Downside to IP Phones/Upside to Biking

Our internet went out last night. That means no phone. In reflecting back on my lifetime of phone use, compared to cable TV, electricity, and DSL service, regular good-old-fashioned land-line telephones are probably one of the most reliable utilities we have. VoIP can be a bit more fragile. Yesterday I phoned a work friend, and he reported a delay, which was strange in that I couldn't perceive any from my end. This is the only time I've received a complaint, although a few times people have said the phone has cut in and out.

Before we moved, we stupidly gave away all our cordless US phones. They were pretty nice phones. I thought they were incompatible in Norway. What I didn't realize is that I was comparing them to Lise's parents' ISDN phones. They use a different jack, among other things. All we would have needed would have been a different DC adaptor, and they are fairly universal these days.

The phone we did buy here is the cheapest Seimans cordless. It is so light that it feels like a toy, but the reception has been amazing. It is interesting that we have seen almost no corded phones in any store- everything is cordless. Actually, I did see a corded desk phone, but it had so many features that it cost more than a high end cordless.

I do not think I will ever wrap my brain around memorizing eight digit phone numbers. It doesn't help that they are listed in two formats, reportedly to offer a hint whether it is mobile or not. I've been told that the 12 34 56 78 format is for regular phones and 987 65 432 is for cell phones. Dialing from the US you need to add 011 47 to any number, although many numbers are already listed with the country code as +47 12 34 56 78, just to confuse Americans.

Judging from the Time-Life TV commercials for the entire collected works of Status Quo, Sweden appears to use an extra digit in their numbers. You can also buy 8-Minute Abs in Norway. They have everything here.

I think I may have mentioned how TV uses Norwegian subtitles, rather than is dubbed, like in France. There is one major exception: cartoons. Presumably kids can't read as well, but most cartoons are dubbed, with the notable exception of the Simpsons. I don't know why I find it so amusing to watch Fred Flinstone speaking Norwegian, but it is.

We had a bit of snow that is melted already, but our street is still icy. This side of the hill receives no sunlight at all. We partially slid down the hill yesterday in the car. It should be interesting trying to bike down it. I am still amazed at the number of bikes that I see out, at all hours. Minneapolis is a much larger city, yet I swear far more people bike here. When I showed up at my interview in a crisp black suit, the interviewer asked if I had any trouble finding the place. I told him that we lived just a few minutes away- that I probably could have walked there (a slight exaggeration). He said that I could have biked. I mentioned that I probably would not have looked as fresh, had I biked. But the point is, how many interviewers would mention biking upfront in an interview like that.

Later in the interview, I mentioned biking when he asked about hobbies and other interests. I didn't want to go on and on obsessively- as I am prone to do- since the job had nothing to do with biking. Rather he went on and on, described a bit of the racing scene, suggested resources for hooking up with a bike club, and so on. Like much of the rest of the culture here, biking holds more of an egalitarian role- and there doesn't appear to be such a hierarchy of biking types. Biking is biking, regardless of whether you ride a cheap DBS commuter, a mountain bike, or a road bike. I don't know that I would mention biking with much emphasis in a US interview. So many people there still seem to regard cyclists as annoyances, or regard bikes are children's toys. Still, I don't think I will be riding in a black suit anytime soon.