intodimensions.com

Independent:

“A drunken 78-year-old Swede stole a dinghy after a night out in the Danish town of Helsingor and tried to row back to Sweden, but fell asleep halfway, Danish police said.

When the man discovered he lacked the necessary funds to pay for the ferry from Helsingor to Helsingborg in Sweden on Saturday, he decided to row the three miles across the strait of Oresund that separates the two.

He quickly grew tired and, trusting fortune and the currents to see him safely home, took a snooze at the bottom of the boat, where Danish police later found him out at sea, still asleep.

The strait is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Police said the owner of the dinghy had decided not to press charges. “

Sweden’s in the news a lot today. Volvo is slimming down and getting rid of 8% of its workforce and ABB was awarded a new contract in Qatar.

I had a question about a particular type of IKEA furniture, a motorized standing desk, so i went to the IKEA US site. There you can ask “Anna”, the IKEA help desk specialist, I guess.

I asked “Anna”:
Do you sell a motorized standing desk?

“Anna” answered:
Please have a look at the desks.

I asked:
Which one is motorized?

“Anna” answered:
I don’t know the answer to that question yet, I am sorry. Please contact your local store for help on the issue.

Unfortunately, it seems “Anna” is rather limited in her knowledge of IKEA products.

Aftonbladet: Sörenstam en vinnare igen

Annika Sorenstam won in Dubai, she won the Dubai Ladies Masters with two strokes. She says new training makes her better than before. This is her first win of the year.

The latest from Volvo looks pretty sweet.

Scandinavian airline SAS has launched a web site dedicated to the Emirates: www.flysas.ae. It seems really to just redirect to their main site, but it has some UAE specific information on it.

“Scandinavian Airlines, the fourth largest airline group in Europe, has launched a non-stop, thrice-weekly service from Dubai to the Danish capital, Copenhagen - the first to directly link the UAE with Scandinavia. Per Moller Jensen, Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa, SAS, said there is huge potential for SAS to regionally develop further. SAS’s new route to Dubai offers onward connections to the most important cities in the Middle East in cooperation with Emirates.”
[source]

The Local has a funny piece on dating in Sweden:

One strategy for finding love in Sweden is to embrace all available technologies. Entire relationships are conducted by SMS. Just like you can file your income taxes and get a loan with your mobile phone, you can now practically get married and divorced by SMS.

The Internet is another effective way to connect with the Swede of your dreams. Online dating is perfectly socially acceptable, but be beware of anyone who calls himself “SwedishCowboy4U” and offers to show you his chaps. And remember that the advanced search allows you to filter out anyone who is stupid enough to describe himself as a balding middle-aged man with two ex-wives, six children and 11 toes.

The Local:

News has emerged that Sweden’s foreign ministry has requested extra funds for a “wedding in the Royal Court” next year. But the royal family is remaining tight-lipped about future plans for Crown Princess Victoria, 30, and boyfriend Daniel Westling, 34.

Newspaper Expressen reported on Friday morning that it had read a foreign ministry memo on the subject of “preparations for a wedding at the Royal Court”. The amount of additional cash needed for “overtime, press logistics, computer support, extra staff etc.” was however “impossible to quantify at the present moment”.

According to this article, iPhone may be available in Sweden soon:

Nordic telecommunications operators TeliaSonera and Telenor said Friday they are both in active talks with Apple Inc. regarding a deal over the much-hyped iPhone. Spokesmen from both companies told Dow Jones Newswires they were “very interested in the iPhone,” but said they couldn’t say more due to ongoing discussions. “We have seen immense interest in the iPhone from our customers,” said Anders Krokan, Telenor spokesman. “We are still in talks, but I doubt we would be able to offer the iPhone this year.”