This has to be a joke: our local garbage collection service distributed a flyer stating the following:
"this week maintenance work will commence on the sewage systems below your streets. It may be possible that any plumbing inside your homes will be affected and sewage waste may spray back. Please adhere to the following: between the hours of 07:30 and 17:00 close the lid of your toilet and place something heavy on it like a stack of books. Use towels to block drains. Try to avoid hanging over sinks between the hours indicated above (etcetera)"
And when they actually get to do all the maintenance work, all they do is stick a hose down a sewer opening and leave it there for two minutes.
April Fools indeed.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Without victory there is only doubt
My most dominant motive has to be being right, and being proven right in the end. I happen to be extremely competitive when it's about things I value highly, like my way of life, my ideas, how I handle things. I will never submit that my ways in those areas are wrong. That doesn't mean I always need to win... no, wait, actually it does...
How I go about things involves taking a balanced stance. I do things differently from the mean, but I'm not polarizing too much. You could say it's weak not taking a formal stance. But again I'll do everything to win, and this for me is the best way. I feel I win a lot more battles, or rather a lot more battles fall in my favour because I have a balanced attitude.
And I am taking a stance, a stance of balance. My way is best. A balanced attitude happens to coincide with a lot of other people's attitudes, so I am in an ideal position to share, integrate and harmonize. Always wanting to be right forces me to be balanced, to be objective and to be fair.
My leitmotif is thus the source of my greatest strength, but also of my greatest weakness. Always wanting to be right makes me force the issue more often than I should. I refuse to take a loss, even when it's wiser to do so. I will go on longer, even if it's obviously not healthy. And going on too long eventually results in either phyrric (often more damaging than losing) or moral victories (only losers claim them)...
In essence all I claim is that wisdom does not determine being right. Achieving victory determines being right.
How I go about things involves taking a balanced stance. I do things differently from the mean, but I'm not polarizing too much. You could say it's weak not taking a formal stance. But again I'll do everything to win, and this for me is the best way. I feel I win a lot more battles, or rather a lot more battles fall in my favour because I have a balanced attitude.
And I am taking a stance, a stance of balance. My way is best. A balanced attitude happens to coincide with a lot of other people's attitudes, so I am in an ideal position to share, integrate and harmonize. Always wanting to be right forces me to be balanced, to be objective and to be fair.
My leitmotif is thus the source of my greatest strength, but also of my greatest weakness. Always wanting to be right makes me force the issue more often than I should. I refuse to take a loss, even when it's wiser to do so. I will go on longer, even if it's obviously not healthy. And going on too long eventually results in either phyrric (often more damaging than losing) or moral victories (only losers claim them)...
In essence all I claim is that wisdom does not determine being right. Achieving victory determines being right.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
My appartment in progress
...apparently we're going to meet the other appartment owners very soon now... wonder who'll be joining with us...
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Daylight Saving Time
Have you noticed that everyone seems a little out of sorts the past few days? Everybody's tired, has no energy, and very little inspiration. I say blame Daylight Saving Time. Why for chrissakes would anyone eat an hour off the weekend? I thought there was a study about the effects of Daylight Saving Time on the productiveness of office workers, but I can't remember what the results of that study were. At least nowadays there's a discussion whether or not
- daylight saving is absolutely necessary
- it is possible to move the switch to somewhere in midweek instead of on Saturday night
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Swear me you never swear again
I don’t agree with the union against swearing and cursing. When I do something stupid, when I see something idiotic, or feel pain, sometimes the only thing that does justice to the situation, the only thing that’s fitting enough to finalize the situation, is a good hearty FU.
Some people get offended. That is not my intention of course, although sometimes my anger takes over and takes hold. And at that moment, a simple oh geez, good golly just doesn’t cut it. Or at least, it doesn’t for me.
Cursing and swearing is a release. A very powerful one at that. Part of it has to do with its bad nature. We’ve been taught that cursing is bad, and you should not do it. And that makes it part of the attraction. It is a discovery of boundaries of sorts, and serves to strengthen its powers of release.
Cursing and swearing is taught. It al relates to context, association, need and effect. I doubt we would have this rant if people cursed using acceptable, non-insulting vocabulary that has the same effect. Although maybe the very act of a curse is to be socially unacceptable. It’s supposed to be frowned upon. Swearing is supposed to insult, to hurt. It is a tongue lashing in every sense of the word.
Every situation must close at exactly the right tone and measure. For every event, there’s a fitting counter. Taking into account the context, the audience, the situation at hand, swearing may be correct. I wouldn’t go so far as saying that it is necessary. A better person, a calmer person would probably have not been in this situation, and thus doesn’t need to swear.
I have a freedom to feel and to express. This includes completely running my mouth if I feel like it. Just like with any other great freedom, it comes with great responsibility. I am unfortunately not strong enough to just take everything in stride, let me admit that. But sometimes a short five-minute outburst is better, than smashing all the cars’ windshields in the parking lot with a baseball bat. I have some self-restraint, but it is definitely not infinite.
Some people get offended. That is not my intention of course, although sometimes my anger takes over and takes hold. And at that moment, a simple oh geez, good golly just doesn’t cut it. Or at least, it doesn’t for me.
Cursing and swearing is a release. A very powerful one at that. Part of it has to do with its bad nature. We’ve been taught that cursing is bad, and you should not do it. And that makes it part of the attraction. It is a discovery of boundaries of sorts, and serves to strengthen its powers of release.
Cursing and swearing is taught. It al relates to context, association, need and effect. I doubt we would have this rant if people cursed using acceptable, non-insulting vocabulary that has the same effect. Although maybe the very act of a curse is to be socially unacceptable. It’s supposed to be frowned upon. Swearing is supposed to insult, to hurt. It is a tongue lashing in every sense of the word.
Every situation must close at exactly the right tone and measure. For every event, there’s a fitting counter. Taking into account the context, the audience, the situation at hand, swearing may be correct. I wouldn’t go so far as saying that it is necessary. A better person, a calmer person would probably have not been in this situation, and thus doesn’t need to swear.
I have a freedom to feel and to express. This includes completely running my mouth if I feel like it. Just like with any other great freedom, it comes with great responsibility. I am unfortunately not strong enough to just take everything in stride, let me admit that. But sometimes a short five-minute outburst is better, than smashing all the cars’ windshields in the parking lot with a baseball bat. I have some self-restraint, but it is definitely not infinite.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Bulletproof
Sometimes you make mistakes that are easily fixed; sometimes you make mistakes you can't undo; and sometimes you make mistakes that were supposed to happen.
Imagine some other guy needs to work overtime because of a mistake you make. Therefore he was not there to see his wife having an affair with her best friend. Therefore the couple wouldn't have fought loudly and violently, prompting the neighbours to call the police, making them miss a burglary going on across town, where unfortunately a man would have been fatally shot... you know, all the stuff that tends to happen in soap operas.
Or imagine that a mistake, albeit a serious one (like one that might have caused incorrect invoices to be sent), was mitigated by another mistake (the mail server crashed). Then you can truly say, you've dodged a bullet.
Now to paraphrase Mel Gibson in Signs, you can look at it two ways... it could be a sign, evidence that someone is watching out for you. It was fate. Or it could be just pure luck. Apparently, if you see things in the latter way, faults are just tragic and absolutely needless, and this breeds fear. However if you see things as if mistakes were meant to be, it breeds hope. It gives certainty that in fact you are not at fault for mistakes.
Rather than taking either approach, I tend to believe the following: most mistakes do not occur because people are incompetent at their tasks, but because people do not get to the right place, at the right time, under the right circumstances. It is easy not to make mistakes when everything around you works perfectly, when everything is specifically dedicated to get this task done. However, even the best will drop a few, when all hell breaks loose.
It is only the truly great who can be flawless even in the most difficult of circumstances, because they can get to the most convenient places at the best possible moment. These are the people to whom the following quote from The Matrix applies:
Neo: What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets?
Morpheus: No, Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.
Read full article
Imagine some other guy needs to work overtime because of a mistake you make. Therefore he was not there to see his wife having an affair with her best friend. Therefore the couple wouldn't have fought loudly and violently, prompting the neighbours to call the police, making them miss a burglary going on across town, where unfortunately a man would have been fatally shot... you know, all the stuff that tends to happen in soap operas.
Or imagine that a mistake, albeit a serious one (like one that might have caused incorrect invoices to be sent), was mitigated by another mistake (the mail server crashed). Then you can truly say, you've dodged a bullet.
Now to paraphrase Mel Gibson in Signs, you can look at it two ways... it could be a sign, evidence that someone is watching out for you. It was fate. Or it could be just pure luck. Apparently, if you see things in the latter way, faults are just tragic and absolutely needless, and this breeds fear. However if you see things as if mistakes were meant to be, it breeds hope. It gives certainty that in fact you are not at fault for mistakes.
Rather than taking either approach, I tend to believe the following: most mistakes do not occur because people are incompetent at their tasks, but because people do not get to the right place, at the right time, under the right circumstances. It is easy not to make mistakes when everything around you works perfectly, when everything is specifically dedicated to get this task done. However, even the best will drop a few, when all hell breaks loose.
It is only the truly great who can be flawless even in the most difficult of circumstances, because they can get to the most convenient places at the best possible moment. These are the people to whom the following quote from The Matrix applies:
Neo: What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets?
Morpheus: No, Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.
Read full article
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
The Next Generation
Nostalgia is a beautiful thing to make money from. The stuff you've liked and enjoyed as kid, is coming back today - at highly inflated prices. The wrestlers I used to root for, are coming back as legends. Old shows I used to watch on television are now available on DVD boxsets. I can't even tell how many times they've rehashed toys like Transformers, He-Man and GI Joe by now, and don't get me started on all the covers artists make on old 70s, 80s tracks.
The big thing is that kids under eight years old now are getting to discover our old favorites. It gives us twenty-somethings something to talk about with them. We relate better to them about these things, opposed to us with our parents... at least I can't remember that I've ever discussed the intricacies of Super Mario, or the philosophy of the Autobots and Decepticons with my father.
I think it's a good marketing trick to rehash all the cool stuff from twenty years ago for the market today. It's essentially killing two birds with one stone: you (re)capture the fans who were kids then, and now have jobs, families and hopefully wider pockets; but you're also introducing yourselves to a new generation of fans and generate revenue and demand in that respect as well.
All this gives me plenty of conversation material with my friends' kids (and eventually my own kids). That has to count for something.
The big thing is that kids under eight years old now are getting to discover our old favorites. It gives us twenty-somethings something to talk about with them. We relate better to them about these things, opposed to us with our parents... at least I can't remember that I've ever discussed the intricacies of Super Mario, or the philosophy of the Autobots and Decepticons with my father.
I think it's a good marketing trick to rehash all the cool stuff from twenty years ago for the market today. It's essentially killing two birds with one stone: you (re)capture the fans who were kids then, and now have jobs, families and hopefully wider pockets; but you're also introducing yourselves to a new generation of fans and generate revenue and demand in that respect as well.
All this gives me plenty of conversation material with my friends' kids (and eventually my own kids). That has to count for something.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Who was that guy?
Gradually I'm moving into a phase in life where I meet people from the past, whom I haven't seen or spoken to in some years. I take pride in keeping track of most people I like (and even some who I don't like), but sometimes people fall through the cracks. They're the guys and girls who you meet on the street unexpectedly, and extend their hands toward you to shake. They're the ones shouting out your name, and - when you turn around - whom you feel ashamed about that you can't get their names right away as well.
...well, ashamed is a stretch... I have to admit I get that feeling less and less. People will just have to get along with the fact that I meet and speak to literally hundreds of people over the course of the years, and not everyone will be memorable. It's the same with me, I shouldn't expect anyone to remember me in any meaningful fashion, unless we've laid the groundwork for that (because for example we're friends).
It just so happens that people will have an easier time remembering my name and my face, because a) I don't have a common Dutch name and b) I don't look like a typical Dutchman (or Asian for that matter). So it happens that people whom I have never spoken to before, can remember me even years later.
Of course, if that happens, it reflects good on me. I'm always humbled and honored that people who - seriously enough - don't have any reason to, remember my name and who I am. Just don't feel bad that I sometimes cannot do the same.
...well, ashamed is a stretch... I have to admit I get that feeling less and less. People will just have to get along with the fact that I meet and speak to literally hundreds of people over the course of the years, and not everyone will be memorable. It's the same with me, I shouldn't expect anyone to remember me in any meaningful fashion, unless we've laid the groundwork for that (because for example we're friends).
It just so happens that people will have an easier time remembering my name and my face, because a) I don't have a common Dutch name and b) I don't look like a typical Dutchman (or Asian for that matter). So it happens that people whom I have never spoken to before, can remember me even years later.
Of course, if that happens, it reflects good on me. I'm always humbled and honored that people who - seriously enough - don't have any reason to, remember my name and who I am. Just don't feel bad that I sometimes cannot do the same.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Complete the set
I still have some pictures leftover from last week, so here's... some of them.
Everyone all smiles
Aww how cute
Everyone all smiles
Aww how cute
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
The Wedding Planner's Hardest Job
Getting people to agree on a party, an outing, a gathering is wicked hard as we get older. Usually we've got responsiblities coming in between like work, kids, girl-/boyfriends, families, other engagements and so on. Add that we also tend to become more protective of our interests and our time, and we've got a knot that most of us are unable (or unwilling) to untie.
The friends and family you keep close to you will be the ones that fulfil your interests, or share them. When you try to book an outing between people who don't (i.e. work related, bachelor(ette) parties, house warmings, dinners, mixed societies), attitude tends to get in the way. Other needs start to take precedence. You get defensive, you get evasive, you get offensive all at the same time; and the end result is disaster.
I appreciate everyone's interests and their efforts to protect them, but the spirit of the gathering should have some calming, mitigating influence on everyone's moods. Some outings have no greater goal in mind, and each person's freedom to decline/change the outing matches accordingly. Other kinds of outings however are run for a specific purpose, and that affects everyone involved.
Everybody should still look inward and determine which interests mean more to him or her. But I feel I do have to leave a meaningful message behind that everyone should take into account. To paraphrase a colleague of mine: the best nights out are the ones where everyone just goes with the flow. This way you fall flat on your face sometimes, but you always gain valuable experiences... and sometimes you're pleasantly surprised.
The friends and family you keep close to you will be the ones that fulfil your interests, or share them. When you try to book an outing between people who don't (i.e. work related, bachelor(ette) parties, house warmings, dinners, mixed societies), attitude tends to get in the way. Other needs start to take precedence. You get defensive, you get evasive, you get offensive all at the same time; and the end result is disaster.
I appreciate everyone's interests and their efforts to protect them, but the spirit of the gathering should have some calming, mitigating influence on everyone's moods. Some outings have no greater goal in mind, and each person's freedom to decline/change the outing matches accordingly. Other kinds of outings however are run for a specific purpose, and that affects everyone involved.
Everybody should still look inward and determine which interests mean more to him or her. But I feel I do have to leave a meaningful message behind that everyone should take into account. To paraphrase a colleague of mine: the best nights out are the ones where everyone just goes with the flow. This way you fall flat on your face sometimes, but you always gain valuable experiences... and sometimes you're pleasantly surprised.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Justice for all
With Milosevic dead the question whether or not justice can be served, will not be answered. For many his death is seen as the easy way out. And yet, if the tribunal had judged on his death sentence, the end result would be same.
Justice is so hard to judge correctly. Always highly individual, always time-constrained, always valid but in a limited context. What one deems a fit punishment, another finds too light. Even the most stringent laws cannot cover all bases, and it seems that everytime some form of humanity (or a damn good lawyer) will make for some kind of exception.
Personally I look at each event on a per case basis. Sometimes ridiculing and sarcasm fits the bill, at other times kicking ass and taking names for years to come is the only thing that satisfies my feelings of justice. For me Milosevic is not and has never been a significant factor in my life, so I'm inclined to think good riddance. I'm sure that people for whom he was, might just have the itching feeling that they didn't get to exact their vengeance.
Justice is so hard to judge correctly. Always highly individual, always time-constrained, always valid but in a limited context. What one deems a fit punishment, another finds too light. Even the most stringent laws cannot cover all bases, and it seems that everytime some form of humanity (or a damn good lawyer) will make for some kind of exception.
Personally I look at each event on a per case basis. Sometimes ridiculing and sarcasm fits the bill, at other times kicking ass and taking names for years to come is the only thing that satisfies my feelings of justice. For me Milosevic is not and has never been a significant factor in my life, so I'm inclined to think good riddance. I'm sure that people for whom he was, might just have the itching feeling that they didn't get to exact their vengeance.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Taxpayer Frustration
Okay, let's establish that I strive to achieve more with my buck as possible. Nothing comes for free, so some things need to be done and need to be paid for, as in taxes. I am all for paying taxes if you are able to, but only if they are useful taxes.
So for example anything to do with cleaning, road maintenance, police, building beautification I will happily pay tax for. I won't pay for stuff like that "I heart 80 km/h" campaign. That was just idiotic, unnecessary and ineffective.
And now you have to get your income taxes filled-in. First the government lops off an amount of cash off your salaries, and seemingly randomly assigns it to a bunch of policies, insurances, funds and specific sub-taxes. And next we have to tell our tax offices that we want that amount back, and more even. So we come up with all kinds of (fictive or real) justifications: mortgage, disabilities, educational services and so on. I do believe that everything we come up with to get our money back is just as random as the government's means to get it in the first place.
Life was much simpler when all I had, all I needed were my Matchbox cars.
So for example anything to do with cleaning, road maintenance, police, building beautification I will happily pay tax for. I won't pay for stuff like that "I heart 80 km/h" campaign. That was just idiotic, unnecessary and ineffective.
And now you have to get your income taxes filled-in. First the government lops off an amount of cash off your salaries, and seemingly randomly assigns it to a bunch of policies, insurances, funds and specific sub-taxes. And next we have to tell our tax offices that we want that amount back, and more even. So we come up with all kinds of (fictive or real) justifications: mortgage, disabilities, educational services and so on. I do believe that everything we come up with to get our money back is just as random as the government's means to get it in the first place.
Life was much simpler when all I had, all I needed were my Matchbox cars.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Bistromathic Dinner Party
I've recently hosted a nice quaint anniversary dinner for friends, and one of the gifts I received was the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. One of the concepts introduced here is the Bistromathic drive, which basically is a fictive engine technology that bases itself on irrational mathematics during dinners. Why irrational? Try to calculate, predict or otherwise know beforehand:
Apparently trying to accurately predict all these numbers requires an intellect that far exceeds that of people like Einstein, Bohr, Hawking. It requires the calculating power of a computer so great, that according to the Hitchhiker's Guide it can propel a starship across the universe in no time at all.
Or you could just relax, sit back and enjoy the dinner. Just like these people:
- How many guests arrive at which moment
- The number of guests joining dinner
- The amount of cash actually paid for the bill
Apparently trying to accurately predict all these numbers requires an intellect that far exceeds that of people like Einstein, Bohr, Hawking. It requires the calculating power of a computer so great, that according to the Hitchhiker's Guide it can propel a starship across the universe in no time at all.
Or you could just relax, sit back and enjoy the dinner. Just like these people:
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Democracy for consumers
I tend to agree with the statement - to paraphrase Winston Churchill - democracy is the worst kind of government, except for all others. Today is another day where this applies... I used my vote in the municipal elections, and feel it is slightly wasted.
The thing is I hate being subject to the whims and the stupidity of the majority. We've had that four years ago, and we're still paying for it. And I grow to hate that fact more and more everytime.
I've started to see myself less as a voter and more of a consumer. Just like we are able to choose (and pay for) our cell phone provider, internet provider, gas and electric company, our football team, car brand, we should be able to choose the government that represents us. I'm fully aware I need to pay taxes for the police,roads, the defense, infrastructure and so on. I'm fully aware that some business like pulling resources from the land, buying and importing goods takes effort that I would like to see others (and not myself) perform. And yet I shouldn't have to be subject to whatever the majority thinks is good for me. If things are not as I think they should be, I should be able to drop them and pick other options.
Maybe in the future (say a century or three) our allegiances to a government can switch as long as they serve our purposes. The most successful governments will be the ones being able to service the needs of the most people. It can be about ideologies, quality of infrastructure or beauty. What it certainly will not be is about nationality, or idiot voters. People get to decide what's best for themselves, without anyone to blame for bad decisions but themselves.
The thing is I hate being subject to the whims and the stupidity of the majority. We've had that four years ago, and we're still paying for it. And I grow to hate that fact more and more everytime.
I've started to see myself less as a voter and more of a consumer. Just like we are able to choose (and pay for) our cell phone provider, internet provider, gas and electric company, our football team, car brand, we should be able to choose the government that represents us. I'm fully aware I need to pay taxes for the police,roads, the defense, infrastructure and so on. I'm fully aware that some business like pulling resources from the land, buying and importing goods takes effort that I would like to see others (and not myself) perform. And yet I shouldn't have to be subject to whatever the majority thinks is good for me. If things are not as I think they should be, I should be able to drop them and pick other options.
Maybe in the future (say a century or three) our allegiances to a government can switch as long as they serve our purposes. The most successful governments will be the ones being able to service the needs of the most people. It can be about ideologies, quality of infrastructure or beauty. What it certainly will not be is about nationality, or idiot voters. People get to decide what's best for themselves, without anyone to blame for bad decisions but themselves.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Appartment in progress: part 3
That's a rather garish yellow on the window sill... That's not the final colour is it?
Friday, March 03, 2006
Slippin' 'n' slidin'
Stuff you can't do with a car during a blizzard:
- Brake (unless you decelerate with the clutch; by the way I think I broke mine)
- Steer: when you go left, you go straight; when you right, you go straight; when you go straight you go sideways...
- Accelerate
- Park: you can't stay still long enough to park in any meaningful fashion
- Overtake
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