After finishing up the last bits of the project to install coverage in the Stockholm underground Metro system there has now been a drive test conducted.

This is a short video showing some of the activities and some pictures from this more fun side of the job.

For the more technical people out there I can tell you that we are actually measuring several radio services:

Train communication radio

• RAKEL – swedish blue light services radio
• Busskom – Our own TETRA network
• SplitZone – Our own new TETRA network that will in time replace Busskom
• FM Broadcast – For public service, commercial stations as well and important messages to the public

We also had a visit from the mobile operator Tre that conducted drive test measurement on their 3G network with good results.

The test equipment consists of the following:

• Laptop logging all the data
• Doppler radar mounted under the train that gives us the trains movement as 400 clicks per meter. This is connected to a small PIC processor that calculates the current distance always that can be queried from the laptop when necessary to get the current distance.
• Rhode & Scwarz ESPI test receiver, capable of measuring many frequencies at the same time, in this test we did 19 channels with 7-10 samples per second.
• GPS for accurate time synchronization
• Antennas for the various bands being measured
• Signal generators for uplink signal
• Amplifiers for the uplink signal to match the levels generated by the train radios
• Test receivers at the base stations to receive the uplink signals and log them with the same time reference

Dear President Obama

I am disappointed in you and I will make this letter very short as to why.

Your recent signing of the National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA) that allows you to detain people indefinitely on any grade of suspicion alone, barring them from proper legal counsel, is something that you do not expect from civilized countries, even a country as paranoid as the US has become.

In fact I was very relieved to hear you, not so long ago, speaking of how you would work hard to close down the shameful Guantánamo base, you gave the world hope that US would step up and take responsibility. Instead you now do the opposite and you open for even worse travesties and detention of people, even your own citizens indefinitely without trial.

As a world traveler I feel more and more hesitation, is it really worth it to visit the US? Even if you personally will not use the law to detain people wihtout proper suspicion, nothing will stop the next regime from doing so!

I am very disappointed and quite the bit disgusted with your actions. And I had such great hopes for the US lead by the first intelligent president in decades, but now I understand that there is no way of stopping this snow ball that have started rolling down a very slippery slope, be it Republican or Democrat — there is nobody that can stand up to the fear mongers who undermine people’s rights in your country any more.

The terrorists have truly won.

Sincerely,
A Concerned Swedish Citizen

I have left Facebook for good. I have always had a beef with the way that the settings and especially stuff that has to do with privacy was located. In fact, the button to leave facebook is so hidden on purpose that it is very difficult to leave.

And after the recent rollouts of new stuff I took a long look at it. What am I using it for? What is it my friends are posting on here? After trying to answer those two questions in my mind the choice was not difficult. Especially since I had started using Google+ instead which is (for me at least) everything facebook is not.

So, all old and new friends, you are very much welcome over to my Google+ profile instead, hope to see you there.

Google+ is a different concept to Facebook. It does not have “friends” instead you put people into different circles and people can reside in more than one circle. You can have circles for family, friends and aquantancies or categorize depending on country, profession, interests, language spoken and so on.

I have a little bit of all actually, I have a “Swedish” and an “English” circle so to nu unnecessary subject my English speaking friends to my posts in Swedish. I also have circles with shared interest such as photography, unix, android and so on.

When you put a person in a circle you follow them. They don’t need to “friend” you or anything. But they can still control what they share with you. Unless you are also in one of their circles only posts directed to be “public” will be shared with you. This is the power and balance of Google+ that helps you keep your professional posts and contacts separate from your friends and interests in the free time.

Usually not so common with me. But this time I have been under the ice since the weekend. Actually it started Friday but I managed to get through the weekend pretty okay.

And today I tried getting back to work. Got up, showered, did all the morning things, went out the door and then I realised I was not going to be able to do much with this day either so back in bed now. until Sunday night when I was feeling really feverish.

Thanks for modern tech so you can stay up to date with what is happening anyway, both at work and at home.

The common cold is often caused by one or more rhinovirus infecting the upper respiratory tract. Sometimes the symptoms are similar but not as severe as that of common influenzas.

Virus replication starts from 2 to 6 hours after contact and symptoms generally occur between 2 to 5 days after infection. However in some cases symtoms may even start the same day. Rhinovirus are most infectious the first three days after symptoms have started when people generally should avoid contact as much as possible to avoid spreading the cold.

Enter the stockholm underground. A superior way of making contact with rhinoviruses this time of year.

I’m back to bed now.

So, running is coming back again, still need to improve muscular toning and then start working up to the distances I used to run before the summer when I fell off the wagon. However, I feel the energy is coming back already, stress is dwindling as the kilometers tick away when I go out jogging and all the benefits are doing me well!

But now it is time for a new goal. This is to reduce weight with about 15 kg of my excess weight and the goal date is March 31st 2012. It is a decent goal, meaning around 0,5 kg a week until then and so it should be possible without having to go on a starving diet. Keep jogging and just eating smaller portions, less junk, get the breakfast habit going (even if it will be just a protein drink) and be more careful in the evenings to not eat more than necessary.

I have done it before. I can do it again. I need to do it again and so this starts today. Weigh-ins will be wednesday nights after supper but before running (if it is a running day).

My electronic scale claims to be able to discern body fat and water content as a percentage of total body weight. Although I am skeptic to how accurate this actually is – I certainly will log it as well and see where that takes me.

Body Loss Table