Finns! Finns! Eveywhere!

As we do every year, we went to a Mass Ascension at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. It's always a treat - a feast for the eyes. This year there was a balloon from Hämeenlinna, Finland. This in itself is not remarkable. It is, after all, an international event and there are balloons from all over the world. But what is remarkable is how many Finns here in New Mexico - Finns who are not a part of my Finnish wife's rather extensive expat Finns-in-New-Mexico social network - showed up at the Hämeenlinna balloon.

I have long been suspicious that the Finns are trying to take over the world.

If the Finns are plotting for world domination (I point to Nokia, bluetooth technology and Linux as proof positive that there is some kind of plot) it is understandable that they are taking a slow and methodical way about it. That's how Finns work. They are good at it. But I fear that the intel might be lacking.

If they are taking over the world, one country at a time, they may have misjudged the importance of New Mexico. There are a lot of Finns here. And when they pull that mighty insurrection and gain control of New Mexico they are just going to find that the rest of the country will laugh.

If they notice at all.