Snow in May, wrong start of the day

Here is the snow we got yesterday (May 12). I also included Urmik in the background as a reference for you to gauge the amount of snow...

Sent from my iPhone

Saving energy

Who is the bright guy in Russia who decided that central heating needs to be shut down in the spring, once the temperature exceeds 8degC for a week? Nobody else wants to write an addendum to that policy saying that central heating must be switched back on if the temperature drops below zero and if snow is falling? It's freezing here!

The May 9th Parade

The whole city has transformed for the May 9th parade, the biggest event in the year. Billboards and giant pictures are on display in all the streets and on the buildings.

The excitement has built up for days now, and I could hardly sleep the night before. We woke up early to try to beat the crowd and get good spots. Obviously, we failed, and when we arrived, all good spots were already taken.

So here is what we can bring back from our celebration day:

A few pictures from the back stage, taken minutes before the parade:

Girls adjusting their combat outfit,

-The regiment of orange berets,

-Some other regiment, more friendly,

-And the typical police car with the front hood open (nothing really different from an everyday picture).

And here some pictures we managed to take by stretching our arms really high:

Conclusion: In spite of my really cool new camera, I was not able to get a decent picture from this memorable day. Plus the new camera is a bit too heavy for the 'stretched-arm-picture mode'. Next year I will go with a periscope instead of a camera. Still, it was a nice day to be outside and we had good shashliks by the river.

Ice fishing

Last Sunday, the weather finally gave hint of the summer approaching. We decided to go for a walk on the frozen lake and see if the fishing season was good. As you can see on the picture, the level of water has dropped significantly, which should be a good omen for the fishermen (less water means a higher density of fish, any fisherman knows that). Uh, and the other thing is that there is still a decent 4-ft layer of ice on the lake, which is another good news for my friends the fishermen who still have a few nice days in their ice-fishing season.

We met a few fishermen carrying their drills, walking large distances to find their good spots.

So let me give you a few tricks about fishing I learned just by observation (by not speaking the language I sharpened my skills of learning by observation dramatically in the last 2 years):

-How to recognize fishermen on the way to fishing versus fishermen on the way back? Not so easy: the amount of fish they carry can be misleading, as these guys like to snack on salted fish while they fish for more... (Ice-fishing is a sustainable activity). The trick is in the way they walk: A good fisherman always walk straight to his fishing spot. Most fishermen have vodka-induced staggering walk on the way back.
-How to use bait fish with worms frozen hard by subzero temperatures?Simply put the worms in a plastic bag with no hole, and suck on the plastic bag not too hard until you feel that the worm softens up.
-How to recognize a good spot for ice-fishing? Not so easy either, there appears to be different strategies prevailing on the Ob Sea:

-the first strategy is to look for spots where there already are other fishermen.

Here, the logic is that so many fishermen can't be wrong about the quality of a spot, so you too should go drill there and dip your worm. By the way, reusing a pre-drilled hole from someone else is not a widespread practice, since everybody carries his own drill. I think there is a certain pride from catching fish from your own hole.
-the second strategy consists in looking for spots where there are no fisherman. It is radically different from the first approach, but the logic is also solid: No competing fisherman means more fish for you, so you should go and drill there. Between these 2 extreme strategies, a wide range of intermediate solutions also work, i.e chosing spots where there are only a few fishermen proving that it is a good spot for fish, but not enough people to catch all the fish, so you can also go and drill there.In brief, the main criterion for a good spot is to make sure that there is water on the other side of the ice where you are drilling.

Well, in the end, the one who enjoyed the walk the most was still Urmik. He was quite impervious to fishing strategies and just enjoys running aimlessly on the ice. Good doggie.

The Transiberian from your couch

You want to travel by train from Moscow to Vladivostok, but you're not sure whether you are ready for the 10+ days without a shower and the smell of salted fish from your neighbor's zakouskis? Here is a cool link for you: http://www.google.ru/intl/ru/landing/transsib/en.html

Click anywhere on the blue line on the map representing the railroad, and you can see a movie from 7 to 30 minutes of what you would actually see from the left window of the Transiberian, with nobody to tell you not to lean outside. Strangely enough, on the left window, it is always daylight, always sunny, and always summer.

So, chose the soundtrack (the page proposes rumble from wheels, Russian radio, or the full audio version of War and Peace...), sit back and relax.

Stuck...

Having a road accident in Russia is really something you want to avoid... more than in other countries: Russian law requires the drivers involved in the accident to leave their cars exactly as they are at the time of impact until the police agents arrive and record all the necessary elements. Knowing there is only a handful of police agents who are qualified to investigate the accidents in the whole Novosibirsk, you're up for a few hours of waiting. That's plenty of time to get to know the person you just bumped into. It's also plenty of time to face the angry look of the other drivers you are blocking, if you happen to block all the lanes like the accident I spotted the other day.

I think it is all part of the country's road safety policy, that aims at decreasing the accident rate by public humiliation. The look on those poor people's face stuck on the road is reminiscent of the look I saw on stray dogs that got stuck while copulating in public, trying to maintain dignity in an embarrassing situation, and waiting for a relief out of their control.

It hasn't happened to me yet (I mean, the road accident). I am touching some wood for it not to happen, and sharpening my defensive driving skills every day on my commute.

Happy birthday to me

Thanks to everybody who thought about my birthday and sent me their wishes, by mail, phone, facebook, or face to face... It added a bit of warmth to this cold winter. I had lots of fun in the various little parties and celebrations. A special thanks to the people who gave me a little gift, either at the office or at the little party last night. Definitely, I will not forget where those gifts came from when I will look back at them a few years from now.

Now I feel ready and geared up for another eventful year in Novosibirsk!