I do not know where these people come from or what they do the rest of the year, but when the snow comes they remove it from the top of roofs. This is a fairly common sight in Stockholm in February and it serves two purposes, avoid collapsed roofs and avoid icicle buildup that could potentially result in 20 lbs. of ice falling on someone's head.

The only thing between them and a fast trip 5 floors down is a thin rope they have wrapped around them mountaineer style. Considering they are on a slanted roof covered with ice and snow it amazes me that there aren't about 100 near-fatal incidents a year. On the contrary I've never heard of a single incident. Regardless, I am glad that this is something I can be content to watch from a warm office and not take part in.

Permalink    Labels: Stockholm, Snow, Weather, 1 Minute Video

Note that the links no longer work...

I thought of this considering the weather and that we are coming in on the homestretch of Christmas.

This was done about 3 years ago for a publishing/magazine company I worked for as a Christmas promotion.

The entire image is actually done with layers, textures and effects in Photoshop. (It actually works quite well as a freehand painting program...) The overlay is a simple Flash grid that presents the current date (still accurate) as a link to a specific offer for books or a contest.

The view is supposed to be from the inside of a hobby shop looking out onto the streets of Stockholm with the city hall in the background. (And a fox beneath a streetlight for reasons I can't recall.)

The most amusing part of making this was the snow, especially the footprints and the slight changes in color and texture.

Permalink    Labels: Projects, Snow, Stockholm

This is the umm...beautiful view from work on this windy, cold and snowy day. Looking south you can barely make out the ski slope in the background and a huge water tower further on. Not to belittle this particular area of south Stockholm but it looks like Vladivostok on a day like this. It also feels like it.

It has snowed all day, I think in the end we accumulated about 8-10 inches in some places. The rest of this week is supposed to be below freezing. So, with some luck, we may actuall have snow on the ground for Christmas for the first time in a number of years.

Permalink    Labels: 1 Minute Video, Snow, Weather, Stockholm

We've been getting the first real snow of the year over the last few days. I think they are currently forecasting a "class 1" snowfall for the day here. That indicates slippery conditions and possible delays/problems with traffic and other communications.

Stockholm doesn't actually tend to get much snow, although it's a welcome site as it brightens up the constant dusk that is in place between November and March.

The film to the right was taken on the way to work this morning. It is filmed from the tram that skirts the side of the city.

Permalink    Labels: 1 Minute Video, Snow, Weather, Stockholm, Trains

About 5 years ago I took a basic web design class. One of the things it involved was Flash. We were given various assignments to create different websites for different subjects. This one was for a fake movie site.

Flash has sort of taken on a different dimension since 2005, but it was amusing to dig this up and see one of the first things I ever did with it. Not exactly a masterpiece by any measurement, but it was fun to make.

I remember combing the interwebs looking for wolf and wind sound effects and even made a title song in GarageBand. Once in the pub you can click on the different elements and even watch the paltry trailer for The Tavern.

So, saved for all prosperity, one of Stockgnome's first forays into the dangerous world of Flash...

Permalink    Labels: Projects, Snow, Alaska

YES! Snow! I love snow (otherwise I wouldn't live in Europe's Attic) and here we've got a documentary all about it.

Modern Marvels takes a 45 minute look at how snow forms, snowflakes, blizzards, snow removal and even how to build an igloo! Everything you ever wanted to know about the best weather in the world...

The video can be viewed via Google Video (to the right), but is also available for download in mp4 format for the iPod Touch and iPhone on this page:

Modern Marvels: Snow

Permalink    Labels: Documentaries, Google Video, Snow, Weather