seems that the wind direction has changed now. Hopefully there will be a new start at Khao Phrik not to long from now. There will probably be a road up to this area, too. Some time in the dry season…




fredag 12. oktober 2012

”The Imploding of Homo Sapiens Sapiens?”



Sometimes Atle wonders if that is what we are experiencing these days. The Internet, Ipads, Iphones and so on. All these devices that keep us in touch with the cyberworld and (maybe) each other. Personally Atle thinks all these devices which free you from the bothersome speaking directly to other real persons are not social media at all. They just pretend to be. They are only the INTERFACE between you and the social world. And we tend to express ourselves as brief as possible.

If you read books written some centuries ago, you will see that the sentences are quite complicated. Quite different from the meanings you create with two thumbs and index fingers on the minute keyboard of your intelligent (why ”intelligent”?) phone. If you don’t know the tribal language you will definitely have problems…

By the way – the other day Atle met an Englishman who introduced himself as Ian. Atle did not catch the name and maybe looked like a question mark. ” – Ian as in intelligent,” he said. Atle felt stupid and dumb.

By the way – one more time. Have you ever heard about homo sapiens sapiens? Guess not? You think homo sapiens is the name? Or homo?

Hoho!

torsdag 11. oktober 2012

”Khao Sadao – cutting grass”





The wind did not cooperate on Tuesday and Wednesday. Instead I cut grass and bushes in the launch and top landing area. My hips on both sides got bruised from moving the grass cutter from side to side in addition to some blisters between the thumb and index finger on both hands. Hope for southerly winds before the rainy season is finished. On Wednesday after three tanks of gasoline I had to empty my rubber boots for some deciliters of pure sweat due to a relentless sun.

fredag 5. oktober 2012

”New Hangglider launch Wat Sap Pong Pot - more info”


Yesterday we climbed up to a possible hangglider launch. The site is a spectacular cliff on top of an impressing sitting Buddha carved out in the mountain side. Quite narrow as the overhanging cliff right above the Buddha is only a few meters wide.

More info for pilots on
http://no.flightlog.org/fl.html?l=2&a=22&country_id=209&start_id=5435



 

søndag 30. september 2012

”Hangglider – new flying site Khok Noi Nonsombun”




Together with Paul (Belgium) I checked out a new flying site 15 km from home. It is situated on a protruding cliff 10 meters above the sitting Buddha on the photo. If the wind is more than 5-6 m a second and from the NE, and if Paul, as he promised, will carry my Wills Wing Falcon uphill, I will probably get at least one flight from this spectacular site. The other photo shows the view from the launch to the south towards Had Chom Tawan. The launch is narrow and small and not suitable for paragliders.

torsdag 27. september 2012

”Requiem – dies irae, dies illa”


Stopp et øyeblikk og la nedenstående synke inn uavhengig av om du er religiøs eller ikke:

Dies irae, dies illa
solvet saeclum in favilla:
teste David cum Sibylla.

Vredens dag, hin dag
da verden skal forgå i flammer
som forutsett av David og sibyllen.

Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus!

Hvilken beven det vil være,
når dommeren kommer
for strengt å granske alle.

Tuba mirum spargens sonum
per sepulcra regionum,
coget omnes ante thronum.

Basunen sprer en herlig klang
gjennom gravkamrene i alle land
for å kalle alle foran tronen.

Mors stupebit et natura,
cum resurget creatura,
judicanti responsura.

Døden og naturen forbløffes
når skapningen gjenoppstiger
for å svare dommeren.

Liber scriptus proferetur,
in quo totum continetur,
unde mundus judicetur.

Boken vil bringes frem
hvor alt er skrevet ned,
hvorfra verden skal dømmes.

Judex ergo cum sedebit,
quidquid latet apparebit:
nil inultum remanebit.

Når dommeren tar sitt sete
vil alt som er skjult bli synlig,
intet vil gå ustraffet.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
cum vix justus sit securus?

Hva skal jeg, elendige, si?
Hvilken beskytter skal jeg oppsøke
når selv ikke de rettferdige kan være trygge?

Rex tremendae majestatis,
qui salvandos salvas gratis,
salva me fons pietatis.

Konge av uhyre majestet,
som uten vederlag frelser de som må frelses,
frels meg, nådens kilde.

Recordare, Jesu pie,
quod sum causa tuae viae:
ne me perdas illa die.

Husk, miskunnige Jesus,
jeg er årsaken til din ferd,
mist meg ikke på denne dag.

Quaerens me, sedisti lassus:
redemisti Crucem passus:
tantus labor non sit cassus.

Utslitt satt du i søken etter meg,
du forløste meg med korsets pinsler,
la ikke slik en bragd gå til spille.

Juste judex ultionis,
donum fac remissionis
ante diem rationis.

Rettferdige vredens dommer,
gi forlatelsens gave
før oppgjørets dag.

Ingemisco, tamquam reus:
culpa rubet vultus meus:
supplicanti parce, Deus.

Jeg sukker, som den skyldige,
mitt ansikt rødmer av skyld,
spar den som bønnfaller deg, Gud.

Qui Mariam absolvisti,
et latronem exaudisti,
mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Du som gav Maria forlatelse,
og hørte tyvens bønn,
gav også meg håp.

Preces meae non sunt dignae:
sed tu bonus fac benigne,
ne perenni cremer igne.

Mine bønner er ikke verdige,
men du, gode herre, vær god,
så jeg ikke brenner opp i evig ild.

Inter oves locum praesta,
et ab haedis me sequestra,
statuens in parte dextra.

Gi meg et sted blant fårene,
og hold meg borte fra bukkene,
la meg stå ved din høyre hånd.

Confutatis maledictis,
flammis acribus addictis:
voca me cum benedictis.

Når de forbannede har blitt dømt
forvist til etsende flammer,
kall du meg med de salige.

Oro supplex et acclinis,
cor contritum quasi cinis:
gere curam mei finis.

Jeg ber ydmykt og fromt,
hjertet er knust som aske,
hjelp meg i min siste time.

Lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla
judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus

Hin tårefulle dag,
da fra asken stiger
den skyldige som skal dømmes.
Vis ham nåde, Gud.

Pie Jesu Domine,
dona eis requiem. Amen.

Barmhjertige herre Jesus,
gi dem hvile. Amen.

onsdag 26. september 2012

”Wills Wing Falcon 3 på Khao Sadao”







Før helgen hentet jeg den nye vingen i Rayong. Lang biltur og full stopp i flere timer tilbake på grunn av ulykke i fjellet ved Khao Yai.

På lørdag slo jeg opp vingen på Khao Sadao. Det virket som Falcon likte seg der. Dessverre var det grodd opp for mye busker og gress i løpebanen, så det ble med en liten PG-tur før det braket løs med lyn og torden. Topplandet da jeg så uværet nærme seg.

Dagen etter var det noe for lite vind til at jeg gadd pakke ut vingen. Vinden var av og på og skiftet til slutt til bakvind. Likevel fikk jeg sneket meg til en liten PG-tur, men denne gangen måtte jeg lande nede.