NYT obituary.

Respect.

Sounds like an interesting idea. However, I fear that often, when a company begins to lose sales cos their crappy products have suffered insufficient research, development and testing, the reaction of management is not to fix the fault, but to employ a bigger sales team to sell the same old shit just that bit harder.

keep to the Fen Causeway

Santa got my computer out of the computer hospital where it's been recovering from some assortment of viruses, malware and so on.  A long week of being out of touch with the world!  

Jeez, i forgot to open my presents.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

Heinz and I don't "do" presents; having each other, it would seem redundant.

I find it to be stressful to give and receive gifts on "supposed-to" occasions. It's a custom tailor made to create hurt feelings (they didn't like what I gave them / why would they give me THAT) and I wish special occasions could be marked by something else. That's what's so good about Thanksgiving, it's about family and food and being grateful instead of being about gifts.

That said, I love the scarf my mother in law knitted for me.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

Having seen TV footage, the first class looks very first class.

Bah humbug; screw first class.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

but... dowdy. About thirty years behind the times aesthetically, like a first-generation TGV. But I cede to cultural relativism.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II}

This is the best intro to any TV programme ever

keep to the Fen Causeway

Sheeeeh-yiiit

I'm sorry, that must really hurt

keep to the Fen Causeway

Frickin' bummer. I feel your pain.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

Great pun.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

these warm undergarments are not very practical if you are going from point A to point B as you get very warm when you are inside.  they are more useful if you are spending lots of time outdoors as in cross country  skiing.

layers are your friends.  long, long coats and warm boots also.  hats are obligatory as you lose 30% of your heat through your head.  

Hm, we have had some interesting temperatures over the holidays with a train on the Luleå-Narvik line being forced to turn back to Luleå as temperatures below -35 C apparently causes problems. That said I think it is the 0 to -20 C intervall she should prepare for. Make that 0 to -15 C but more humid (so about the same coldness) in the south.

As a general rule you need to cover everything except the face (and for colder temperatures, the more of the face you can cover, the better big scares that you can pull up a bit is good) and layers is best. Something that appears to surprise southerners is how cold your hands can get despite wearing a warm jacket. But if it is windy and a bit of snow is falling or blowing around anything not covered with windproof clothes will start hurting even if you are shoveling snow and working up a sweat.

There are essentially two schools on dressing for the cold. One is to go for warm undergarments under your indoors clothes, the other is to use layers on top of your indoor clothes. It is warm inside so it depends a bit on how warm you like to be vs how much you resent looking like the Michelin man. A warm wintercoat is often less then a problem then the legs. I find silk long johns to be a bit of a compromise in that they protect from some cold yet are not so warm indoors. Still, that means you need a pair of täckbyxor for colder temperatures.

Täckbyxor. No idea what they are called in any other language.

Hands - two layers are good here too. Cotton or silk inside and then something warm that is also wind and water resistant.

Head - Warm, windproof and covering the ears. A hood on the coat makes a stylish optional second layer.

Feet - warm shoes with space for warm stockings are good. Decent waterproofing is a must as snow in certain temperatures sticks and melts.

But one of the most important adjustments is social. If you schedule to meet someone, if at all possible meet indoors. If you do meet outdoors, be punctual and count on Nordics to be punctual. Don't ever plan to meet non-Nordics outside.

A vote for PES is a vote for EPP! A vote for EPP is a vote for PES! Support the coalition, vote EPP-PES in 2009!

Everything I've read recommends buying winter footwear in Finland.  Also wearing shoes in someone's residence is a big No-No so she'll need a pair of indoor only footwear.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

Greater Herringistan province? Here, in Finland? Never heard of it, but perhaps Sven has. Googling it was of no use. I thought your Elder Daughter was going to the old Finnish capital of Turku?

I agree with everything a swedish kind of death had to say about winter gear/garments, and yes, I would call those ski pants, or ski overalls. They also come as just plain pants, without the built-in elastic suspenders. Rukka is a Finnish manufacturer that makes a fine pair of ski pants if you want to look for them after you arrive. The pants are wind and somewhat rain proof, but not completely. They do keep you warm.

As for what clothes to get, a lot depends on your age and desired comfort level. These days, I choose comfort (meaning being warm) over style ... by a long shot. But it wasn't always that way. What I see young women wearing a lot are tights, skinny jeans and knee-high length boots--regardless of the temps outside. Clothes that I would absolutely freeze to death in these days, but when you're young somehow the cold air doesn't penetrate.

Oh, one more essential: don't forget the skin creme, which puts a layer of protection  between your skin and the weather when it gets really, really cold. Here, you can ask for a product called "Vitalis." The product is very similar to the American product Vaseline. It's a shame it's petroleum-based, but it does work really well. There might be a green alternative, but so far I haven't figured out what it is.

Silk undergarments do keep you nice and warm. Surely a matter of personal preference, but I'd be quick to choose silk over the wool.

Hope your Eldest really enjoys her visit to Finland!