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About Havn

My name is Erlend (you can pronounce it like the name 'Allen', but with a long A-sound - like if it only had one L), and I live in Oslo, Norway with my wife, Kristine, and our dog, Vincent.

Me, in a blue Hawaii shirt, hugging my dog, Vincent. He's a large, tan eurasier.

I started this blog because I needed shelter ...

... from the storms in my head. And that's why I named it Havn (which means harbour in Norwegian). Every letter is pronounced (the A like the A in "garden"), and it has only one syllable.

Here I'll try to collect my thoughts, that tend to jolt in every direction. in search of connections and meaning.

Here are some of my foundational beliefs:

  • We can both buy roses, and accept that they have thorns, and deal with the consequences of that. Few things are only good or only bad. So, some things I'm for can still have bad sides, and some things I'm against can have good sides. Our conversations get poorer if we don't accept this nuance.
  • We should be like lumps of clay: Have substance and form, but still be malleable. But to remain malleable, you have to do an effort to not dry out - and you should absolutely refrain from firing yourself to a hardened state. I'm wrong about tons of stuff, and should always be open to learn more and improve - whether through my own research or other people.
  • People should be able to love who they love and be who they are, without other people making a big deal out of it. I'm comfortable in the gender role I got assigned at birth - but if you're not, and would have a better life if you could live in another, I say: "Of course!"
  • People should also be allowed to believe in what they believe and still be respected. (However, that doesn't give them the right to deny others from living as who they are - see the last point.)
  • Partly because the context we're born into matters so much (and the randomness of that), we should levy adequate taxes, particularly from those with more than enough, to fund services for all. Make the society you'd want if you didn't know what you were born into.
  • We need to take more actions to combat climate change while still keeping an eye on the environment - as things that help one do not necessarily help the other. The wealthiest countries, especially those that have polluted a lot historically and/or made lots of money on fossil fuels, should lead the charge.

Click here to see the ethics and principles about the blog itself.

Sometimes, I make pedal boards,

and I like to make them nice. That's why I've started a small business named "Erlend Mekker Nice", which means "Erlend makes it nice" (in a bit broken Norwegian).

I make stuff like this:

A picture of four different pedal boards for guitar players. I think they're nice, with colour codes and cable management.

So if you know anyone with a duct tape and velcro infested pedal chaos on their hands (or feet) - let me know, and I can help! (Especially if it's in Norway.)

I also play in a band!

Picture of my band playing a concert at a club. It looks like the crowd is having a good time! Picture of me playing my bass - a Fender P-bass from 1961.

It's called Klondike, and I've also spent some time making our rehearsal room/studio nice!

Our studio setup, with a Mac Mini, Apogee Duet 3, two LG UltraFine 24-inch screens, MIDI keyboard, studio monitors and more. Closeup of some colour coded xlrs into our mixer.

Other than that,

I'm a teacher, who's worked mostly with teenagers and with the subjects maths, music and social science/history. I've also worked with creating math curiculum, and I'm currently working on my master's degree in didactic mathematics. Oh, and I'm one of those who got an ADHD diagnosis as an adult.

Thanks for visiting!

Picture of me in front of a river. I have a white T-shirt and dark blue baseball caps. I have glasses, a bit of beard and is a white man in my 30's.

Acknowledgments and attributions