en español, in english, suomeksi

TV for a multicultural toddler

Supposedly you shouldn’t expose small children to the evils of television, but we’ve been doing that in small doses. Programmes like Plaza Sésamo, Pikku Kakkonen, Mr Bloom’s Nursery and the Numtums seem to be our son’s favourites.

He’s so active that I don’t need to worry about him “getting sucked in” as he can only concentrate in 10 minute intervals and plays a lot in the house. I just want to make sure he gets as much exposure as possible to the three languages that are the most important for him. Furthermore, I prefer these programmes than, say, Nickelodeon, as they don’t feel so annoyingly commercial.

in english

Weekly tweets from 2012-10-01 to 2012-10-07

in english

Authentic Mexican restaurant in Finland: Cholo Street Mexican kitchen

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Cholo Mexican Kitchen

The team behind Patrona decided to try a new concept in the place where it all began. Café de Nopal is no more, but now Cholo offers a much wider variety of Mexico City style tacos and even Northern Mexico style burritos that the previous restaurant ever could and it is open for lunchtime during weekdays and Saturdays too.

This is one taquería I will be frequenting as much as I can 😉 .

in english

Apps and games for toddlers

There’s something about technology that tends to attract small kids if they are exposed to it.  Our son obviously notices that there’s smartphones, iPads and computers in the house and wants to use what we use.

Since nowadays all these technologies are touchscreen-based, operating them is a breeze: no more hard buttons to press, no more long times to wait, things just happen.  Therefore, we have felt quite comfortable with our toddler using the devices.  His favourite games and apps below.

GigglePad (Windows phone): Our lifesaver when our son started crying like a madman at night when he was 9 months old.  Tapping shapes, play phone and baby piano with a soothing voice and a couple of lullabyes.

Kapu Forest (iOS): Finnish-developed “toy” with little mini-games, a Jazz soundtrack and beautifully illustrated characters and settings. A must have if you let your toddler touch your iPad.

Miny Moe Car (iOS): Different mini-games related to an old 50’s car. Change the lightbulb, fill the tank, repair a tyre and take it for a ride. The two characters also make cute sounds when pressed, which is probably the most fun for a small kid.

Toca Doctor (iOS): Swedish developer Toca Boca has released a series of beautiful-looking games with no in-app purchases allowed. Repairing bones and getting rid of ticks was never so much fun.

Goodnight Safari (iOS): Beautiful e-book for going to bed. Just make sure your toddler knows to select the “read to me” option.

Word of warning: just like with TV or candies, make sure you set strict limits on how much they play at a time and overall. Thankfully ours is quite active so it’s not too much of a problem.

in english

Biking with a small toddler: Burley Single buggy

As you may know, I drive very seldom but bike regularly except for the depths of winter. During some of my cycling trips I noticed some families with small children would have them in buggies attached to their bicycles. We now have one and it has proven very useful during the summer.

The buggy is big enough for our son to sit with enough space for some of his toys while also having a compartment in the back for fitting even a couple of bags for the road. Furthermore, it can easily get detached from the bike and turned into a more or less normal stroller.

While the buggy is not perfect (the seat is not great for when the toddler falls asleep, the stroller is difficult to lift to the bus, the brake is difficult to put) it has given us a freedom with the bikes we didn’t have before. Now we can bike to the summer house and take our clothes for the weekend with us. The buggy is also very safe and well tested, so it feels much more secure for our son than riding in a bike seat.

in english

Leaving Nokia, looking for the next step

Leaving Nokia

The last day of August was also my last day at Nokia. After 11 years at the company I took the plunge just like some of my friends and colleagues.

A friend who left Nokia some years ago to found his own company has repeatedly said that working at Nokia is the best MBA you could ever have, and I tend to agree.

I worked in global and area roles, executed projects in tens of countries in some cases reaching millions of people in one of the fastest-moving industries in the planet. I shared projects with incredible people and had a chance to see the world. I worked in services product management back in the days of ringtones, in European sales when the N90, N73 & N95 redefined what a smartphone could be, in digital marketing launching internet services and in sponsorships when we ran the partnerships with the Fedération Internationale de Basketball and the World Rally Championship.

Even if it had its challenges, especially during the last few years, I will always be thankful for the chances I had and the friendships I made there. Thank you for the ride and for the lessons learned.

Now it is time to spend some time with my family, recharge my batteries, meet people and start forming an idea of what I want to do next. If the past is any indication, I know it will be tough but great.

If you want to know what I can do and would be interested in offering me an opportunity, there’s always my portfolio and LinkedIn. 😉

en español, in english

Historic Olympics for Mexico in London 2012

Mexico beat Brazil in the Olympic football final and most of the international coverage of the game focused on the Brazilians losing rather than on Mexico winning (local Finnish examples here and here).

If it had been the US, you would be expecting movie studios in Hollywood to be scrambling for the rights to film the lives of match hero Oribe Peralta or his teammate Carlos Salcido. The former was a bench-warmer with his team in the Mexican league two years ago, the latter was so poor in his youth he worked illegally in the US after his mother died, and was discovered already in his twenties. Now a veteran, he has played in the Netherlands and England.