Locatext

This just in (well ok, I’ve been on holidays for two weeks): The Norwegian government just decided that all online public information must be accessible through open standards – mainly html, pdf and odf. This applies to all levels of government, which have until Jan 1. 2009 to comply.

Most beautiful of all, they have until 2014 to – hold on – reformat old documents. Read the rest of this entry »

I just read a disturbing story in my good old friend Dagsavisen. Maybe this was naïve of me, but I just never thought of it before: What happens if you call a Norwegian police officer a racist, to his/her face? Surprise surprise: You’ll end up in court. According to an evaluation from the government prosecutor, “racist” is ranked above (i.e. gives a stronger punishment than) good old Norse classics like “hestkuk” (horse dick) and “drittsekk” (bastard). (Commonly used terms in the colourfull north, which last week gave a 17-year old from Senja 60 days of civil labour.)

Trust me, I have no problem seeing the entertainment value in this, and I really hope I’ll be able to get hold of a t-shirt with a black horse penis on it before I go down to the police station to renew my passport. In the shape of a rebus, I think – or would that be too subtle? Read the rest of this entry »