Update of the whereabouts of your web master.

[magnusfeuer]

I am currently in Sweden sorting out some major visa chaos for my russian trip.

Below are actual questions from the form with answers I wish I wrote:
"Are you a firearms, explosives or nuclear weapons expert? If so, explain."
"Yes. Hobby."

"Are you mentally ill?"
"Not today."

During my stay here in Sweden I've enjoyed desperate last minute development and penile fencing with other system engineers over totally irrelevant technical details. Ah, the joys of testosteron!

I am off to Moscow next Saturday and will take a cab directly to a party that is, by a complete coincedence, being thrown by the local Swedish community that same evening. The combination of Swedish and Russian booze romantics may very well be lethal.

Right now, my return ticket from ARN to LAX is booked for Nov 30. I'll see if I can get my ass out of Europe prior to that.

I'll keep you updated. If I am alive.

/Magnus F.

[magnusfeuer]

Well,

After a week in Moscow everything has gone to hell. We got a letter from the client that they had prepared everything (firewalls, data links, routers etc) and formally handed the setup over to us for interop-tests. That triggered three of us to go to Russia to get started. When we got to site, nothing of the listed pre-requisites were fulfilled. Not a single cable, or power strip was in place.

Right now the client seems to be in some kind of panic mode while I sit at our local office in Moscow and idle.

Attached are a few phone-pictures showing a very strange mix of an old empire in decline with a new capitalist society is emerging through and around it. Sorry about the crap quality, the Treo 650 isn't really that great of a camera (or phone).

The whole thing actually makes me feel sad for some reason. It's like the rest of (western) Europe got a 40 year head start on the path to prosperity, and now Russia is scrambling to get rid of its old ways and catch up. Some parts of the city have been wiped and rebuilt. When you walk around in these areas, it's like being in a suburb of Stockholm or Berlin. Other parts are just old and tired.

Picture description:
1) On the highway toward the hotel.
2) Hotel Izmailova Alfa and Beta and parts of Vega (Gamma-Delta not shown).
3) Stalin Style Building.
4) A female war hero from 1941.
5) Kurskaya subway station.
6) Subway interior shot.

[moosetestbestanden]

I remember thinking and feeling the same sorts of things when traipsing around old east Berlin w/ all the Stalin Gothic architecture and run down everything and shiny new apartment building in the middle of it all.

Some things never change and by your description for sure Russia hasn't. The latest version of what has always been there. Nowadays the peasents are being bled white by criminals who are arguably more or less savory than the murderous theiving Commie criminals or murderous theiving Imperial criminals of regimes past.

But happily another constant remains: beautiful Russian women...and wodka, lots of wodka

Any update on your quest for Ammo silencer?

Edited to add:
Oh, and one other thing; the weather's been simply stunning. High 70s / low 80s, still and sunny. In short, perfect blatting weather. Now it's not my intention to torture here but I feel you should know so that you don't go thinking about moving someplace else. Like Russia.