151’2025 (2025-05-31) – Saturday

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned about:

My ongoing relation with CBDN, the Brazilian Confederation for Snowsports, has added another, impressive chapter. Earlier posts about CBDN can be found on 240’2022 (2022-08-28), 304’2022 (2022-10-31) , 334’2022 (2022-11-30) , 31’2023 (2023-01-31) , 272’2023 (2023-09-29), and 91’2024 (2024-03-31) .

On 146’2025 (2025-05-26), I was invited to a ceremony to mark the conclusion of the 2024/25 winter sport season. It was held in São Paulo at MIS, the museum for image and sound. The whole event was very well organized, with both an initial cocktail with delicious salty and sweet snacks and a bigger buffet during the half-time break.

It was really interesting to see the enthuiasm of so many talented athletes, both those with normal body conditions and those who participate in the para athletic disciplines. And the ceremony, which meant to reward the best of those, was also very well planned and executed, with a ceremony master, Beth Romero, who is a well-known sports journalist. A video from the ceremony can be found in reference #1 below, and here are also some photos:

As you can see from the photo in the upper left corner, the auditorium was packed with expectation from the athletes, their families, friends and supporters. The bottom photo in the left column shows the ceremony master, Beth Romero.
The three photos in the middle column show, from top to bottom: – Two of the most rewarded athletes, Aline Rocha and Cristian Ribera, both world champions in para ski cross country; – Cristian Ribera, showing the Crystal Globe as World Cup champion, rewarded as Athlete of the Season, flanked by CBDN President Anders Pettersson and COO Gustavo Haidar; – Some of the CBDN staff present during the ceremony, from left to right: Laura Dias, Luisa Crisol, Luíza Calaça, Thatiana Freire, Gustavo Haidar, Matheus Sales, Laura Costa, and Rafaella Malafaia.
In the rightmost column, from top to bottom: – CBDN President Anders Pettersson welcoming the audience to the cremony; – The trophy awarded to the Athletes of the Year in their respective disciplines; – The trophy awarded to the Athletes considered Revelations or Highlights during the Year.

Another highlight this month is related to my student of the Swedish language, Gabriel Bertho. I teach him Swedish so he can communicate well with his fellow colleagues at Linköping University of Technology. Gabriel, who is a technology student at UFSCar, the Federal University of São Carlos,  spent four months in Sweden in 2024 on a robotics project. The result of that project was presented by him at the 1st Brazilian Conference on Robotics in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil during the last three days of April, 2025. Here are two pictures of Gabriel and his presentation at the conference:

Finally, this month’s header photo was taken by another of my Swedish language students, Laura Ponce, who currently lives in Greifswald, Germany, where she took this springlike photo on 121’2025 (2025-05-01).

A beautiful spring photo taken on 121’2025 (2025-05-01) in Greifswald, Germany by Laura Ponce.

Thank you, Laura! More about Greifswald can be found in reference #2 below.

That’s what I learned in school today! 

Ref.:

1: Cerimônia de encerramento da temporada 2024/2025

2: Greifswald

*: What did you learn in school today?

116’2025 (2025-04-26) – Saturday

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned about:

There are so many interesting events organized in the world today, be it sports, cultural, religious, political etc. And although many of those can be watched on a distance, via internet, there is a special feeling being on the venue personally.

But, in order to not only make the event something to be remembered for a long time by the spectators, we also need to have a good solution to turn the venue into a reusable place for so many different activities. Of course, it is desirable that the arena has the possibility of a rectractable roof, so that it may be used under the best possible weather conditions all year round. But, what if you want to combine a superb lawn surface for an exciting football game, a popular consert and also permit icehockey games with a perfect ice rink?

I think that the German city of Gelsenkirchen has come up with a very appealing solution. Their own football team, Schalke 04, is currently playing in the second division of the German championships, Bundesliga, after having been relegated from the first division two years ago. The icehockey team, EHC Gelsenkirchen, plays in a minor league in the German championships, using a dedicated arena, but what if it manages to be promoted to the first division and needs to host games with a much larger audience?

The solution is called Veltins-Arena, a multipurpose arena built in 2001 and that has lent its name to the neigboring brewery since 2005. The arena has hosted significant events, including the 2004 UEFA Champions League final, five matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cup including a quarter-final, and the 2010 Ice Hockey World Championship. It has also been the venue for concerts and other sports events such as the German Speedway Grand Prix and the 2018 German Darts Masters. The arena has hosted concerts by major artists and bands, including The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Metallica, AC/DC, Taylor Swift and Rammstein.

But what makes the Veltins-Arena so adequate for holding such a variety of events? Besides the retractable roof I mentioned above, it is possible to slide out the whole central part of the stadium. That way, it is e.g. possible to guarantee that the grass lawn gets the right conditions to recover for an import football game after a sold-out rock consert. Today´s header photo shows the lawn being rolled into place, which takes 4 hours. More about Veltins-Arena can be found in References # 1 and 2 below.

That’s what I learned in school today! 

Ref.:

1: Veltins-Arena

2: Modernes Stadion: Der mobile Rasen auf Schalke

*: What did you learn in school today?

90’2025 (2025-03-31) – End of Q1

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned about:

There are so many interesting places around the world and of course it is impossible to travel to all of them. Instead, how good it is to know that we have friends who can supply us with the information and photos we lack.

This photo today was taken by my friend Barbara a couple of weeks ago. She was on vacation in Málaga, Costa del Sol in the South of Spain, by the tempting Mediterranean sea. Thank you, Barbara, for sharing this view with us.

A beautiful view of the beach in Malaga, Costa del Sol in the South of Spain. Picture taken by Barbara Sigurdsson in March, 2025.

Málaga is a city which a rich history, founded 770 BC. More information can be found in reference #1 below.

That’s what I learned in school today! 

Ref.:

1: Málaga

*: What did you learn in school today?

58’2025 (2025-02-27) – Tors dag

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned about:

They are simply amazing, the things invented by Mother Nature. The following photo shows a view of the sky in São Carlos, SP, Brazil, taken exactly one week ago, in the late afternoon of 51’2025 (2025-02-20) by my daughter Karina. Such a view is something to be seen maybe only once in a lifetime! She was able to capture a bright sky, rainy sky, lightning (of course, being the day of the Nordic thunder god Thor), and rainbow, all-in-one!

This amazing photo was taken by my daughter Karina in the very late afternoon of 51’2025 (2025-02-20) in São Carlos, SP, Brazil. She was able to capture clear sky, rainy sky, lightning and rainbow all-in-one.

But Mother Nature can also play tricks with us from time to time. One deficiency that is more common in men than women is color blindness, also known as color vision deficiency or daltonism. The last term is derived from the English chemist John Dalton, who during the 18th century made the first scientific observations about color blindness. See also reference #1 below.

Dalton suffered from red-green dichromacy. If there had been traffic lights when he lived, then he would have had difficulties in distinguishing the red “stop” signal from the green “go” signal. For that reason, often the green light has a bluish hue to reduce the risk of such a confusion. Furthermore, there is a suggestion to extend the normal three-stage traffic lights from the current red, yellow and green colors to also include a fourth one with white light. That would make it easier is for autonomous vehicles approaching a traffic signal. If it shines white, then it means the same as the green light, go ahead, otherwise don’t. See also reference #2 below.

But traffic lights are not only consisting of various colors, there are also different ways to arrange them, further to the traditional top-down placement of red-yellow-green, that make them more intuitive to understand. One such arrangement is being used in the start of a Formula 1 race:

Traffic lights configured to inform the drivers of a Formula 1 race about the countdown process to compose the formation lap and to start the race.
Reference: https://www.formula1-dictionary.net/start_sequence.html

Maybe it was Formula 1 that inspired the inventor of this traffic light:

Here is an abbreviated sequence of the various colors of a traffic light placed in the intersection of Avenida Francisco Pereira Lopes and Rua Ângelo Passeri in São Carlos, SP, Brazil. Pictures taken on 56’2025 (2025-02-25).

But the most intuitive traffic sign is no doubt this one, where both the driver having the liberty to proceed (another 38 seconds in this example) and the one waiting for their turn to go ahead (after 43 seconds in this example) have an exact idea of the respective available times:

Another intersection in São Carlos, SP, Brazil (Rua 15 de Novembro and Rua Capitão Adão Pereira de Souza Cabral), where both the driver allowed to proceed and the one having to wait know about their respective times. Photo taken on 56’2025 (2025-02-26).

That’s what I learned in school today! 

Ref.:

1: Color blindness

2: A study proves stoplights need a fourth color: White

*: What did you learn in school today?

9’2025 (2025-01-09) – NINE YEARS

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned about:
Once more I need to use the expression ”How time files”. Nine years ago, I started this blog, but it seems like it happened yesterday. I am sooooo grateful to all of you, my faithful followers, soon we will be celebrating a whole decade together!
In my last post of 2023, 356’2024 (2023-12-21) , I had the pleasure of portraying myself with two Olympic gold medalists, and now the turn has come to my daughter, Karina. One week before Christmas, she went to São Paulo to assist the SLS Super Crown World Championships 2024. Among all the famous skaters present at the event, I have chosen to show her together with Momiji Nishiya, a Japanese street skatboarder who won the gold medal in the Olympic Summer Games held in Tokyo in 2021. See also reference # 1 below.

A selfie taken by Karina with Momiji Nishiya, a Japanese street skateboarder who won the gold medal in the Olympic Summer Games held in Tokyo in 2021. The photo was taken during the SLS Super Crown World Championships 2024 on 350’2024 (2024-12-15) in São Paulo, state of São Paulo, Brazil.

The following photo was taken the morning after the fantastic full moon I showed in the last post of 2024, 366’2024 (2024-12-31) . What a lovely day the rising sun is bringing to us all!

This photo, taken on 352’2024 (2024-12-16) shows the sun rising at Praia Grande, Paraty, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

That’s what I learned in school today! 

Ref.:

1: Skateboarding at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women’s street

*: What did you learn in school today?

366’2024 (2024-12-31) – New Year’s Eve

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned about:

Almost two years ago, 113’2023 (2023-04-23) , I wrote about the ceremony when Air Force Coronel Geancarlo Jandre was sworn in as Commander of the Santos Air Force Base. Well, those days are gone, now he is moving on to another position within the Brazilan Air Force (FAB). My girlfriend Valéria and I had the pleasure of meeting him and his wife Fernanda on their very last day at the base.

Below are some photos taken during that encounter. On that very day, 356’2024 (2024-12-21), there had been concluded the upgrade of the base’s take-off and landing strip, and now there will start a procedure to qualify it as fit for also civilan passanger traffic. When the complete airport finally is inaugurated, it will be part of a multimode transportation system around Santos, for cargo and passengers. In fact, yesterday, the Brazilian President Lula da Silva sent the project for a tunnel between the two cities of Santos and Guraujá for analysis by the TCU (Tribunal de Contas da União), and once approved hopefully there will be construction of the tunnel starting alreday during 2025. Furthermore, there are plans of doubling the capacity of the whole region to receive and dispatch merchandise with a volume of a double size as compared to today. See also reference # 1 below.

The two pictures to the left, taken by Coronel Geancarlo, show the Command building of the Santos Air Force Base and a view from the jetty, where the base can be approached by boat. In the photo in the lower left, in the background you can also see a building where the Brazilian celulose producer Suzano and DP World Santos operate an intermediate customs warehouse for merchandise transiting through the port of Santos, see also reference #2 below. Also, for the first time you may see the concluded strip for take-off and landing of the future airport. Thanks to Geancarlo and Fernanda for receiving us on such a hectic day.

The following photo was taken on the same coast as the Santos Air Force Base, but 290 km further northeast, close to the historic city of Paraty, state of Rio de Janeiro. We had the opportunity of watching the full moon spreading its glow over the calm waters six days earlier.

A beautiful view of the full moon glittering in the South Atlantic Ocean on the beach Praia Grande, Paraty, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Picture on 350’2024 (2025-12-15).

Finally, after all my posts about this amazing athlete, was there any doubt that Armand “Mondo” Duplantis would be crowned the best male athlete of the year? See reference # 3 below.

That’s what I learned in school today! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Ref.:

1: Governo envia projeto do túnel Santos-Guarujá ao TCU

2: Suzano inaugura obras de ampliação e modernização de terminais portuários em Santos (SP)

3: Armand Mondo Duplantis and Simone Biles crowned AIPS Champions of 2024: as voted by 518 journalists from 111 countries

*: What did you learn in school today?

335’2024 (2024-11-30) – Saturday

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned about:

You may rember that back in 2016, in three different posts, 28’2016 (2016-01-28), 39’2016 (2016-02-08), and 101’2016 (2016-04-11) , I wrote about the different dangerous viruses that were spreading around the world. At that time, COVID-19 was not known, and we all know what damages it has caused. Here is a flyer from the Brazilian school FESC showing how to recognize four different types of viruses. I translated it from Brazilian Portuguese. The original document can be found in reference# 1 below.

With all the different viruses around, if you are doubtful, how do you recognize the symptoms? This handy guide from FESC, the municipal educational institution in the city of São Carlos, SP, Brazil, can be of good help.

Today’s header photo was taken by my friend Joyce Biermayr, who spent a fabulous vacation with her family on Ifuru Island in the Maldives in the beginning of August this year. For those of you who live on the Northern hemisphere, I want you to think of it as a reminder that within half a year from now, hopefully you also will have as nice weather as you can see in this photo.

That’s what I learned in school today!

Ref.:

1: Saiba diferenciar os sintomas

*: What did you learn in school today?

305’2024 (2024-10-31) – Thursday

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned about:

Continuing my post of last month abount the armed conflicts in the world, there is an interesting theory called the Democratic peace theory, which states that there is a strong connection between peace and democracy. However, as with any such theory, there are different opinions about the reasons, does peace lead to democracy or vice-versa, etc. See also reference #1 below.

I think it would be interesting to dissicate that theory further and see if it may apply to the current situation in the world. So, through the Global Peace Index (GPI), we have a measure of the state of unrest today, but what we can say about the democratic situation in the world? Luckily, there is the Democracy Index, which is published by the British group the Economist.

The current Democracy Index 2023 was published on 46’2024 (2024-02-15) and you may find it commented in references # 2 and 3 below. Here is just an exercept:

The Democracy Index states that there are four types of regimes:

  1. Full democracies, 24 countries, 14,4 % of all countries covered in this study, with 7,8 % of the world’s population;
  2. Flawed democracies, 50 countries, 29,9 % of all countries covered in this study, with 37,6 % of the world’s population;
  3. Hybrid regimes, 34 countries, 20,4 % of all countries covered in this study, with 15,2 % of the world’s population; and
  4. Authoritarian regimes, 59 countries, 35,3 % of all countries covered in this study, with 39,4 % of the world’s population.

The following world map, extracted from page 5 in the Democracy Index report for 2023 shows the situation in a nutshell. See also reference #4 below for the complete report.

This world map shows the troublesome situation today in our world

I am interested in trying to compare the information in the Global Peace Index report and the Democracy Index report and see if there is any real substance in the Democratic Peace Theory. It may take a while, but once I have it, you will be the first one to know, I promise!

That’s what I learned in school today!

Ref.:

1: Democratic Peace Theory

2: The Economist Democracy Index

3: Conflict and polarisation drive a new low for global democracy

4: Democracy Index 2023, full report

*: What did you learn in school today?

274’2024 (2024-09-30) – Monday

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned about:

My post today is unfortunately about a sad fact about our Earth. In 1982, when I was still living in Sweden, I learned about a young Canadian couple that was planning their family life ahead. One important thing was that they were looking for a very peaceful place where their children could grow up in all tranquility. So they spun the globe, closed their eyes and pointed jointly to a random spot on Earth. The outcome was a small archipelago in the South Atlantic ocean, in English called the Falkland Islands and in Spanish lslas Malvinas. Then in October, 1982, Argentina tried to invade the islands but was defeated by the UK joint forces.

The reason I mention this story is that currently we earthlings are seeing the worst situation since the end of the Second World War. According to the Global Peace Index (GPI) there are currently 56 wars which impact the lives of millions of people spread out over 92 different countries, almost half of all nations in the world.

So, if you like the Canadian couple would search for a peaceful place to settle down today, where would you go? GPI appoints the following top 5 countries in regards to security:

  1. Iceland
  2. Ireland
  3. Austria
  4. New Zealand
  5. Singapore

The following world map, extracted from pages 8 and 9 in the GPI report for 2024 shows the situation in a nutshell. See also reference #1 below for the complete report.

This world map shows the troublesome situation today in our world

If you are interested in what makes Iceland this secure place, I suggest that you start by reading my post from 17’2016 (2016-01-17).

That’s what I learned in school today!

Ref.:

1: Global Peace Index 2024

*: What did you learn in school today?

218’2024 (2024-08-05) – Monday

Posted on by What did you learn in School today ?

Today, I learned about:

What I wrote yesterday in my updated blog needs yet another update today.

The reason is that the Swedish pole vaulter Armand “Mondo” Duplantis has made it again. My latest post about him was in April, when he had just set yet another world record, 6,24 m, see 121’2024 (2024-04-30). And today, he raised that mark to an even higher level, 6,25 m, when he won the gold medal in the Paris Olympics 2024. Here is a picture of the exact moment when he surpasses the bar:

Armand Duplantis raises his own world record in pole vault to 6,25 m on 218’2024 (2024-08-05) to win the gold medal at Paris Olympics 2024. Photo taken by Martin Meissner/AP.

Armand and Sarah Sjöström were recently elected to be this years’s Swede of the Year by the organization Svenskar i världen (Swedes in the world) for their incredible performance over the years. How assertive they were when choosing this couple in an olympic year such as 2024. See also reference #1 below.

That’s what I learned in school today!

Ref.:

1: Armand Duplantis och Sarah Sjöström utses till Årets Svensk i Världen 2024

*: What did you learn in school today?