My Random Thoughts; Week 44

"Is it still called breakfast, when you haven't slept?" (Melissa Joan Hart)

"An old friend will help you move. A good friend will help you move a dead body." (Jim Haye)

"Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity." (Napoleon)

White Sox sweep Astros to win World Series

Okay I didn't get the games right... but I did pick the White Sox to win the World Series!

Oeps, die heb ik gemist...

Inmiddels al een tijdje geleden beklonken blijkbaar, maar toch weer nieuwswaardig: mijn oude werkgever wordt overgenomen door Ordina.

Dat wordt een hele speciale oud-strijders reunie binnenkort!

The Use of Computers in Movies

It can't be this hard to make a movie with a realistic use of computers right?

- No matter what kind of computer disk it is, it'll be readable by any system you put it into. All application software is usable by all computer platforms.

- The more high-tech the equipment, the more buttons it has (Aliens). However, everyone must have been highly trained, because none of the buttons are labelled.

I guess not.

2005 World Series

The World Series start tomorrow, featuring the Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros. It's not going to be something I'll watch on television live (Frankly I still cannot be bothered to watch grown men stand still on a field from pitch to pitch for three hours straight), but the World Series is something special so I will follow the highlights over at SI.com and MLB.com.

Anyway, who do I like winning it all...
The White Sox got Freddy Garcia, who used to be a Mariner (All Hail Seattle!), and I hope to see him do well during the series.
Chicago also has a tragic history not unlike the Red Sox last year for not winning a World Series since the 1910s.
I like both teams' pitching (Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens for Houston; Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Garcia, and Jose Contreras for Chicago), and I can't really name a clear favorite there.

I am under the impression the Astros would look better as World Series champs, but the White Sox look a bit stronger (and more rested) from the outset. So right now I'd say Chicago in six.

Just to set the stage... this is how SI.com depicted it:

At U.S. Cellular Field, rain started falling in the middle of Thursday's workout. There were 14 boxes of baseballs on the table, ready for each player to sign. The logos already were painted in foul territory, and the entrance to the ballpark displayed a pumpkin carved with the White Sox logo.

Outside was a huge photograph of White Sox players celebrating. On it were the words: "Crying in baseball -- only acceptable if champagne burns your eyes."

My Random Thoughts; Week 42

- We've reached the point where the definition of a seat has become quite fluid; those small rectangular platforms I know as tables have become the favorite kind of seating for a number of people.

Now I'm wondering if I shouldn't just furnish my living room with tables only...

- Sounds like I got out of dancing class just in time. I don't think I can handle the sudden rush of new entrants who voted an Idols reject the best dancer on Dutch television.

- Quite nearly, if not my oldest friends are getting married next year. It's all good, and I am looking forward to the day with you guys.

An epiphany

Here’s something I’ve recently come to understand clearly:

The biggest compliment you can give anyone is to understand them as they understand themselves. The biggest insult you can give someone is to see them as something they’re not and to label them as such.

This applies everywhere, I think, where we interact with one another.

My Random Thoughts: Week 41

- When you decide to fly somewhere and stop over at Frankfurt Main Flughafen, make sure there's ample time between flights. You spend about an hour just getting from one terminal to the next.

- I was hoping pilots would not fly their planes like I drive my car. Guess I was hoping for nothing.

- Next time I'm in queue somewhere waiting for the guy in front of me to stop dawdling with the (admittedly cute) attendant, store clerk or flyer girl, I am gonna turn him round and yell at him "get her friggin' phone number already!" Nothing on this planet is slower than a shy guy trying to get a date.

Gruss Gott!

Cosmetic Store Allergies

Whenever you find yourself in a cosmetics store, do not spray any after shave samples on the back of your hand, at your neck, on your wrist or on any open part of your body. Use the paper strips; they are there for a reason.

Take it from someone who learned the hard way: I'm very allergic to LaCoste Eau de Toilette, and if you want to see me turn red, spray some in my face, okay?

Oranje naar Duitsland

Ja ja het Nederlands elftal gaat naar het WK in Duitsland, na Tsjechie te hebben verslagen met 0-2.

Maar het viel wel op: de voetbalgoden hadden het beslist niet met de Tsjechen. Eerst missen ze een strafschop, daarna wordt een doelpunt afgekeurd, en ze raken de lat ook nog eens een keer...

Forty-Three Percent of Workers Called in Sick With Fake Excuses

On request: refer to this link.

Some notable fake excuses:
"I’m too drunk to drive to work."
"My boyfriend’s snake got loose and I’m afraid to leave the bedroom until he gets home."
"I’m too fat to get into my work pants."
"God didn’t wake me." (employee didn’t believe in alarm clocks and thought a higher power would wake her when she was ready)
"The ghosts in my house kept me up all night."
"I forgot I was getting married today."
"My cow bit me."
"My house lock jammed and I’m locked in."

I guess if you have more, feel free to share them with me.

Oh oh dass verstehe ich nicht

Ehm... I've got this assignment in Germany that I'm going to, and I don't speak German. It was an elective in high school, and I dropped it in favour of a course that actually interested me.

Now we get to a point where I am seriously kicking myself for doing that, and I need to learn to speak German post-haste.

Does anyone have suggestions for this?