Things I’ve always wanted to say

I’m turning into Tyler Brule (Fast Lane column, Weekend FT).

I’ve just been to Helsinki on Finnair. For lunch I had elk meatballs and cauliflower cheese followed by lemon mouse. This allowed me to utter the immortal line: “I’ll have the elk followed by a moose.” (OK, they don’t really have moose in Finland, but you’re being so literal again).

Finnair’s lounge in Helsinki has apparently been voted the best in the world. I’m not sure about that (I prefer the VAA lounge at Heathrow, although that’s partly because I can a tiny hand in how it looks) but they do have a spa and sauna and the sauna isn’t one sauna but a choice of four different types (Finnish, Stone Bath, Brechel Bath & Steam Bath). The best one (I tried them all) was the medium heat one with fresh fir tree branches on the floor (the Brechel). Just what you need if the previous week you’ve flown easyjet (not easy, especially when there’s no jet, but they won’t share this with you – along with any small change to buy anything – for ages).

Good question from someone this evening: ” What are a couple of counter-intuitive things that will happen in the future?” *

BTW, big thank you to Sonny for organizing a wonderful event in Munich last week. The speakers were great, especially the ones I managed to spend some time talking with. If you get a chance check out a few of these folks: Andrew McGonigle, (volcanoes), Frank Longergan (Burning Man), Franz Fischnaller, (virtual reality), Herbert Klumpner (urbanization), Jamis MacNiven (Silicon Valley), Peter Plantec (virtual humans), Ricardo Sousa (schools) and Naomi Susan Issacs (singing).

* A very high oil price ($175+) might be one. It could be a good thing in the sense that we might eat less and walk more, thereby impacting the obesity epidemic, carbon emmisions and Type 2 diabetes. It could also mean more investment in clean energy and a shift in our behaviour in relation to energy use.

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