There are a few pictures that I took when I was in Stockholm that I didn’t include in that blog because they’re not really of Sweden even though that’s exactly where they were taken. This is the first of, well, a few. I think it nicely conjures up thoughts of spring and the coming of summer.

• Birds show off their dance moves – Funny video, fascinating science, bad music…
• Intelligent Design Sort – It would seem that intelligent design has “uses” outside explaining the diversity of nature. It works for Computer Science too. Who’d have thought it?
• Scrap ID cards now, say Cabinet rebels – Maybe there is some benefit in the dire state of the economy…

For this weeks challenge I was very tempted to use a picture of a woman sleeping in a Vietnamese market, as that’s perhaps the most relaxed and unconcerned person I’ve ever photographed. Then I realised that I’ve used it not once but twice before. I like it, but three times seemed a little excessive.

This is the third instalment in my late noughties Nordic tour. Last year I went to Denmark; in late 2006 I went to Iceland; and in April 2009 it was the turn of self-proclaimed capital of Scandinavia, Stockholm.

Stockholm is known with some justification as the Venice of the north. The city is spread out over a number of islands. Logically in the middle is Gamla Stan, the old town. To the south is Södermalm which is described in the guide book as the capitals hippest island. To the east of Gamla Stan is Skeppsholmen — home to a bunch of museums and gardens — and Djurgården — a large park. To the north is the modern part of town, Norrmalm. To the west is Kungsholmen and to the north east is Östermalm, a wealthy residential area with the shops and restaurants you might expect with such locals.

• American Stonehenge: Monumental Instructions for the Post-Apocalypse – Who doesn’t love a good mystery?
• The Holy Faceble: Genesis:1-2 – The more I learn about Facebook, the less I want to join. Same with this god stuff.
• Rejected. – “It’s just frustrating when the problems crop up, because compared to nearly everything else about the whole setup, the problems seem so arbitrary, avoidable, and developer-hostile. For instance, this problem wouldn’t be nearly as frustrating if approval, even for minor updates to established apps, took less than 7-14 days.” Not that I’m bitter than a minor update to Yummy recently got rejected or anything…

• Three Cheers for Afghan Women – it’s a little depressing to think that, as the article notes, this is actually progress.
• Audio slideshow: Sir Clement Freud – I only really know Clement Freud for his contribution to Just A Minute. I remember that I wasn’t sure what to make of him when I first heard his lists and slow, deliberate delivery, but that changed pretty quickly. It won’t be the same without him.
• Laptop Hunters: Homeless Frank – If you’ve not seen Microsoft’s new adverts this probably won’t make much sense. If you have, you’ll realise that Frank’s analysis of the PCs is more nuanced that the supposedly “real” people in the original videos.

A little late this week, but here is my entry for this weeks PhotoFriday challenge, “Wealth.” I have to say that I don’t “get” a lot of the other entries to the challenge, but the connection between wealth and the New York Stock Exchange should be pretty obvious, even though the link may not be quite as strong as it was a year ago!

• Objectified – New documentary from the people that gave you Helvetica. Looks interesting.
• Georgia recalls Soviet crackdown – I visited ten years after this. It’s a really beautiful country and such a shame that it keeps descending into civil war or getting into a scuffle with its northern neighbour.
• Odds of Dying in a Terrorist Attack – “You are eight times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist.” Maybe the government should start protecting us from the police instead? (via Kottke.org)

This weeks PhotoFriday theme is “Grandmother” and, unfortunately, I don’t have a suitable image this time. But please vote for my entry in last weeks challenge, “Extreme Closeup.” I’m entry number 180.

Instead here is a picture that I really like that I’ve not shown off as much as I should have done! It was taken in Sospel, France. This was the view from the front of the hotel we were staying in. My friend got this view, my room was looking out over a shed at the back.

If you’re a regular visitor you will note that the ZX81 has an exciting new look and feel. It has never looked more like a real ZX81. It’s also about as usable as a real ZX81, though it does have more memory available and the wobbly RAM pack is likely to be less of a concern.

I’m currently running it as a one day trial but may extend if popular. Please let me know what you think.