Everything I want to share about 2008

2008 is almost done, so that means it's time to look back, and make mention of whatever I want to share about this year.

Plusses
Health-wise I'm doing okay. I'm definitely more tired than I used to, but I'm sure that's thirty-something going for me. At least nothing's the matter more serious than taking a couple of pills.

Seeing my friends get married on a tropical island was a personal checkmark for me. The very fact I had the freedom to do so, is nothing less than a total luxury, I agree. But it earned me plenty of new stories, new acquaintances and invigorated relationships, some of which were from a long time ago.

Probably my greatest professional successes this year have all to do with recognition, acknowledgment, and gratitude. People enjoy and appreciate working with me and for me, which is more than I can hope for. It means I'm a good team mate, a good team lead, and whatever I want to have everyone around me do, makes sense. My way - which is not so much demanding, as it is making people to believe themselves that my way is best - works dividends.

Minuses
Stuff that happened this year I could have done without, included getting registered by our resident traffic authorities, getting stuff busted for no good reason, and of course having all these traders and financial institutions panicking and crashing the stock exchanges, again for no really good reason. (so you do bad business now GM... you did bad business before... don't blame credit crunches for your own mistakes...)

But I think the most epic fail this year has to be the following... I always prided myself with having great perspective and insight into people around me. Yet I completely missed people's breakdowns, break-ups, depressions and all that, left, right and center. Shows how much of a friend I am. The only excuse I can think of, is that I've been given leeway to take on a lot of professional responsibilities, and somehow that makes people think I'm all work and no play.

Learning points
I feel sad, but also fortunate that I can support other people during their grief. And I hope I can show as much dignity and calm when such grief arrives at my doorstep. For some reason, I didn't have (or didn't take) my chance at this before, and I feel bad about it. This feels like redemption.

I've learned that agendas are important, and putting the right points on it even more so. It is up to me to make sure that other people's agendas contain the items I find important. I've learned that asking questions, especially on record, is a very potent weapon in discussions. That means I've got to master asking the right type of questions to achieve my goals. Regarding both points, I firmly believe no person is actually unwilling to talk about a particular subject, as long as it happens on their terms (at least that's what they think), and as long as they are given ample time to think about it.

Next year
In 2009 I need a lot of resolve around the home, institutionalize my relationships, make my professional concerns important to those who should. It will help I have deferred some of my responsibilities next year. Money is less of a driver I guess this coming year. I'm more looking at experiences, good, bad, evil, beautiful and everything inbetween. Things that have to be done before the start of the fourteenth B'ak'tun...

Eat, take pictures and play cards

How to Sit in a Restaurant.

Solo, at the corner of the bar. The food's the same. You can look out over the restaurant, and your server for the evening will be the bartender, who'll be more than happy to provide you with info on all things hot waitress. If you're dining with a special someone, ask for a table in a corner away from the kitchen, and sit next to each other, not across, to up the intimacy factor, says Todd English, a chef and restaurateur. Make a 7:30 reservation. It's just before the crunch, so adrenaline will be pumping and service should be optimal.

. . . Take a Group Photo.

Standing on a balcony or chair. Shooting down makes people look up, and looking up makes people look better, says Danny Clinch, a New York City photographer. Have Phil tell the story that always makes Aunt Cheryl spit water, or ask each person to tell a joke. People will listen, relax, and forget about the camera. Shoot just before, during, and after they laugh, to capture a series of natural looks. One more trick: If they're sitting, ask them to lean toward the center of the group, and as soon as they start, click. More doing and less thinking. Wait too long and it'll be too posed.

. . . Sit On a Couch for a Group Picture.

It doesn't matter where, just lean forward. You'll have to look up, and putting your forearms on your knees will hide any gut, Clinch says. Leaning back will cause you to look down and across your chest, giving even the most ripped cover model some unsightly chin business.

. . . Sit At Your Regular Poker Game.

To the immediate left of the most aggressive player. Money moves to the left, and you want to see how he acts before you play. If that turns out to be at the head of the table, even better: You can see everyone and snag maximum legroom. Once comfortable, your goal is to isolate Captain Macho. Since he's prone to play weaker hands, you'll have your chance. Just be patient for a decent starting hand and raise three to four times his initial bet to drive the pretenders out, says Daniel Negreanu, professional poker player. It might not look great, but a 7-8 of the same suit can turn into gold after the flop. Plus it'll be hard for opponents to figure out what you're holding.

[Also check out the Men's Wisdom pages on menshealth.com]

Funny quotes from 2008

From the Funny Department:

• "BS, M.S., Ph.D: bullshit, more shit, piled higher and deeper" (stole it from Ben's mom)

From the world of epiphany:

• The more money you have, the less you actually need spend.
• There are no goals. Just be in the moment.

From the department of cheesy, but still good:

• A real friend is one who walks in, while the rest of the world walks away
• Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results (Einstein)

From the department of DRM MUST DIE:

copa Oct 15th 2008 11:51AM: giving a metaphore for EA's DRM practices.

"This clearly is not a solution to piracy."

You clearly know nothing about running a business. I run a convenience store, and know a thing or two about stopping criminals.

Every time someone shoplifts beer from my store, I implement policies that make it less convenient for paying customers to buy shit from me. I require customers to show me two forms of ID, and give me their Social Security number before they can buy stuff. Also, I have a guy who stands in the parking lot and blocks their car for five minutes before letting them leave.

Unfortunately, my store's annual revenue has actually dropped $60,000 in the year since I started implementing these policies. Also, shoplifting has increased 50%. When I caught one of these criminals, he claimed he would have paid for the beer, but he just didn't want to give me his social security number. I hope he get ass-raped in prison.

Anyway, the revenue drop at my store just illustrates how unchecked shoplifting is going to destroy my business. Obviously, the solution is to implement more draconian policies so I can eliminate shoplifting completely.

Starting tomorrow, I will gut-punch all paying customers at the point of sale. That will give the shoplifters something to think about.

The fallibility of the attractiveness grading system

You probably heard of it before. When you go out you scope the room and identify the most attractive people in the room. You order them, give them a grade, and then proceed to pick one of them up - as pretty as feasible, thus as high grade as possible. Very attractive people are scored higher, ugly ones score low.

What is usually said that happens, is that people will more or less stay within their own grade, give or take a point. If you're a 9, you can hook up with anyone up to a 9, and even 10. Likely a 9 will not date someone lower than 8. But a 6 should not realistically be successful with a 9.

The problem I have with this, is there's no objective measuring system that says "this person is a 4 and this an 8". Only one person determines how attractive a person is, and that person is you. Of course many people could share a similar opinion about how attractive someone is, but that's not enough reason to just take someone else's opinion as yours. It could very well be that one person's 6 or 7, is another person's 9 or even 10. It all depends on what you're looking for.

Ideally, and probably instinctively, people start scoping the room by doing lightning quick reviews. I'm fine with that. But when it comes to dating, will you let the overall "metacritic" score influence your move? Or do you stick to your own review?

The State of Sports in 2008

Sports in 2008 have taken a leaf out of the WWE handbook of "shock and awe" plot twists. From Giants upsetting undefeated teams, to championships pulled out from the skin of your teeth, these are the most shocking events in sports this past year. Try to beat that, WWE booking team.

• The Upset; or the Rise of the Giants: An undefeated New England Patriots team comes into Arizona to pick up the one win that will make them the most dominating team in the NFL ever. Except for some divine reason their offensive line couldn't stand up straight, their linebackers couldn't pull down a quarterback, and balls were caught with helmets. The Giants won, and became the most powerful team in the league for the rest of the year.
  
• Women of Gold: at least for the Netherlands, the Olympics would have been a bust, had it not been saved by the fine ladies in hockey, swimming, and very surprisingly water polo. Makes you wonder where all the Dutch men went. However, all of these successes were achieved in team sports. Individually the Netherlands had mediocre results, and it showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that the low countries do not have a superstar to rally behind. Thankfully the Dutch Female Athletes, tall, proud and full of team spirit, made it happen.
  
• The Superstar; or the Franchise: Usain Bolt destroyed athletics competitions for the forseeable future, for holding back on a sub-9.50 100 m dash, and boasting about it loudly in cameras and television screens world wide. The IOC, in its best Vince McMahon-impression, gave the Jamaican an official warning, which Bolt seemingly underwent with a definite indifference. Of course, he made sure that future Olympic 100 m dashes still have drawing power, because if he would have done his utmost and ran 9.48 or thereabouts, no one would ever be able to beat the record, killing the event forever.
  
• The Great Hope, and the Disappointment: For about two weeks the Netherlands thought it had a chance to win it all, and emulate what a previous generation did before: win the UEFA European Championship. Oranje made short work of the World Cup holders from Italy, beat the French soundly and were looking to walk over the dark horse Russians in the quarter final... except things didn't turn out that way, leaving Holland with another promise unfulfilled, and millions of Oranje fans dejected, after having been fooled yet again.
• The Soap Opera: Formula One always markets itself as the glamourous, jetset, top flight of automobile motorsport. But this year the circus had more twists, turns, Dusty-finishes than the WWE, which is saying a lot. They had a boss who was caught in a sex-scandal, systematically erased results to manipulate the standings, and ended up with the most dramatic finish of recent history, when Lewis Hamilton just pipped Massa for the championship in the final 500 m of the Brazilian GP. If someone was still entertaining the notion that F1 held the highest form of integrity, I seriously doubt their sanity. I mean, this very same plot line was held to the letter in WWE circa 1998-2001.
• The Kids You Hated At School: For a U.S. Ryder Cup team, which was so extremely keen on making themselves the underdog for this year's competition ("sob, sob, we're never going to win this, we don't have Tiger, boohoo, yadda yadda"), they looked much too smug after actually beating the Europeans.
• The End of An Era: Roger Federer is no longer invincible. That's a good thing. I don't care what people say about watching tennis brilliance when he is on TV. HE IS FREAKIN' BORING.
  
• Extracurricular Activities: On the other side of the net, the WTA is finally using its sex appeal to win viewers. Too bad that the women crack apart (Sharapova, Ivanovic, Jankovic etc.) once they won once. Thankfully just about every player in the top 50 has a magazine shoot ramped up to give them some income when they're nursing their injuries.
• The Curse: The Cubs still haven't won a World Series. The Red Sox now have two.
  
• The More Things Change...: NBA Finals 1987: Lakers vs. Celtics. NBA Finals 2008: Lakers vs. Celtics. So much for expansion.
• A Sign Of Armageddon: It is bad for your sport if the one individual in that sport the general media is talking about, is not a champion (More Detroit Redwings hoisting Stanley Cups. C'mon guys... share the wealth!), and not its most talented player, but is the class clown. Sean Avery, from his stick waving antics in the NHL Playoffs, to his public burns of Jack Bauer's daughter and Stacy's Mom, was generating more publicity than the league he is playing in. Yes. All 30 teams in it, including all the other players on each of the 30 team rosters.
  
  I give the NHL four more years.
  

State of video games in 2008

I got caught. I actually shelled out for a PlayStation3 and (re)joined the console owning army this past summer. Hell, you need to justify that widescreen TV anyway, right?

Truthfully only a couple of games interest me for the PS3. Metal Gear Solid 4 is one, every bit the elaborate military stealth thriller it promised to be. A truly involving story, interesting characters, and well paced action. It was the first game in a long while to actually scare the daylights out of me. Try playing the boss level against Laughing Octopus in the dark, and try not to get too spooked.

Grand Theft Auto 4 is another, which is actually a surprise to me. I thought I wouldn't like it too much, with all the hype surrounding it. But it is the best depiction of a sandbox game yet, with an environment which is so convincing as a depiction of New York, I recognized locations when I was there.

And I'm sure Gran Turismo 5 is going to be a great game, but Prologue is an ideal (if slightly contrived) way of demoing the game up front. And I'm happy to note that with just a couple of practice laps, I can get to be second fastest driver in the Netherlands.

On the PC Windows front, not a lot happened for me. The Sims continues to sell, but it is getting extremely evil with all the spinoffs, theme packs, expansions that a true Sim fan will have to buy. Getting connected with H&M and IKEA is a stroke of genius, but who in their right mind would pay $29.99 for 60 new pieces of Sims furniture?!

The two main games for the PC were Red Alert 3 and Spore. The latter used to be a shoe-in for release date acquisition, but the DRM mess really put it in the crapper. I mean, it is an interesting game, with a unique premise, but it is not good enough to warrant such a draconian measure to protect it from piracy. It's like having 15.000 dollars worth of alarm systems on a 7.000 dollar car. And each time you get into your car, you get hit in the nuts.

Which leaves Red Alert 3. Back in the old days, you only needed to equip your game with one or maybe two attractive women, and you would create a new fanboy addiction overnight. RA3 gives us seven women. SEVEN. That's a bit overkill. And you could argue if you want Jenny McCarthy on your computer screen in this day and age. But Gemma Atkinson made the best use of a white dress yet seen on any screen. The game was enjoyable too.

And the soundtracks this year... absolutely fantastic. I actually discovered new great music because of the soundtracks of these games. But just go back to my 2008 music review to see what I'm talking about.

Best I liked in music in 2008

There was only one trend this year in music worth mentioning, and that's the rebirth of the white female singer. From Amy MacDonald to Duffy to Gabriella Cilmi to Colbie Caillat and Sara Bareilles, we kept seeing more and more new, young, fresh faces coming to the fore. Most of what they put out there, is actually good, and I in my foolish mind took Coco as the next big thing (which didn't really happen). But it also showed that people didn't bother much with anything that wasn't hot, young and attractive. Or a trainwreck like Amy Winehouse. Or a lipstick lesbian like Katy Perry.

If you wanted to make big buck$$ as a singer, you need to license your music to video games and movies. Better yet, make an original soundtrack just for a game. You'll never hear your music on the mainstream pop stations, but millions of loyal fans will follow regardless. Case in point: David Hasselhoff.

One last thing. I'm having a bit of a Rihanna hangover, mixed up with a Beyonce overdose. I can do without them for a while, thank you very much.

Band du Jour: Paramore - I was temporarily inclined to name Alphabeat this year's up and coming act, but then I remembered Alphabeat is a freakin' poppy band who had far too much laughing gas for their own good. So I choose the band with the exact opposite character instead. Just listen to Misery Business and dare not agree with me.

2008 MVP: Rihanna. Basically she had more hits this year than anyone else. It will have to be, considering she's considered the hardest working woman in pop music. And she ain't shy in mixing it up either. She single-handedly saved Maroon 5's otherwise lackluster comeback, kept us and Jay-Z dry from the rain in Umbrella, and gladly rips everybody else's samples just because she can (Please don't stop the music, Live your life).
Honorable mentions: Coldplay, for not stinking the joint up. IT DOESN'T MEAN YOUS GUYS ARE OUT OF MY DOGHOUSE, but they actually succeeded not pissing me off this year. Viva La Vida is actually not a bad album.

Top mainstream singles of 2008:

1. Madcon - Beggin
   
2. Adele - Chasing Pavements
   
3. Alain Clark - Father And Friend
4. Coldplay - Violet Hill
5. The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
   
6. Sara Bareilles - Love Song
   
7. Leona Lewis - Take A Bow
   
8. Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
9. Jack McManus - Bang On The Piano
10. Duffy - Warwick Avenue
    

Top latin singles heard this year:

1. Daddy Yankee - Impacto
   
2. Wisin y Yandel - Sexy moviemento
   
3. Jorge Celedon - Vida es bonita

Most embarassing song I sang along to this year: Viva Hollandia. But hey, we beat Italy 3-0 then. So there.

Best use of a song in a commercial: The Reebok NFL commercial, Vashti Bunyan - Train Song.

Content restrictions

It seems every couple of years (about two) I return to this very same question. Why do DVD makers have the need to regionalize their releases? In that respect we can also add why certain content over the internet is not available for specific locales. I seriously don't see the point.

• Obviously there's a market for getting content cross-continent. Doesn't matter if it's a television series box set for a show that's brilliant, but in the infinite wisdom of the networks over here we do not receive it. Could also be a simple, funny youtube video, which just happens to be viewable only in the United States. People all over the world want to see it, why are they stopped? Can't be censorship, (at least because we're not in China) because I don't see how this content could possibly violate any moral laws. It's just 30 Rock for chrissakes.
• If you just want to make a (import) buck via customs, yeah that will work. Basically that's the only rational explanation I can imagine for having non-free cross-continent flow of content. If you would not have any restrictions whether to view content, play the DVD, play the game or whatnot, customs agencies and governments wouldn't be able to tax it, thus losing out on some income. Essentially the restrictions generate cashflow, and I understand that. But why does the government arbitrarily make certain content unfeasible (e.g. Pandora.com, certain NBC television shows etc.) to reach? Why yes to "Two and a half men", but no to "How I met your mother", an infinitely better show?
  
• Even if a producer is angry with networks from a certain country to not buy a particular series, why would the consumer be to blame? If the consumer wants to have this content, let him bloody reach it. He will pay for it himself. Cut out the middle man.

So all in all, I find a couple of things disconcerting about these restrictions.

The restrictions on content seem arbitrary. Decisions which make certain content available in one region and not the other unreasonably prohibit flow of information, and prevent opportunities for consumerism. If the producer does not believe there's a market for particular content, why should that be the consumer's problem? If he restricts the content right out of the gate (I blame you, WWE), he does not allow the market to develop anyway. Ergo, self-fulfilling prophecy.

If countries want to tax content, sure, but do it to ALL available content. Put a levy on internet accounts. Put a flat rate on all goods imported. Don't make the laziness of the government the problem of the market.

If a country wants to prohibit certain content for fundamental reasons (I'm thinking of countries like China or particular Muslim countries; or morally offensive content such as child abuse, racial extremist doctrines), it should. But at least in this case you'd have a clear case why certain content is banned. It's against the law.

My problem is with restricting content which clearly is not against the law, now or ever. If legislation hasn't caught up to something new yet, then government is lazy. A government might want to protect certain producers within the own nation's borders against foreign influx (for example, Holland would have to protect the Volendam music industry). I say it's not the role of government to do so. The market should decide if content is viable or not. And if particular valuable content is in danger of dying out, you can subsidize it. You've done so with the Arts, with farm goods, with car manufacturing, so why not with music, movies, television and games?

My problem is I'm not allowed to use my Pandora.com. It's pissing me off for almost two years now. Just because some fat cat music label can't control its assets over the internet? Just because government has no overview over what gets broadcast?

I mean, c'mon! It's just freakin' music. Pop music for that matter.

Greedy, lazy bastards.

Ignore of be indifferent

I did say conflict was the greatest motivator for mankind to get forward, but a bombing, a kidnapping as they're doing right now in Mumbai is overdoing it.

Thing is, it's rather quiet on the news front west of the Indian Ocean. Yes, it's the headline news. Yes, it is a terrorist attack. Yes, we've got the condemnment from Bush (for whatever it's worth). But where's the 24-hour broadcast? Where's the righteous indignation? Where's the minute of silence? Was it too early? Is it too far off? Or is the media not cramming it down our throats much?

There's people who would like to keep the peace, and there's the people who are looking and actively seeking out conflict. Seems like the latter ones get what they want by default, unless they can't find anyone with a viewpoint different from theirs. Because then everybody will be indifferent to your plight.

Some random observations from the City

• Why is there this obsession with being on guestlists? It doesn't help (much), all it does is anger the bouncer (because he has to look up your name in the list, which means: more work), and frankly guestlists don't help keeping legit customers in and bums out. Eventually anyone who pays, gets in. The only thing that really works, is if the bouncer knows YOU.
• Most of the hip places in the City are so hip, they don't advertise. Their name doesn't appear anywhere on the building. There are no flyers. There's only a crowd, music, and two half-naked models in the doorway. Too bad it's an Abercrombie & Fitch store.
• So that's where they keep all the hot stewardesses.
• Truest thing I've heard all week is from a guy, who doesn't have e-mail, doesn't own a computer, and has the simplest and most basic of mobile phones. All his relationship-building is via letter, or postcard. And nothing works better. Just the right amount of attention, timeliness and prioritization.
• Well, I guess English (-like) is spoken 90 percent of the time, but there's a strong Spanish community in the City as well. And I'm pretty sure I heard Japanese, Russian, Chinese, Italian and Portuguese. But I'm quite surprised I kept meeting people at least once every single day, who spoke Dutch.
• Seriously. If you're going to look like that in my home as well, I'm buying every single bottle of Baileys in your display.
• Is the City a good place to have children? It's a bit crowded I think, but more to the point, it tends to go back to what your ideal picture of growing up is. If you feel that children should have room to play around, in a safe and easy-going environment, I don't think the City is where you should be at. If you think children should be able to enjoy the richness of what the City has to offer in terms of culture, sports, sights and sounds, than you're not so bad off.

An example of bad planning

Seriously. We have these commercials for the air traffic control, in which basically you are invited to sign up, but only if you have great intelligence, spatial insight, great prioritization skills, mathematical expertise and so on and so forth. You'd have to be freakin' Superman to be an air traffic controller.

I sure hope these guys and girls didn't have the bright idea to let a Pakistani flight AND an Indian flight depart from the same terminal in Kennedy International airport, within half an hour of each other. WHO FOR CHRISSAKES CAME UP WITH THAT IDEA?! You're talking about two mortal enemies, each of which carries nearly an entire household and a religious shrine on his back, and you expect each flight to depart on time?!

For that matter, what about the OTHER flights that are supposed to depart around the same time, say domestic flights or long haul flights. I know for a fact at least one passenger was held up by security of the Indians and Pakistanis for so long, he missed his flight.

Lesson to be learned: Do Not Mix More Problems Together Than You Can Handle

No Money For The Rich

With the credit crisis and the plunge in the stock markets, people are starting to reassess their money. I shall repeat again, I don't get how money works, but I have been writing about that enough already. However, I do believe I found what my personal goal should be. I should reach a level of comfort which allows me to go around without needing a single dollar of euro.

If everybody just gives me stuff (like drinks, food, concert tickets), let's me through (customs, trains, planes) I don't need a single buck to my name. I'm sure that's how Paris Hilton and Kim Kardshian do it. People just give them designer dresses to wear, let's them in the hippest clubs, and travel them anywhere they want. Strangely they are rich beyond believe, but without really needing to.

I'm sure people will give me lots of stuff, if I'm just nice or of value to them. But usually only after I've been best friends with them for ten years or so. Now I don't have time to get those relationships with the grocer, the hairdresser, the Circuit City guy, the Abercrombie chick and the KLM stewardess. And to be honest, I don't have the reputation that gets me a relationship based on adoration from the start.

So that's why cash is necessary. Cash allows me to skip building relationships for goods and services. That also goes for me. I get some money, and I do you a service. But if I know you well, I'm more inclined in giving you stuff, or taking you somewhere for free. All this goes back to a measure of relationships and trust. The more people trust each other, the less money is necessary.

This is what went wrong in the financial market. People have lost trust in each other, making it much more expensive to get things around, up to the point where no transactions can be completed anymore.

It will be sometime before we build enough trust again, so that normal transactions can be performed. Usually it takes a psychological barrier to get to that level. Something like New Years. That's also the moment where I think things will start to get better, sometime next year.

The Joy of Marching to Hell

Frank Klepacki seems to have the ear of the video game player. Ever since he composed/performed the main theme for Red Alert, millions of RA fans live by his music. Called Hell March, the theme builds up slow with the jackboot of Russian soldiers, then explodes with a guitar riff that will blow your socks off.

In Red Alert 2 he re-did his main theme and came up with Hell March 2, which was even better than its predecessor. It was slightly slower in BPM, but this time builds up a story. You can actually close your eyes and feel the Soviet army descend upon your home. Once the theme hits the full bass, goose bumps will roll over your body, and your arms start pumping the air.

Klepacki came back to reprise his role as composer of Hell March in Red Alert 3, and he made it just as good as the first and second one. Again the shivers come down your spine, as you can see the Imperial Armada hit landfall. It has greatly slowed down, but definitely has its own character, while simultaneously having an instant recognizability. Just too bad they had to do this strange remix in the run-up to the game's release, which almost killed it for me. But for the third straight time Klepacki has been able to make an incredible themesong, which captured the minds of RTS players around the world.

Klepacki is God.

How GTA IV and Reality collide

Grand Theft Auto IV is quite a videogame, depicting the environment and the simulated life of Liberty City, which in itself is quite strongly based on New York. The parallels between the two places are obvious. Both have a Statue (of Happiness), a big (Middle) Park in the middle, a heavily advertised (Times) Square and so on and so forth. The parallels were so strong, I had actually considered pulling someone out from his car.

But GTA IV has some weird quirks that are even more realistic than intended I think:

• One part of the game is that you can forge relationships with a number of people. You can take them places, eat out with them or go out drinking. But YOU always have to pick them up, they will NEVER offer to drive themselves, and in fact most of them don't even bother to have a car. Also the guy friends you entertain might give you a suggestion what to do, but not where they want to go exactly. And then they start complaining about you driving fast.
• GTA IV is known for parodying American life. But some of its parodies hit a little close to home. Psychics who withhold information, unless you pay them. "Weazel News" that provides unbiased and balanced news, as long as it encourages the own opinion. Blacks fighting with Jamaicans, fighting with Russians, fighting with Koreans etc.

GTA IV is not like reality. It's more than that.

Taking a little too much credit

We have had quite the history-making week; Sunday Lewis Hamilton became the youngest Formula One world champion in history, and the first black world champion in a major racing championship.
Tuesday night Barack Obama won the presidential elections, and became the first black President-elect in U.S. history. The world was overjoyed. Parties were held, drinks were had. People made ecstatic calls to their loved ones.

Except neither Hamilton nor Obama are black. Both are men from mixed heritage, who got their monikers from people who wanted to see them in their camp. The very fact they won however, has nothing to do with their allegiance, it has everything to do with being able to see things from both perspectives. They have both perspectives, because they are. Calling them black, just because they aren't white seems a bit misguided.

The Top 5 James Bond actors

With Quantum of Solace, the new 007, coming out, it seems quite alright to just have a look at who has been the best, the most convincing, and most entertaining James Bond.

So from worst to first:

5. Timothy Dalton. The fact that he only held the title role for two movies, is evidence enough people didn't really feel him. He's just about the most stuck-up proper Englishman you'll ever meet. He acts like he has a freakin' broom up his arse. Thankfully for him, Dalton did get it on with the underrated Carey Lowell, which gives him bonus points for exploring the area before Richard Gere and his gerbil ass got his grubby mitts on her.

4. Roger Moore. Moore landed seven features as James Bond, and was responsible for many of the Bond movies' characteristic quips and traditions. But... with Moore you get the feeling that he's just looking for foreign pussy, and that the spy gig is only useful as it serves his first motivation. Speaking of that, he did get it on with the likes of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, Barbara Bach, and the Adamses (Maud and Tanya), so he did entertain a good standard.

3. Pierce Brosnan. For the current generation Brosnan was a convincing portrayor of the English secret agent. He had the humour, he had the physique and the intensity that made his four movies a joy to watch. He was also strong supporter for cultural diversity, having had relations with Michelle Yeoh and Halle Berry, as well as going international with Rosamund Pike, Sophie Marceau and Famke Janssen.

2. Daniel Craig. Craig is less the best James Bond and more the best 007... A far more serious, less humorous spy, but unlike Mr. Broomstick at number 5, you are utterly convinced that Craig is giving it his all. Hell, he looks like he cares more than any of his predecessors! His body of work is obviously still in progress, but so far he already made me afraid to face him at the poker table. The way he got Eva Green to sleep with him, was unfortunately more or less arranged, while the others always managed to simply gab their respective Bond Girls into the sack.

1. Sean Connery. Craig may be the best 007, but Sean is definitely the best James Bond. The man who coined the phrases "Bond, James Bond" and "Shaken, not stirred", is still going strong years later. Hell, Catherine Zeta Jones nearly folded herself up halfway to hang with Connery. The Scot is the man we all aspire to be, he has the accent we all wish we could emulate, and he looks like he could take you for a full twelve rounds of fisticuffs even though he is almost an octogenarian.

[Yes, I know there were only six different Bonds so far, so it's not like I have a wide variety...]

The most evil discussion a manager can have

At 6:50 a discussion starts which I have held far too often...

The Help Nobody Needs

Some people have their priorities straight, while others only think they do. And of those people some people deserve help, while others actually need it. Problem is that neither those who deserve help, nor those that need it, will ever ask for it. That's why families have something called interventions. That's why institutions exist like alcoholics anonymous.

It's also why bookstores and libraries have all kinds of self-help books on the shelf. These are convenient for individuals with problems, who recognize their own issues to a deep extent, and do not want to bother anyone else for it (or do not want to pay a professional for it).

However it can also deepen the problem further. Not only will he recognize his problems and attach an explanation for it, he will actually bring his entire understanding of the world in terms of that self-help book. And no matter how fruitful such books can be, no matter how many Oprah endorsements, it will only always be one point of view.

The thing about having friends and family is that someone can actually offer a different point of view. Not everyone's opinion will actually help, but at least it gives the individual a way to give his problem a place in the greater picture. And that is something self-help will never be able to give you.

H.H.G.: The Manny-less World Series

The World Series 2008 are between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays. For one, it's the Series without Manny Ramirez, the Manny-less Series if you will. For Tampa it's the first trip to the October Classic, and in fact the first after they finally took the Devil out of their name. You know that name didn't sit well with the conservative party. For the Phillies it's time to cash in on their budding stars, and take home the price. Let's see where I pit them.

The Head Says: The Rays have got the slightly more impressive hitters I think. Evan Longoria (he of not-the-Desperate-Housewife), Carlos Pena, BJ Upton form a formidable lineup that proved this year to belong. The Phillies aren't pushovers however, with Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley. Pitching-wise I think the Phillies are a bit ahead, with Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge. The Rays only have Scott Kazmir to show for it, and he's not even dominating this post-season. The Rays seem stronger and have the emotional win over the former World Series champions the Boston Red Sox. The Phillies are more rested and have had time to work out their gameplan watching the ALCS. All in all, this is a toss-up, but I would give it to the Phillies.

The Heart Says: The Rays definitely have the better story. A team which was dead last in 2007, is now the AL Champion. It's an impressive turn of events, which can only get better winning the Series outright. They've got the defense down pat, which will have to work wonders against the Phillies hitters. The Phillies on the other hand have the hopes of an entire city on their shoulders, which hasn't had a ticker tape parade since the eighties, while Tampa Bay already enjoyed a Super Bowl and a Stanley Cup this decade. So I'm actually hoping for Philadelphia to win.

The Gut Says: I don't know where it's coming from, but I keep thinking the upstarts, the rookie team, the team with only ten years under its belt, the longshot, will win it all. We were all quite surprised the Rays could actually be for real. In fact in any season I simulate in MVP Baseball, if Tampa Bay manages to win the playoff, I redo the season for the unrealistic outcome. That's how much of a stretch it was to think of the Rays anything else but a terrible team, and yet here they are.

I'm not sure about this at all, and the money put on this will be small. There aren't any villains on either team, although a strong charismatic player is also decidedly lacking in either team as well. On the other hand the Series is freed from the clutches of Manny-mania, so huzzah. So... let's give it to the Rays, and see if Tampa Bay is becoming the hotbed of American pro sports.

The true reason behind cycling's downturn

The German Cycling Tour will not take place in 2009. Low viewing ratings led to a lack of sponsorship, forcing the organizers to abandon the race for next year.

The low ratings are blamed on the doping cases. People argue that sports fans have no interest anymore to follow a tainted game.

**HELLOOOO**

Sports fans are not watching cycling not because of doping... they're not watching because cycling is a crap spectator sport! Baseball is more affected by doping cases in recent times, and still millions of Americans keep tuning in to watch the Rays and Red Sox, and the Phillies in the World Series.

If you wanna see the sights the cyclists ride through, go watch the Travel Channel. If you wanna see speed, go watch MotoGP. Granted, cycling at speeds averaging 50 km/h through mountains is a monumental physical effort. That doesn't make it a sport I wanna tune into more than I wanna see paint dry.

If you're blaming doping on cycling's doom, you're severely overestimating cycling's value in the global landscape.

The value of multiple passports

Being part of a nation gives you a lot of privileges, if you're part of the right nation, that is. So many people want to be American for example. You got bloody lotteries for Green Cards for chrissakes.

Having more nationalities could potentially give you more privileges, but also a lot more hassle and responsibilities. Might not be worth trouble, although you do always have a point of conversation. And if the IT career doesn't work out, you could always enter the spy game.

Now we've got Ahmed Aboutaleb. The first Moroccan-born mayor of a major Dutch city. Countless people are opposing his appointment, because he has two passports, a Moroccan one and a Dutch one. They feel he has a conflict of interest, and should never have been in a position of power.

Now, I do not presume to know all the details of Dutch and Moroccan nationality, but unless Morocco plans to physically take over Rotterdam, and make it part of their nation, I do not see this conflict of interest. If he does have one conflict, it's appointing fellow socialist party members to positions of power, and frankly, don't we all.

Having multiple nationalities does make a person richer, although it may burden him with more regulation than he cares for. It could very well be called courageous to have more than one passport.

More evidence F1 is turning into WWE

They're actually giving Bourdais a time penalty for driving out of the pits? They're really just coming up with stuff now to get Ferrari a world title.

What's next? Massa gets an automatic pole position in the next race? Hamilton gets pushed back on the grid for wearing green on Fridays? Ferrari can freely take shortcuts on all circuits?

Seriously, if you want to be a sports entertainment company, just give Vince McMahon a ring. Or get Vince Russo. Then we'll probably get sudden and silly rule changes, like suddenly having to go in the opposite direction, or having to take 10 m jumps. We'll probably also get ridiculous soap opera stories, like Lewis Hamilton's dad sleeping with one of the race queens, or Raikonnen getting a wedgie from Alonso. We'll get toilet humour like Massa having to drive in a seat for two hours, which Ron Dennis just shit and pissed on.

So True, So True

The stupidest thing I heard

The working culture nowadays is so stressful, that it allows people to say stupid things. Stupid things like, "you earned your rest". That is simply impossible. Rest is a state of mind. It's not a commodity to be traded for work and effort. You can do such things with vacation days.

So, the next person who tells me I earned my rest, is going over the balcony.

No... This is why I watch football

How Formula One is becoming more like the WWE

This past week the FIA International Court of Appeal upheld the time penalty given to Lewis Hamilton in the Belgium Grand Prix, giving Felipe Massa the win instead of Hamilton in said Grand Prix. It also affected the drivers standings as Hamilton's lead over Massa was reduced to just one point, making it easier for the Brazilian to take the title fight to the finish.

No matter that the Belgium GP was probably the best race this season, and that Hamilton clearly gave back the lead to Raikonnen on the disputed call. The F1 powers that be turned everything back so that Ferrari maintained its lead over McLaren in the championship.

Earlier this season the FIA president Max Mosley was involved in a tabloid scandal, where he apparently took part in S&M games, dressed as a Nazi. He was almost forced to resign, but he stayed on.

So you got the Dusty Finish (Hamilton's win in Belgium overturned), scandals with the president of the company (Mosley), a fierce feud between the two top factions (Ferrari and McLaren), and a seemingly unbridled willingness to manipulate the results so more people will tune in to see what's next... Tell me what part of the previous is not EXACTLY like WWE. Just replace Mosley by Vince McMahon, Ferrari by Triple H, McLaren/Hamilton by CM Punk, and you pretty much got your episode of RAW right there.

I am quite interested to see how F1's version of Hell in the Cell (i.e. the Singapore night Grand Prix) will work out. That does sound like a great idea.

Extracurriculars

There could be many reasons to do extracurriculars besides your work, even when you don't have the time normally to actually do those.

• It could be an extra challenge you need
• Somebody could have put you up to it
• You may wanted the extra company
• or the extra money or fringe benefits
• or worse... you could have been seduced by the promise of sex

Now why would someone doing extracurriculars want to get out:

• the above reasons have either been fulfilled or faded away
• priorities have changed
• a more compelling reason against extracurriculars arose
  

But if you love what you were doing, what would be that compelling reason?

This is why I watch football

Imagine Colts vs. Jaguars in Indiana. The former has the most prolific quarterback-receiver tandem in the NFL (after Brady's injury), the Jags have not one but two backs who can run for 100 yards per game.

With 56 seconds to go in the game Manning managed a scoring drive which gave Indiana a 21-20 lead. Granted it was an impressive drive, which made me believe the Colts have it in the bag. Al they needed to do was frustrate the Jacksonville Jaguars for slightly under a minute to win their first game in their new stadium. Considering Jacksonville had been running all day long, and didn't show much of a passing game, I thought a comeback wasn't forthcoming... and so I turned off the TV and went to bed.

The next morning the headline read "Scobee's late 51-yard FG sends Jags past Colts".

This is why I watch football. You can win and lose a game in a minute, and you're never out of it.

BBC's "The 100 Most Annoying Pop Songs We Hate To Love"

• 100. Jennifer Lopez - Jenny from the Block
• 99. Beautiful South - Perfect 10
• 98. 'Weird Al' Yankovic - Eat It
• 97. Lionel Richie - Hello
• 96. Art Garfunkel - Bright Eyes
• 95. Nizlopi - JCB Song
• 94. Blur - Parklife
• 93. Color Me Badd - I Wanna Sex You Up
• 92. Craig David - 7 Days
• 91. 4 Non Blondes - What's Up
• 90. Enya - Orinoco Flow
• 89. Coldplay - Yellow
• 88. Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart
• 87. Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
• 86. Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much
• 85. The Streets - Dry Your Eyes
• 84. The Police - Every Breath You Take
• 83. Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
• 82. Tori Amos - Cornflake Girl
• 81. Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays
• 80. D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better
• 79. Simply Red - Holding Back The Years
• 78. Sinitta - So Macho
• 77. James - Sit Down
• 76. Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)
• 75. UB40 - Red Red Wine
• 74. Michael Jackson - Earth Song
• 73. Robson Green & Jerome Flynn - Unchained Melody
• 72. Elton John - Nikita
• 71. M People - Moving On Up
• 70. Toni Basil - Mickey
• 69. Leo Sayer - You Make Me Feel Like Dancing
• 68. Shamen - Ebeneezer Goode
• 67. Europe - The Final Countdown
• 66. Tony Christie - (Is This The Way To) Amarillo
• 65. Crash Test Dummies - Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
• 64. Pussycat Dolls - Don'tcha
• 63. Manic Street Preachers - If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
• 62. Chesney Hawkes - The One & Only
• 61. Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart
• 60. Gwen Stefani - Wind It Up
• 59. Ricky Martin - Livin' La Vida Loca
• 58. 2 Unlimited - No Limit
• 57. Dido - Thank You
• 56. Michael Bolton - How Am I Supposed To Live Without You
• 55. R.E.M. - Shiny Happy People
• 54. Akon - Lonely
• 53. Reynolds Girls - I'd Rather Jack
• 52. Shakira - Wherever Whenever
• 51. Dire Straits - Money for Nothing
• 50. Westlife - Flying Without Wings
• 49. Starship - We Built This City
• 48. B*Witched - C'est la Vie
• 47. Ultravox - Vienna
• 46. Fast Food Rockers - Fast Food Song
• 45. Jimmy Nail - Ain't No Doubt
• 44. Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor
• 43. Sandi Thom - I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)
• 42. Lighthouse Family - Lifted
• 41. Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan - Especially For You
• 40. All Saints - Never Ever
• 39. Alanis Morissette - Ironic
• 38. Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U
• 37. Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry, Be Happy
• 36. Whigfield - Saturday Night
• 35. The Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love
• 34. Wings - Mull of Kintyre
• 33. Spandau Ballet - True
• 32. Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
• 31. Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy
• 30. Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire
• 29. MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This
• 28. James Blunt - You're Beautiful
• 27. Sisqo - Thong Song
• 26. Katie Melua - 9 Million Bicycles
• 25. Shaggy - It Wasn't Me
• 24. Babybird - You're Gorgeous
• 23. Geri Halliwell - Look At Me
• 22. Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive
• 21. Cliff Richard - Millennium Prayer
• 20. Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5
• 19. Wet Wet Wet - Love Is All Around
• 18. Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You
• 17. Toploader - Dancing in the Moonlight
• 16. Afroman - Because I Got High
• 15. Billie - Because We Want To
• 14. TATU - All the Things She Said
• 13. Ace of Base - All That She Wants
• 12. True Steppers ft. Dane Bowers and Victoria Beckham - Out of Your Mind
• 11. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen
• 10. Aqua - Barbie Girl
• 9. Cher - Believe
• 8. Nickelback - How You Remind Me
• 7. Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby
• 6. Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not The One
• 5. Band Aid 20 - Do They Know It's Christmas?
• 4. Chumbawamba - Tubthumping
• 3. Robbie Williams - Angels
• 2. Crazy Frog - Axel F
• 1. Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On

Truth is overrated

Winning an argument has less to do with knowing and telling truth, and more with convincing the other party to see your way, with arguments he or she understands. You don't have to lie, but you must show that you understand the other's point of view, and that you can answer to that. Even better, you can move within the other's world and still bring your interests to the forefront.

And here's my two cents about DRM

A couple of days after Spore's release the discussion about the DRM is raging uncontrollably. I've seen and read quite some nice arguments either way at Amazon, and gaming sites like Destructoid:

• ehm... yes. Software and games are inherently licensed for the customer to use: a personal, non-exclusive license to install and use the Software for your personal, non-commercial use... so I agree that I can't actually OWN a game per se. I can however acquire the right to use the Software.
• Spore now uses a DRM which limits someone's installations to three times. Afterwards you have to hope EA's customer service believes the reasons you installed Spore three times already, and gracefully allows you to do it once more. IF they are still around to call... The debate is about this fact. As I see it people are furious that EA has limited their legally acquired right to use a game, and basically put an expiration stamp on a good which previously had none. While you're still paying the same price for the good OR MORE. Yes that tends to ruffle people's feathers. You'd expect this if oil prices would suddenly hit $200 a barrel, or bread prices would rise tenfold.
  
• The funny thing is that protests are definitely noticeable, on forums, in print media, in electronic media and television. But it is also definitely noticeable that EA will try to hide or avoid bad publicity as much as possible. They even delete bad reviews for chrissakes. I'm sure that at some point in the future the sales figures will come out as being satisfactory, even if they are not. Because if the numbers are an EPIC FAILURE and word of this reached popular media, it would also prove the complete and utter uselessness of SecuROM DRM.
• And that's what it boils down to. What is the use of any DRM? Is it an effective deterrent to piracy? I doubt that pirates would even make their opinions heard on the popular forums, rather spending their time to breaking the DRM faster than the other team. So far DRM has proven to be an effective deterrent to SALES. The legitimate customers (or prospective ones) are the ones who hold the discussions, and they are furious.

I see SecuROM DRM as a terrible way of protecting one's property rights. I have always bought games on the pretense that I can use it whenever, even years after. I'm pretty sure I cannot play Spore, or Mass Effect or maybe even Red Alert 3 in ten years time anymore, be it through a lack of online activation, or reinstallation. If I want to play again, I need to buy again. Which means I'm renting a game. And I'm not renting a game that costs 40 to 50 Euros.

In the end, it's all about the money. It's like a mortgage or an insurance, that the bank suddenly decided to raise tenfold, because it was afraid you would lend the money to someone else. And people get awfully defensive when it's about their own money.

Too bad. EA could have used my money. And from many people like me. And now they won't get it.

UPDATE: the Dutch media have finally caught on: [http://www.nu.nl/news/1763713/55/Rechtszaak_tegen_EA_om_DRM_in_spel.html]

Sport on Widescreen

I'm not completely sure that sport actually looks better and is better because of widescreen television. During the Olympics a couple of races, notably the rowing competitions but also the 100m dash, you could see more of the athletes. Especially at the finish line you could see very well how big the difference is between the top spot and the stragglers.

But how wide does the screen need to be? One statement made by a Dutch sports commentator during the rowing events made me rethink the widescreen. He was thinking the Dutch rowers would be just outside the left of the screen, while the leaders were dead centre, heading for the victory. Ehm... how interested are you in being bad? You want to be on screen? Get on the winning side! Lead the race for chrissakes.

Maybe widescreen makes sense for team sports, like football. But for athletic races? I don't think so.

Coincidences

• It's gonna be a busy day at the airport when your friends, your colleagues and your parents are all flying out of the country on the same day. It would be even more of a coincidence if they all ended up - despite making plans independently from each other - in the same plane.
• It's gonna be a busy day at the airport when at least four groups of people - old friends no less - make plans independently from each other and ended up - lo and behold - in the Big Apple roughly the same time.
  

And now some closing statements about the Olympics

• Spain made it a game in the men's basketball final against Team USA. Too bad I couldn't watch it with some good commentators on the line... On the Netherlands channel you've got self-proclaimed basketball guru Mart Smeets (I mean, I know you've played ball, and you probably know more about the game than the average joe, but you don't have to lay it down so thick. That's very condescending. And any run-the-mill American newscaster will blow you out of the water, by the way...), and on the Belgian channel they were quite biased against the Americans (I mean, sure they're arrogant, but at least make some effort to stay a more or less neutral journalist...) I can't judge the German, French, Spanish and Italian channels, because frankly they speak to fast for me to understand.
• So you think that human rights are violated in China? Or that Tibet should be free? Of course, all very important. And probably something to put on someone's agenda. But let me ask you... if you are invited to someone's home do you immediately go out of your way to insult the host? Dare I remind you you're talking to Chinese?
  
• Race walking is NOT A SPORT, people. It doesn't even qualify as an art. It looks insipid, it has no practical value, and what are the viewing numbers? Frankly I find it completely ridiculous that it is considered Olympic, when the IOC cut baseball and softball from the list.
• Is it a coincidence that the Russians pulled out from Georgia at the end of the Olympics? I can just imagine what the Russian athletes would say, when they get back to Moscow... "You did what!!?"
  
• The Netherlands women's hockey team should have a sequel to their 2006 DVD documentary "GOUD". It should have more close-up shots of Fatima, and Naomi, and Ellen, and Eefke, and Maartje P., and Eva training... however I can do without the passive aggressive shite of the first DVD. I can also do without the Dr. Phil sessions, the righteous indignation of coach Marc Lammers, and that silly mouth guard of Maartje Goderie. Nobody's buying that fake slit. Especially if you're built like a twig.
• Merel Witteveen has the most dreamy bedroom eyes I have ever seen on pretty much anyone.
• And while this has been going on, football season is starting! Hooray!
  

Hilarity at the Games

• I didn't catch this at first, but the Brazilian beach volleyball players playing for Georgia are called GEOR and GIA. *HILARIOUS*
  
• ...Too bad the Russians don't play ball very well... that would make for a fun match card...
  
• ...Next games in London we should also hire some Brazilians to play our beach volleyball games. We can call them HOL and LAND.
• Usain Bolt won his third gold in the 4x100m relay, he was the third runner after Nesta Carter and Michael Frater, and before Asafa Powell. The Jamaican quartet ran a world record...
  
• ...Bolt was so fast, he finished before the final runner of the Dutch team! *HILARIOUS*
  

More Sport Observations

• Van den Hoogenband would make a very good sports commentator, judging by the reaction he gave at the finish of the 10 km swim event. He is very much in the same league as Jack Van Gelder. Yes, THAT Jack Van Gelder.
• The Olympics track and field competition is becoming a lot like the WWE. Usain Bolt is quite nearly like The Rock. Confident, cocky, entertaining... and absolutely the best at what he does (and again... we'll have to wait until a couple of weeks after the Olympics when he proves clean). If Jacques Rogge thinks it's disrespectful... well... that's very Vince McMahon. You got the heels (Thanou), the divas (the high jumping women), and the tragic faces (Liu Xiang); so it won't be long before we get the same shitty soap operas, like on RAW.
  

The Biggest Star in Beijing: Phelps versus Bolt

It took Michael Phelps two Olympic Games to finally get to his desired goal, win eight gold medals in one Games. In little over a week he showed he could carefully choose his events so that he was always the favoured to win. Despite two close calls Phelps did earn his legendary status...

...but it took Usain Bolt just under ten seconds to achieve his legendary status. He showboated his way to the starting block, and then completely humiliated the rest of the field, pounding his chest and spreading his arms wide. Spectacular 100m world record, and "the Lightning" Bolt even looked like he could go even faster.

Bolt achieved so much more in much less time than Phelps, and unlike Phelps Bolt didn't get to choose between as many events where he could win gold ("let's see, I'm gonna pick several obscure disciplines nobody else wants to do anyway"), and his competition was potentially much better (Gay, Powell). So for me (at least until the doping affair comes out) Bolt is the man of the Olympics up to this point.

Everybody makes mistakes

People think they are entitled to a lot of things. Entitled to get what they want, and that other people understand what they mean, and they will help them with anything and everything. I don't think that's possible.

When you set requirements for the things you want to have or things you want accomplish, and find out you can't do it yourself, you bring people in to help you. You ask them of they can do what you want, and what they want for it in return. They can then do their proposals and ideas.

If you ask several proposals, you're bound to get several different ideas. That's a given, unless you standardize your requirements, and make the granularity of your requirements real detailed, and everybody understands what it all means. Those are a lot of conditions that need to be true.

More than likely thus you're gonna find that the proposals you're getting are not going to be exactly what you want. What I've found is that people become quite emotional in that case: people get insulted that the proposal clearly not understood their needs. And they berate the people behind the proposal.

Now, there's two things happening here. Proposals can be mismatched because the expectations between the two parties client and supplier are fundamentally different. A supplier can also be lazy, but let's keep a good mind about people for once. Proposals can also not match because a client's requirements have changed, have become more detailed. Anyways the proposal itself becomes the basis for discussion, so that more accurate descriptions can be made.

However when the emotion factor kicks in, you get accusations like "Why didn't so-and-so understand my needs? I was clear enough, wasn't I?" or "This guy clearly doesn't know what he wants." Now what I've found in business are the following points:

• a client cannot assume a supplier will surrender all his resources at a moment's notice just to help the client; clients often overestimate their own priorities over that of other clients
  
• clients must ask specifically when they find something lacking; getting angry because someone didn't give you what you wanted, when in fact you didn't ask for it, and you only assumed that people understood, is naive.
• suppliers that don't work like you want them to, should be told as such
  
• everybody makes mistakes
  

My Boy Pieter

Pieter van den Hoogenband (na de halve finale 100 m vrij):

"Ik heb niet meer het lichaam van Sidney."

This weekend's sports observations

• A silver medal winner in swimming called "Silver", a shooting gold medal winner called "Pang". (I'm sure I wasn't the only one who noticed.)
  
• Also, a weightlifting champion called "Jaroenrattanatarakoon"...
• What's worse, she actually wanted to be called like that.
• China is counting the medal table based on the number of gold medals
• USA is counting the medal table based on total number of medals
• Michael Phelps is counting the medal table exactly like the Chinese
• Gullit just quit the L.A. Galaxy. All over the Kalverstraat and PC Hooft in Amsterdam, shops rejoice... Estelle is coming back home!

Declaring the Olympics Open...

Or rather... it doesn't matter how good you are in what you do, China can do it better... and there's more of them than there are of you.

If you watched the opening ceremony you should have noticed that China can coordinate the movements of thousands of people at the same time into an artform. That's communism for you.

Didn't I already say I didn't get money?

Hmm... we actually have an anniversary for a financial event, as if it was a natural disaster, or bombing. Last year around this time banks around the world started feeling the crunch. Suddenly they found out that:

• some people can't actually pay their mortgage anymore
• banks are playing around with money that isn't really theirs
• people make incorrect assumptions, and give trust where it isn't warranted

In poker terms, the blinds went up, and everyone has to go all-in. Except everyone has a dog for a hand.

More iPhone fun

Now that everyone has an iPhone, it's pretty safe to say that what a cell phone should look like is finally standardized. Indeed phones shouldn't need any keypads, but just consist of a screen, one that is sharp enough to browse the internet.

In fact this phone already existed five years ago. The P900 was a phone that for the first time dared to make the keypad obsolete, and the big screen the main feature of the phone. Unfortunately the look didn't catch on, possibly because the P900 was bulky.

No such trouble for the iPhone. Thin and sleek, this is the phone I knew five years ago to be the future... It is the cell phone of all cell phones. Mobile de la tutti Mobiles... and I'm not getting one. The success of the Apple's cell confirms my ideals from half a decade ago. So I have no more points to make. It is already a success...

Now on to the next item. What can I make great next?

iPhone Stuff

Funniest thing heard today between two iPhone owners.

"Oh... you got the old one?"

Also, check out the features that the next generation iPhone must have...

Question for yourselves

Do you make other people look good by example, or do you make other people look good by comparison?

Heroes and idols

You can say about pro wrestling what you may. You may think it's over the top, fake, or violent, but you can't deny pro wrestling knows and respects its past. It respects its heroes. Look no further than Ric Flair at Wrestlemania 24 for the best example of this (out now on DVD and Blu-ray!)

Same feeling is present in baseball, when at last week's All Star game scores of Hall of Famers entered the field, in the most legendary ballpark of all.

See? Sports is not just about competition. It's not even just about glory. Sports is about respecting heroes, idols.

Dumb and dumber

A rave has to be a rave: it comes with a certain notoriety. In fact without this hardcore reputation, a rave won't be as popular as it could be.
However what I don't get about Black is this news message.

• "stewards" re-sell tickets for a party which is not sold out? I hope people who bought these paid less than running price, because otherwise who could be as stoned to buy tickets for more!? I mean you could still get official tickets at the entrance, for chrissakes.
• speaking about stoned... 159 arrests for drug possession. I got one thing to say about that, and that is I know pot when I smell it. So either the "stewards" missed a couple of arrests or they allowed a little more than you would expect from the authorities.
  
• Anyway I found the number of arrests a little bit high. It sounds fabricated. ("What sounds good? Yeah, it should be over a hundred fifty, otherwise our reputation is shot.")

In the end a good time was had, but when you've been there you'll see that the hardcore reputation is a bit exaggerated.

The Age of Nostalgia

Yes, we like to think back to the past, when gas was cheap(er), people had more respect for one another (instead of calling me chinese and pulling their eyes - I'M NOT CHINESE YOU IDIOTS), music was better (ehm... Macarena, New Kids), and stuff wasn't so expensive. Tends to happen when you hit a certain milestone age (like 30), and/or when economy seems to take a downturn (or both, like now)

So in the past month people around me have been discussing Transformers, 80/90s parties and music, old tv shows from that time. All the time forgetting that:

• music in the 80s was total and utter crap, several exceptions notwithstanding
  
• when I have to look at the hairstyles people in movies and television had, my eyes hurt.
• information about alternatives wasn't readily available. Now there's internet, e-mail and instant messaging to keep you fully up to date

Despite all this musing about the past, I do however recognize the latest fad: the iPhone 3G, and the fact that thousands of Dutch are willing to spend a night on the street to buy one. So at least some people are thinking about the future. And the future is touchscreen, motion sensing, and stylus-free.

Don't blame me, you wanted emancipation

Yes... dancing, whether it's ballroom or latin or salsa, all depends on the male lead. Women are supposed to follow. If the man leads badly, the woman deserves to dance badly.

However that doesn't give women a free pass to humiliate the man. Man is learning to dance. That's what he is taking classes for. Give him a break.

It's Good To Be Solid

Computer games have come a long way, growing more intelligent and impressive with each title. Metal Gear Solid is one of the forerunners in this growth process, combining a thinking man's game with that of an action hero, while also displaying a lot of humor and philosophy to the minds of gamers.

I did bring MGS2 to one of my philosophy classes, although not to show off the artificial intelligence of the in-game characters per se, rather to illustrate that a game can actually be just as deep and thought-provoking as any form of literature, scientific or fictional or otherwise. MGS2 was a testament to the control of information and how it could shape a society. Stronger still it displayed an uncanny ability to completely manipulate the player and throw him off guard. It's strength lies in making the player believe in the story and to be immersed by it, and then rudely pulling him in all directions, doubting reality and blurring the lines between it and fiction.

In fact MGS4 is probably even worse. Although I must say the philosophical weight is far less than in its predecessors, the story is truly exceptional. It more closely focuses on the main protagonist Solid Snake (now Old Snake), and on the general Metal Gear lore, although mind you, it also is a great running critique on technology, and the risks and benefits associated with it.

The execution of the game is excellent, from both aesthetic and a content perspectives. It is the first game ever that had me going through several emotions, often within a very short lifespan. You care about the characters, actually believing that they are going to cough their lungs to death. You feel their pain when they get a seizure. The hairs on the back of your neck truly stand on end when you fight the Beauties. And you feel a definite sense of accomplishment when you actually work through the game. And you are so excited, and there's so many content left, you want to do it again.

And even when you glance at a spoiler, even when you're quite up to date on the lore and the legend, and are used to Hideo Kojima's jokes, the game still manages to surprise you with a plot twist, or a new reference or a shocking new revelation. And of those MGS4 has plenty. Truly amazing that even when you know something's gonna happen, it does, and you're still in awe.

Finally without a doubt the PS3 finally has it's killer app. This is the game that will put Sony's game console in people's homes... just in time for Final Fantasy XIII and Gran Turismo 5 in the coming two years...

Time Wasters

Of course everyone has the right to protect their interests. If you write and perform a nice song, somebody else shouldn't just be able to take credit for it. If you spent time and effort to bring a handy product to the public, somebody else should compensate you for it.

However the way music labels, software publishers, movie studios have decided to protect their interests is bordering on the ridiculous. One recent prime example is here. One game has a specific install limitation that prevents people from installing it on several different computers. However, even if you have legitimate reason to reinstall your game (you have a new hard disk, your computer crashes, you temporarily need the space for something else, or god forbid you want to play the game again after several years) the game does not recognize it as such. Therefore if you run out of installs you have to buy the game again!

Again, I respect the rights of people to protect their properties, but the way they're doing it is unsavory. They are pretty much deciding how we should be using our time, control the way we should act.

People will and should do everything in their power to prevent that. Otherwise an innocent hobby is quickly turning into a time waster.

More sports observations

• Tiger won another one. Apparently he won after coming back from tons of shots down on day one. And he did so playing on half a knee. And instead of golf clubs he used a tree branch. Aren't the media playing this up more than it needs to be?
  
• I'm surprised the media didn't play up the revenge aspect of Holland - Romania more. I mean Romania did beat Holland for top spot in the qualification group right? Especially since Holland didn't have anything left to play for, having already qualified for the quarter finals, they could have used another reason for motivating the troops. Instead the media only discussed whether or not Holland would throw the game. Interest in the game waned because of it. Too bad. The momentum from the Italy and France games could have been used here as well, and would have carried into the quarter final match.
• Celtics won another one, contrary to what I expected (11-4). There's a simple reason I missed this prediction: I underestimated how good of a player Paul Pierce would be in the series, overshadowing everybody else, including Kobe and the Big Ticket.
  

Excuses to meet

We didn't need many reasons to meet when we were little. You could come over simply because the new album of NSync came out, or the newest NES game. We could have study nights, sleepovers, birthday parties. We could go to the movies, skating rink, or the park. In fact, no excuse was needed to meet.

So much harder things are now. I always mention the big three reasons for people to visit each other again during adulthood: weddings, birthdays (or births), and funerals. (You could also add moving into a new home or a nationally televised football game to the list, but I haven't noticed that everybody uses these excuses universally to meet). I don't count Christmas and New Years, because those have fixed dates on the calendar.

Other excuses don't seem to be serious enough anymore. And it is true, no other reasons are serious institutions. Institutions I see as ingrained events in the social collective mind, traditional and heavy on rituals, and which are so important companies (should) have special arrangements for their workers for these. Nobody questions the authority of these events. People even get mad if they are not even considered for invitation to the event. And I do think only these three events fit the bill.

It's a pity though. We apparently had so many more reasons to meet when we were young, often making up our own institutions (beer night, initiation week, formula one grand prix, etc.). But when we finally grow up, we get stuck with the same institutions we always had. It's sad really. We basically cut off most of the opportunities to get into contact with the people we should keep in contact with. Now everything becomes a battle of priorities, personal schedules, responsibilities in the workplace and in the home, and also energy and health.

However, it is my solemn goal to create as many new, valuable institutions as possible, for as many friends and family as possible. I'll let you know, when I find them.

Random observations

• So you don't want me to tell you what you need, but to tell you what you already want... that's not really fair is it.
  
• You know what destiny is? It's not getting a goal disallowed which in any other game would have. It's having every drop of the ball fall your way. It's leaving the goal open for a score, and not concede one. That's destiny.
• If you can't commit, don't look as if you can. Don't trick people into thinking that. They deserve better.
• Apparently it only takes one game, one win, to bring an entire nation of career pessimists to change their apathy into ecstasy. It also takes that much to pretty much slash their collective IQ scores in half, as well as their ability to take rational decisions.
  

A little farfetched

After about a century's worth of movies, television shows, literature you'd think scenario writers have run out of new ideas. Most of what we now get are sequels, rehashes, retellings, retcons, resets, prequels or just plain carbon copies. And after awhile people notice that trick, hence they find their way to more interactive kinds of entertainment like GTA (of which you have at least six games in one series).

To draw in the viewer to your story, scenario writers are taking things a little bit too far. Crystal Skulls? C'mon. Bruce Willis downing a jetfighter with a handgun? Yep. Freakin Mummies in China? Come and get 'em.

Few stories come out with even an ounce of realism. People are stuck with trick vehicles like real-time (24, Before Sunset), or flashbacks (How I met your mother, Memento). But a truly unique story? Can't find them. Haven't seen them. Or you would have to mean the artsy stuff (although that's more intended to shock rather than actually being intelligent).

So, if you have a link to a genuinely original story, please post it here. If I find a story similar to it, if it's part of a series, if I find it in a religious manual, it is disqualified.

HHG: Lakers vs Celtics

No it's not a retro game review. We actually have an NBA Finals featuring the Lakers and the Celtics. Of course, this time no Magic and Bird, but rather Kobe and Pau versus Pierce and Garnett.

The Head says: What a difference a trade makes. To start the year Kobe trade rumors were still doing the rounds, but then L.A. brought in Pau Gasol and the entire complexion of the Western Conference changed. With Kobe, Gasol and Lamar Odom the Lakers have a star-studded starting line-up that rose to number one in the West.

That already happened at the start of the season in Boston, who got Kevin Garnett from Minnesota and Ray Allen from Seattle. All year the Celtics have been at or near the top of the East, and for a stretch at the start of the season they were thought to be unbeatable. However as the season wore on, the fatigue set in and the Celtics got their asses kicked handedly from time to time.

The Lakers' stars are younger, and in fact in their prime. They've had no physical problems whatsoever, and should be able to survive a slug-out with Boston.

Lakers says I.

The Heart says: I've always thought the Lakers would somehow rebuild a team that would once again be dominant in the next decade. In fact they are two years early. Boston has enjoyed a huge turn-around, going from last to first in a season. Seeing the age of the guys running the Celtics, Garnett and Allen are not going to have many more chances to win the NBA Championship. Kobe already has a couple of rings, and will have more chances if Gasol and Odom stick around.

Celtics says I. Just for the sake of it.

The Gut says: A throwback NBA Finals. Two old rivals colliding again. What new guard? Except in this case I do feel the Celtics are running on borrowed time. They'll play more desperate perhaps, but there's too many concerns here about the Celtics' durability. Celtics have to win quick and fast, something I would expect the Lakers to prevent handedly.

Lakers win in six.

HHG: NHL Stanley Cup Finals 2008

The Finals: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings
The Prize: Right to call yourselves Holders of the Stanley Cup for a year.

The Heart: Gotta go with my namesake. Sidney Crosby is the reason people are tuning into hockey again (along with the Great 8) and nothing is cooler than having him captain his team to victory in the Finals. The franchise, a few years ago almost dead and buried, has regained the pride they had in the early nineties with Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux. Sidney could become the youngest captain ever to win the Stanley Cup. I wanna see that happen.

Penguins.

The Head: The Red Wings are winners of the President's Trophy for four of the last six seasons, and this season is the first time in a long while that they managed to hold their regular season form throughout the playoffs. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk are savvy hockey players entering the prime of their careers, Chris Osgood is acting and playing fantastic, even supplanting Dominic Hasek. Yes, the Red Wings got exposed for short stretches against the Nashville Predators and the Dallas Stars, but they pulled together long enough to make the difference. The Penguins I think had it too easy in the Eastern Conference playoffs, with the Flyers, Rangers and Senators making too many mistakes and not mustering up enough punch to counter Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marian Hossa. The Red Wings will be an opponent on a different scale, one Pittsburgh hasn't faced this post-season.

Red Wings.

The Gut: The last few years the team I felt for was the team that got killed in the playoffs. So I'm going to rationalize my choice here, and pick the Red Wings. I feel Detroit as a team is more mature and is ready to see the series through to the end. Sidney will have more chances to win the Cup, although one Alexander Ovechkin may have something to say about that in the coming years.

Detroit in six.

HHG: Champions League Final 2008

The Game: Manchester United vs. Chelsea
The Prize: The UEFA Champions League Trophy, and title of European Club Champion in soccer.

The Heart says: Manchester United; It was an emotional moment back in 1999 when the Mancunians defeated Bayern Munich in stoppage time to win the Champions League. They were pretty much down for the entire game and were seconds away from losing, when Teddy Sheringham and Ole Solskjaer scored the goals that put United in the winner's circle. While I don't see a similar rollercoaster of emotions occurring this time around, the team I feel the most for, is the one from Manchester. It will be Ryan Giggs' record breaking game (most appearances for United). It will be Edwin van der Sar's final big prize (I don't see Holland winning Euro 2008) before retirement. It will cap off a great double season for ManU, who have already pipped Chelsea to the Premiership title.

The Head says: eh... Slightly over a month ago Chelsea almost brought Manchester United down in the race for the Premiership, by defeating them and closing the gap in the league table. That could be the memory for the Blues to hold on to. They have to my account the better team, that should see them through in spite of the injuries to captain John Terry and attacking leader Didier Drogba. Frank Lampard might be able to help Chelsea to offset the individual brilliance of Cristiano Ronaldo and sheer tenacity of Wayne Rooney. I'm leaning towards a tie, but having to pick one, I would have to say Chelsea.

The Gut says: This time I go for the heart. I'm pretty sure I don't get to see the game (unless they have a television connection in office), and I'm pretty sure I don't want to see Gary Neville's skinny arms holding any kind of trophy... but I feel Manchester has fewer problems heading into the game than Chelsea, less injuries and more peace of mind. Chelsea I feel has more to lose, having finally made it to the big dance without Jose Mourinho, and now they HAVE to win to prove their former manager wrong.

Man United - Chelsea 2-1

Vista is (the) shit

After finally getting to know Windows Vista a little bit, I can tell you one thing... and it's in the title of the article.

There's actually a lot to like. It looks very good and is quite helpful in making people remember the little tasks people should do on their computers. You know, simple things like updating drivers, and installing a virus scanner. I like the idea of having the performance index, which is a nice way of stimulating you to buy more hardware.

However Vista is far too smart for its own good. It keeps asking you if you really wanted to rename that file. YES, I DID. THAT'S WHY I CLICKED ON RENAME. And then it asks you again. Vista's Media Player is also extremely defensive, blocking all other applications from taking its music file associations. EVEN IF YOU DELIBERATELY INSTALL A SPECIFIC APPLICATION FOR IT.

Thing is, Vista is just trying to protect itself. However it is doing so by assuming the user in front of the screen is a complete moron. Considering I am the user, I find that highly insulting.

Vista as it is, will never be a viable option for business. It takes too many clicks to do something simple. Many clicks take time. Time is money. And more phrases like that.

Emotional moments in sports

A little too American in this day and age, and the media made it a little more than it was, but back then this was one of the most courageous performances any athlete was able to do. The Olympic team gymnastics event saw the US team relying on Kerri Strug's vault to win the gold medal. However she got injured after a bad vault, and U.S. victory seemed lost. And then she tried again...



Make no mistake, Michael Jordan was the single reason the Chicago Bulls won anything in the NBA. His Last Shot Ever ^tm won the Bulls their sixth championship, en route to his retirement... which lasted all of three years, which he proceeded to tarnish with a stint as a Washington Wizard. Still the way he closed out his first (second, depending how you see it) career, was a story for the ages.



In NHL it seems all moderately good hockey players have their name enscribed in the Stanley Cup, which makes it more compelling if a genuine great player, a Hall of Famer, hasn't been able to do so during his career. Such was the case for Ray Bourque, who played 21 seasons without winning it all. His career was winding down, and he was in danger of notoriously becoming one of the greatest players never to win the Cup. The relief when he won the Stanley Cup in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche, the class captain Joe Sakic showed when he handed the Cup immediately to Bourque, closed one of the most emotional Finals in NHL history.



The most dramatic finals win in UEFA Champions League history saw Manchester United defeat Bayern Munchen in 1999 in stoppage time, after having been down by a goal and almost being denied the coveted Treble. Note the distraught Sami Kuffour pounding the pitch. Note the arrogant smiles of Mario Basler and Lothar Matthaus being swiped away. Note all 8 foot of Peter Schmeichel do a cartwheel like a Chinese gymnast.


You can't feel more for one player than Pete Sampras. This one match here, against Jim Courier at the 1995 Aussie Open, forever set the legacy of Sampras from being a very good, but boring player, to the greatest champion tennis has known to date. Agonizing over his friend and coach Tim Gullikson, he managed to pull together just enough strength and courage to beat Courier.

Sampras vs Courier AO QF 95
Uploaded by znoopie

Dissing the Bauers and their wedding

Even if you're a moderately popular local artist, appealing to a certain cross section of the general population, how can you be so delusional that you expect hundreds, if not thousands of people to take time out of their lives to see you get married from about a 50 yards distance?

How can the media perpetuate that one person's marriage, a person I don't know, I don't follow, I don't want to follow, I certainly don't care about is more important than say the wedding of my friends... or for that matter more important than my responsibilities or my hobbies and other things I am interested in. Do you really think you're gonna earn my cash from this?

How misled is a national railways company (let me reiterate: national) that it would even consider extending a train to an insignificant place in the middle of freakin' nowhere?

I don't bloody care about Frans Bauer.

Ironman

I'm glad they actually got around to make an Ironman movie. I mean that I'd rather see Ironman on the silver screen than for example Daredevil, Ghost Rider or Elektra. And given the impression Tobey Maguire makes on me, I could even do without Spiderman too. I do realize that it takes quite some computing power to render a convincing Ironman, something that was not possible ten years ago. But a great story can be told anytime. That's why I got into the Ironman comics first, without all the CGI animations.

Thankfully that story translates well to the movie screen. Bit of an elaborate backstory, but considering the average Marvel superhero history, this one is not that far-fetched, and even conforms to the contemporary setting.

There's some great physical comedy from Downey jr., who has given the character enough depth for the audience to respect him, yet is able to completely charm his way with banter and pure wit.

The product placement is really noticeable throughout the movie, although when it's about R8s I tend to overlook that fact and focus on the fact that Audi makes really impressive supercars.

Anyway, I will again get the DVD as soon as it's released. However be sure to catch it in the cinema, and whatever you do... STAY AFTER THE CREDITS.

May Video Bonanza!

Some old videos to start off your May vacations:

First some good old Knight Rider getting ScrewAttacked...



And to make up for that travesty, some Evolution of Dance from 2006...



I'm actually happy that some of these songs never caught on over here.

Experience vs. Technology

The most truthful thing I've read so far this year, is from an interview with Claudia de Breij. She's lamenting the fact that technology has pretty much screwed up society to the point where experience does not count, unless it was recorded, photoshopped to make it look nicer, and put on Youtube. People go to concerts, parties, sports games, and instead of experiencing the event live, they just squint through a cell phone camera. And what is it good for? Just to have proof that you were actually there, while you could get nicer and better pictures from the professional photographers working around the event.

Games used to be around a table, whether it be a card game or a a board game. Now you play World of Warcraft in solitude, with thousands of others doing exactly the same thing, but not in the same room. And what is that good for? No matter the voice-over-ip, IM, live-action video, how can you honestly say you connected with someone for real, if the only experience you have with someone is his dwarf avatar in Azeroth?

Sometimes things shouldn't be recorded for later. Experience comes from being in the moment. Not from watching a copy.

The Next Encounter

You know what happens when you meet someone friendly, cute and nice, years later, for the first time in a long time?

1. You get distracted.
2. You make mistakes.
3. You bump into things, more often than not knocking them over.
4. You miss cues, beats, signals and whatnot.
5. You lose money. Lots of it.
   

Because even if it was only five minutes, that vision can haunt you for some time.

Royal Dutch Airlines disses the Hoff

The latest commercial campaign to bring Internet Check-In to the masses is not exactly respectful of the former Baywatch star: