Author Archives: RationalMatthew

How Solar Cells Work

Posted on May 18, 2011 by RationalMatthew

Solar cells sit there on your rooftop absorbing light and converting it into electricity. But given that they require no power source other than the sun, and they have no moving parts, did you ever wonder how they work? I’ve … Continue reading →

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Buying a Kayak

Posted on April 10, 2011 by RationalMatthew

Kayaking is a great way to explore waterways and an even better way to keep active. However kayaks come in as many shapes and sizes as humans themselves, and kayak shop staff can often be misleading, unknowledgeable, elitist or unhelpful … Continue reading →

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The Northern Lights – Aurora Borealis

Posted on April 7, 2011 by RationalMatthew

It’s funny that with arctic locations, the peak season for visitors is generally the middle of summer. While I accept that midsummer in these cold parts of the globe is crazy good fun due to parties, saunas and the general … Continue reading →

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Surviving an Earthquake

Posted on April 4, 2011 by RationalMatthew

On March 11 2011 at 2:45 in the afternoon my snowboarding mate Brad and I were on a train on the Yurikamome line in Tokyo which had just pulled into Shiodome station. We’d arrived in Tokyo the night before. We’d … Continue reading →

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April Fools Day and Ice-hole Swimming in Northern Finland

Posted on April 9, 2004 by RationalMatthew

I was got a beauty on April Fools day by my deceptive and quite sinister girlfriend Outi and Kaarina. We went looking for blueberries in the forest at about 9 at night under the pretence of making a pie. I … Continue reading →

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Ferry Rides on the Baltic Sea

Posted on August 20, 2003 by RationalMatthew

A great way to get to Finland from Sweden is to take one of the overnight ferries from Stockholm to Helsinki. There are basically two lines: one, the Silja Line is the “classier” option and full of beautiful people. The … Continue reading →

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Love and Neo-Nazi Homosexual Bikers in Lapland

Posted on July 23, 2003 by RationalMatthew

I once spent 4 days completing an epic journey from Stockholm, the capital of Sweden to Lakselv in Norwegian Lapland to meet up with a girl named Outi. Look at Norway in an atlas, then go way, way north. From … Continue reading →

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Christiania

Posted on July 13, 2003 by RationalMatthew

Christiania is an amazing little part of Copenhagen. If you’ve ever been to the hippie utopia that is Nimbin on the east coast of Australia, well it’s kind of like a Nimbin in a big city. It used to be … Continue reading →

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Asthma while travelling

Posted on June 19, 2003 by RationalMatthew

There was a time when for a couple of years, my chest would periodically get infected and blocked up and cause asthma anytime I did anything remotely stressful, like travelling. I have had asthma since a child but was always … Continue reading →

Posted in Surfing, Travel | Leave a comment