Oz Weather is #1

Graham Dawson has finally made it!! His iPhone weather app has become Australia's #1 seller. This is due in no small measure to great programming and attention to design and detail. But ultimately, Oz Weather's the best because of Graham's passion for weather which I can attest he's had at least since his teen years (I really suspect that his parents gave him a toy weather station for his third birthday or something like that). No one better than Graham knows what a weather app should deliver. Graham, however, is (somewhat) modest about his achievement, believing that the record temperatures being set in Melbourne and Adelaide of around 45C cause people to brave the heat and rush out and buy Oz Weather (well, ok, this can probably be done from their computers, but you get the picture).

Now for the request - when will this service be available to rest of the world??

"Sambo"

I looked up the English translation of the word "sambo": co-habitee, co-habiter, person with whom one lives, partner, common-law spouse. Of these, "partner" is the only one that comes close to being usable in a social context. And yet, looking up definitions for the word "partner", I found the closest definition to be "husband or wife" and "spouse", words which indicate being married to the "partner". A neat little word like "sambo" doesn't exist in English.

The word "sambo" comes from two Swedish words, "samman", meaning "together", and "bo", meaning "home". Socially, being "sambo" carries all the status of being married since marriage doesn't imply that any greater commitment is involved. Legally, being "sambo" carries a lot of weight, even if it's not entirely equivalent to being a "spouse" - only in the matter or inheritance, I believe. In practice, all forms which request information about a spouse will use the word "sambo", since it's never of interest whether there was a wedding or not.

I was thinking about this topic when the daughter of a friend was denied entry to Canada where she hoped to join her boyfriend. It would have been fine had they been married. But, as is, she could only be admitted as a tourist with no hope of work or establishing a life there. A wedding would be required in what seems like an arcane system to define what a relationship is.

I wonder: does the lack of a word actually hinder or even prevent the conceptualization of that which it represents? For example, is my ability to appreciate snow limited by a poor vocabulary? Here are some Inuit words for snow.

I'll end by introducing another common form of Swedish relationship: "särbo", a word which comes from "apart" and "home", which refers to committed relationships of couples not sharing the same home. Should I be in a serious relationship again at some point in my future, this form sounds very appealing.

A new America?

If ever there was a time I felt like walking around waving a little American flag, this would have been it. I didn't actually do this, but it's the thought that counts. While remaining skeptical about how much change is likely to occur under Obama, the fact that there is so much hope is undeniably, irresistably uplifting.

Hope is good.

Nevertheless, the number one reason that caused me to flee the US 21 years ago still remains firmly in place without any change in sight: the cruel parental leave policy - 6 weeks off of work, unpaid (unless you've bought insurance), to include both time before and after delivery. Wikipedia says it's now 12 weeks off as of 1993. Unpaid. My medical issues required much more time off, but insurance overuled doctor's orders. I spent a lot of time coming to work just to lay down all day on the job. The first year of baby care involved me coming up with excuses, sneaking out of work, playing sick, leaving work early etc to be able to cuddle with and coo to the new baby, as well as stealing time off for sick baby care. My boss hated me. Little Daniele was 15 months old when I finally came to Europe in 1988, never to return. Today, "socialism" still seems to be sneered at as if it were a dirty word despite the desperation that I know I wasn't alone in experiencing. One might argue that Sweden has gone too far in the other direction: 480 days off at reduced pay to be divided between both parents - less if BOTH parents don't participate - plus 10 extra days dedicated to Dad at the birth. Not including the paid leave to care for sick children up until age 12. Hmmmm... Could there be any connection between the time spent parenting and the fact that Sweden is an extremely peace-loving nation?

There are actually a few more issues I have with life in the US. That was just the one that broke me. There's still enough to prevent me from returning. Maybe I'll elaborate sometime.