--- /dev/null
+# Inbjuden tillbaks till hemlandet: Sverige
+
+Det är en ära för mig att ha blivit inbjuden att tala på konferensen
+[Software Passion][softwarepassion_tmarble] i Göteborg, Sverige.
+Det här är en stad med en mer än tusenårig historia och ett område
+(byn Forsheda) från vilket min gammel mormor en gång utvandrade
+till USA för över hundra år sedan. Jag hoppas kunna lära mig lite
+svenska innan min resa.
+
+This will be an exciting challenge for me because
+I realize that most of my public speaking in the past few
+years has been very much in a [FLOSS][floss] context.
+The program at Software Passion shows quite a diversity of
+technologies and topics -- including proprietary technologies
+that I know little about. In my talk I will cover
+some of the great fun I've had with the [Clojure][clojure]
+programming language. Therefore I will consciously make a point to
+highlight the importance of "standing on the shoulders of giants".
+
+The productivity I have enjoyed would not be possible without
+the stack Free Software I count on, including, but not limited to:
+
+* [Clojure][clojure]
+* [Clojure Contrib][clojure_contrib] libraries
+* The [noir][noir] web framework
+* The [leiningen][leiningen] dependency management and build tool
+* [OpenJDK][openjdk]
+* The [Redis][redis] database
+* The [Jenkins][jenkins] continuious integration server
+* And, of course, the bedrock of it all: [Debian GNU/Linux][debian]
+
+Several years ago I was able to travel to Norway on a project
+I had with the electric vehicle company [Think Global][think].
+I was able to visit my aunt in Oslo and get very close
+to the border of Sweden while working at the car factory in Aurskog.
+Indeed many of the engineers I worked with were Swedes who
+commuted across the border each day.
+
+My great-grandmother, Olga, immigrated from Sweden to the United
+States around 1900. She was from a fairly well-to-do family
+in Fosheda. After some careful investigation we learned that
+she had fallen in love with a servant, but couldn't marry
+him due to family pressure. A few years later after her
+mother died she came to the USA with her "little brother"
+and started a new life here. She was studying nursing in
+Boston when she was asked to accompany the Minneapolis
+Postmaster's wife back home on the train.
+
+Much earlier than the "personal ad" era Olga mysteriously
+found my great-grandfather, Andrew, within 3 days of
+arriving in Minneapolis and married him soon thereafter
+(the Swedish mafia? :) ) . This is the background on my Nordic
+roots in Minnesota.
+
+I realize that for non-Americans the obsession with
+immigration history seems a little silly. I'm proud of
+my mixture of German, Danish, Swedish and Bohemian roots.
+And I'm especially excited to finally set foot in Sweden!
+
+
+[softwarepassion_tmarble]: http://softwarepassion.se/speakers.do?name=tom-marble
+[clojure]: http://clojure.org/
+[noir]: http://webnoir.org/
+[clojure_contrib]: http://dev.clojure.org/display/doc/Clojure+Contrib
+[floss]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLOSS
+[openjdk]: http://openjdk.java.net/
+[leiningen]: https://github.com/technomancy/leiningen
+[debian]: http://www.debian.org
+[redis]: http://redis.io/
+[jenkins]: http://jenkins-ci.org/
+[think]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_Global
+
+[[!tag clojure noir leiningen Debian OpenJDK redis jenkins]]
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