Sundown here was about 25 minutes ago (3:50pm local time), and now having lots of windows in the meeting room is a disadvantage, because it feels later than it is (4:15pm local time).  I guess it would be better if the lights in the room were turned on.

The good news, though, is that the discussions have turned from project management to technical issues, so I’m more interested.  And there have even been some questions raised, unlike the earlier presentations, so there’s some energy in the room, too.

But it’s hard to overcome the darkness.

Today, I’m paying for yesterday’s sightseeing.  I’m in Hermia, which is a suburb of Tampere, at the Technology Centre, attending the second annual review of the Digital Business Ecosystem project.  This is a three-day meeting; I’m here as a member of the project’s Strategic Advisory Board (as a result of reviewing some proposals last year), and so I’m learning a lot and meeting many people.

There are about four official EC reviewers here, and the presenters are speaking directly to them; unfortunately, I’m on the opposite side of the room, and no one is using a mike, so paying attention isn’t easy.  Add to that the fact that this is my third day in Europe, which is usually the worst day for jet lag for me, and that the meeting room is quite warm, and…well, the fact that I’m blogging probably speaks for itself.

At least the room has lots of windows, so we’re getting some natural light.  Not much, because it’s cloudy; in fact, it’s snowing lightly.  And the exterior temperature has been going down all morning; it was -2C when I left the hotel, and now it’s down to -6C.  I went out for a few minutes during the break, and the cold cleared my head nicely — but then when I came back in, the fog set in again.  Somehow, -6C seems colder than the equivalent of 21F — which is cold, but not ridiculous.  Tomorrow’s forecast, however, is for a high of 6F and a low of -4F; that is ridiculous!