The same as the previous tow-away dog post. The removal of bikes + cars. Well, I can see how to remove a bike which is parked in front of this house. I am really curious about the cars. Again I have some very interesting mental pictures.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Dogs
If you walk the streets instead of being in a hurry, you often notice small oddities. The things you never notice when you pass them quickly on your bike.
This tow-away sign for dogs is one of those things. Interpret it the way you want. I have a lot of different interpretations, that's for sure ;)
This tow-away sign for dogs is one of those things. Interpret it the way you want. I have a lot of different interpretations, that's for sure ;)
Monday, March 05, 2007
Cars...
Recently I read about men and their cars. Men (as in: male homo sapiens) are known car lovers. The more noise the thing makes, the better it is. Also, cars gives men sturdy feelings. This will certainly not surprise anyone. This is widely known. Probably the Oempa-Loempa's would have known if they existed...
I'd say: it is far from sturdy and tough to drive a car. It shows you to the world as a weak person. Someone who cannot walk or drive a bicycle. Someone who misses the physical strength to do those things. Someone who is a pussy instead.
"Why so harsh? Do you not drive a car?" Yes, I do even own one (which has not left the garage the past 4 years... but that is due to maintenance which I still have to do). But, that car is not a car, it is a 2CV.
"But, you hate public transport don't you?" Yes and no. I hate the bus. Except for when it drives me to a location somewhere in the Alps to do some skiing. Also I hate the tram/metro/tube/underground. Except for when they come in handy because of something is too big to carry on the back of your bike (I could say: when it rains, but it always turns out that you have to wait too long... so the bike would have been a better choice).
And I simply love the train (except for when I am obliged to take a bus after arriving). Though the train is most lovable when the ride is long (eh.. long in the Netherlands is between 2 and 3 hours...) in which case you can easily watch a film on your laptop/I-pod/Archos/cellphone/whateverdevice, finally read that book which has been next to your bed for ages, just do some studying, stare blank out of the window or just sleep.
"But by car you would have been 30 minutes/1 hour faster!" Yes, and then I have to pay attention to the road, all the time pay attention if there are no camera's to catch my speeding as I am always speeding as driving a car always makes me fall asleep as it is very verrry boring and only fun when I drive waaay too fast or when it is snowing very hard or there is a dense fog... And you cannot drink. Not that I always have to drink, but I hate soft drinks, and when there is a party...
Another thing are traffic jams (in this country for sure). Nowadays they say: oooh , this morning there are some light traffic jams. A very quiet morning. Just about 220 km of jammed traffic in the country, most of it in the Randstad (this country only measures 41,526 km² and has about 2360 km of highway...). I did an internship in Rotterdam and would sometimes try to get back to Groningen by car on a Friday afternoon. The first half (about 90 kilometers) would take up to 3 hours (!). The second half, ~140 km (where you could easily go 160 km/h, ok, not allowed, but..) would be a little hour... By train you had to switch trains once, somewhere in the middle and would be about 2,5 hours.
Why did I use a car back then? Eh.. well. I lived somewhere which you had to reach by metro... So, for me I should always try to live close to a main train station.
Back to the pussy-story. Using a car also means you drive a vehicle which uses fossil fuel and needs roads which are mainly made out of - yes yes we tend to forget that one - asphalt. Made out of the semi solid products found in most petroleums. A part of fossil fuel. And using the car, which still uses the basics of a system of combustion from over one hundred years old... the car likes flat roads, no bumps. And as so many people seem to like it, a lot of very flat, very expensive roads are needed.
To cut this pile of thoughts short: I don't understand why there are no vehicles yet using Jetsons like systems on hydrogen or something like that. Hmm.. Anyway, no, I dislike the environmental part in this piece. I stick to the men who need to run to the gym by car all the time to lose their weight as all you can do in a car is: consume and consume. Eat, drink, eat, drink, eat, drink and SIT and wait until you can lift your right foot from the gas pedal. In case of cruse control even those muscles are not in use...
I think I made myself clear ;)
I'd say: it is far from sturdy and tough to drive a car. It shows you to the world as a weak person. Someone who cannot walk or drive a bicycle. Someone who misses the physical strength to do those things. Someone who is a pussy instead.
"Why so harsh? Do you not drive a car?" Yes, I do even own one (which has not left the garage the past 4 years... but that is due to maintenance which I still have to do). But, that car is not a car, it is a 2CV.
"But, you hate public transport don't you?" Yes and no. I hate the bus. Except for when it drives me to a location somewhere in the Alps to do some skiing. Also I hate the tram/metro/tube/underground. Except for when they come in handy because of something is too big to carry on the back of your bike (I could say: when it rains, but it always turns out that you have to wait too long... so the bike would have been a better choice).
And I simply love the train (except for when I am obliged to take a bus after arriving). Though the train is most lovable when the ride is long (eh.. long in the Netherlands is between 2 and 3 hours...) in which case you can easily watch a film on your laptop/I-pod/Archos/cellphone/whateverdevice, finally read that book which has been next to your bed for ages, just do some studying, stare blank out of the window or just sleep.
"But by car you would have been 30 minutes/1 hour faster!" Yes, and then I have to pay attention to the road, all the time pay attention if there are no camera's to catch my speeding as I am always speeding as driving a car always makes me fall asleep as it is very verrry boring and only fun when I drive waaay too fast or when it is snowing very hard or there is a dense fog... And you cannot drink. Not that I always have to drink, but I hate soft drinks, and when there is a party...
Another thing are traffic jams (in this country for sure). Nowadays they say: oooh , this morning there are some light traffic jams. A very quiet morning. Just about 220 km of jammed traffic in the country, most of it in the Randstad (this country only measures 41,526 km² and has about 2360 km of highway...). I did an internship in Rotterdam and would sometimes try to get back to Groningen by car on a Friday afternoon. The first half (about 90 kilometers) would take up to 3 hours (!). The second half, ~140 km (where you could easily go 160 km/h, ok, not allowed, but..) would be a little hour... By train you had to switch trains once, somewhere in the middle and would be about 2,5 hours.
Why did I use a car back then? Eh.. well. I lived somewhere which you had to reach by metro... So, for me I should always try to live close to a main train station.
Back to the pussy-story. Using a car also means you drive a vehicle which uses fossil fuel and needs roads which are mainly made out of - yes yes we tend to forget that one - asphalt. Made out of the semi solid products found in most petroleums. A part of fossil fuel. And using the car, which still uses the basics of a system of combustion from over one hundred years old... the car likes flat roads, no bumps. And as so many people seem to like it, a lot of very flat, very expensive roads are needed.
To cut this pile of thoughts short: I don't understand why there are no vehicles yet using Jetsons like systems on hydrogen or something like that. Hmm.. Anyway, no, I dislike the environmental part in this piece. I stick to the men who need to run to the gym by car all the time to lose their weight as all you can do in a car is: consume and consume. Eat, drink, eat, drink, eat, drink and SIT and wait until you can lift your right foot from the gas pedal. In case of cruse control even those muscles are not in use...
I think I made myself clear ;)
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Amsterdam by rain...
The Netherlands can be a rainy place. Though it also has its beauty. See for yourself. Later on I'll post more 'urban jungle' pictures.
View the bridge between Rusland viewing alongside the Kloveniersburgwal.
View the bridge between Rusland viewing alongside the Kloveniersburgwal.
View of buildings at the Waterlooplein from the end of Rusland (street name)
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Urban jungle
The fascinating urban 'jungle' of Amsterdam. This is a view from the Prins Hendrikkade. I will post more pictures when I am home and have the ability to alter the colours a bit as the weather was a bit grey..
Thursday, February 22, 2007
A creationist takes a place in the world of fossils - International Herald Tribune
A creationist takes a place in the world of fossils goes right against what I wrote about here. The dissertation by Marcus Ross is standard and about a certain class of marine lizards called mosasaurs. These animals lived more than 100 million years ago in the Cretaceous period and went extinct about 65 million years ago. The thesis is written within a conventional scientific framework.
The thing is this Ross-guy is hardly a conventional paleontologist. No this does not mean that he is some kind of Indiana Jones, doing his work under questionable circumstances. No, he is a "young-Earth creationist." Those people believe that the bible (the thing used by christians) is literally true about the creation of the universe and that Earth and all species were created in a 6 day week and at most 10,000 years old...
As he has his degree now, he can 'show off' with having his title. And, as what we are warned for by Richard Dawkins, we are even talking about it, writing about it and giving a minority in the scientific world a loud voice! Even I am part of the people who are shocked now and 'shouting' it out loud from their blogs.
I can only hope that a person who uses his scientific degree as a statue to gain even more power within the fundamentalistic christian world will be dethroned by taking away his "Dr." title.
Someone who is capable of using words in a much stronger way with views I totally agree with, is Larry Moran, a Professor at the University of Toronto. You can find the article I refer to here.
The thing is this Ross-guy is hardly a conventional paleontologist. No this does not mean that he is some kind of Indiana Jones, doing his work under questionable circumstances. No, he is a "young-Earth creationist." Those people believe that the bible (the thing used by christians) is literally true about the creation of the universe and that Earth and all species were created in a 6 day week and at most 10,000 years old...
As he has his degree now, he can 'show off' with having his title. And, as what we are warned for by Richard Dawkins, we are even talking about it, writing about it and giving a minority in the scientific world a loud voice! Even I am part of the people who are shocked now and 'shouting' it out loud from their blogs.
I can only hope that a person who uses his scientific degree as a statue to gain even more power within the fundamentalistic christian world will be dethroned by taking away his "Dr." title.
Someone who is capable of using words in a much stronger way with views I totally agree with, is Larry Moran, a Professor at the University of Toronto. You can find the article I refer to here.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Biotex, Bio-Tex
However you spell it, Biotex is a Dutch detergent brand. In the mid sixties they produced a series of short child stories on 7" double-sided vinyl records.
The two posted below are both hilarious (if you can understand them ;) ).
One is called 'Bio-tex and the holiday box (carton: the box the detergent comes in)' and the other one 'Bio-tex and the box which could cry'.
The first one is a story about Bio-tex going on holiday with his favorite housewives... (by the 'lovely' names of Loeki, Rieki and Wieki... if those are still Dutch names, please tell me).
They go by car and a caravan. When they are on the campsite, they hear about an escaped lion (duh...) and clever Bio-tex captures the lion in the caravan...
The second one is about a child thief... a bad bad man who steals children! (hahaha, oh, it is SO funny in the light of today! well.. it is nearly 40 years old this record... back then child-thieves did do nothing else but steal children...)
Here they are:
Compared to the other records posted before, those Bio-tex ones were very popular. There is even a Wikipedia entry about it... (Dutch only).
The two posted below are both hilarious (if you can understand them ;) ).
One is called 'Bio-tex and the holiday box (carton: the box the detergent comes in)' and the other one 'Bio-tex and the box which could cry'.
The first one is a story about Bio-tex going on holiday with his favorite housewives... (by the 'lovely' names of Loeki, Rieki and Wieki... if those are still Dutch names, please tell me).
They go by car and a caravan. When they are on the campsite, they hear about an escaped lion (duh...) and clever Bio-tex captures the lion in the caravan...
The second one is about a child thief... a bad bad man who steals children! (hahaha, oh, it is SO funny in the light of today! well.. it is nearly 40 years old this record... back then child-thieves did do nothing else but steal children...)
Here they are:
Compared to the other records posted before, those Bio-tex ones were very popular. There is even a Wikipedia entry about it... (Dutch only).
Coffee, Espresso, Etcetera
Coffee has been an important drink in my life ever since I am fourteen or something like that. What happened back then? I believe we went canoeing somewhere in the polder of Noord-Holland. My parents brought food and drinks of course, that's what parents do. On the way back home in the car I was rather thirsty and my mother poured me a drink in a baby-cup (looks like a lidded coffee cup for a takeaway coffee, but back in the late eighties or early nineties those things were not common in the Netherlands yet...)
Nevertheless, I received the closed cup and did not see or smell what I got to drink. I may have thought something like tea or hot chocolate. I took a sip and did like it! It was coffee with milk and sugar. Before that moment I always said I hated coffee.
During the years I first got rid of the milk and eventually lost the sugar as well. The losing the sugar I remember quite well, it was back in 1996 when I lived in Spain and where I lived first the sugar was finished and later on the artificial sweetener which was still somewhere in the house got finished as well. As no one ever thought of buying sugar we all quit using it ;)
But traveling around the (western) world, you start to get to know your coffees. A certain taste is developed and you become more and more critical:.
Me: 'Hey, you brewed this coffee with old coffee!'
Someone: 'Eh, well, it may be two months old, I don't taste anything odd?!'
Me: 'Ordinary coffee should never be older then at most two weeks...'
Someone: 'Errr...'
Me: 'Hey, you should decalcify your coffee machine.'
Someone: 'Errrr its only 10 years old...'
Anyway. Even I sometimes long for a solvable Nescafe as it reminds me of good old times (it's not that bad for when you are traveling light). It is often even better than those coffee-padmachines (Senseo Drama, not talking about espresso systems with pad, those are often pretty fine, depending on the brand of the pads).
But now... I thought I knew a bit about making coffee (hey, I'm not a Barista!).
Personally I never really thought about those machines with levers to pull... Until I got to pull one myself. Timing is everything. I am talking about the Mirage Idrocompresso by Kees van der Westen:
Well, see for yourself. Apart from the wonderful taste you can produce with it, it even looks impressive.
I tried to find out how much such a machine would cost. Nowhere to find. I would say two times half the price ;)
From what I read about it in reviews, it is one of the top-models you can get these days. Although I am pretty curious what will happen when fully automated machines can do the same...
Nevertheless, I received the closed cup and did not see or smell what I got to drink. I may have thought something like tea or hot chocolate. I took a sip and did like it! It was coffee with milk and sugar. Before that moment I always said I hated coffee.
During the years I first got rid of the milk and eventually lost the sugar as well. The losing the sugar I remember quite well, it was back in 1996 when I lived in Spain and where I lived first the sugar was finished and later on the artificial sweetener which was still somewhere in the house got finished as well. As no one ever thought of buying sugar we all quit using it ;)
But traveling around the (western) world, you start to get to know your coffees. A certain taste is developed and you become more and more critical:.
Me: 'Hey, you brewed this coffee with old coffee!'
Someone: 'Eh, well, it may be two months old, I don't taste anything odd?!'
Me: 'Ordinary coffee should never be older then at most two weeks...'
Someone: 'Errr...'
Me: 'Hey, you should decalcify your coffee machine.'
Someone: 'Errrr its only 10 years old...'
Anyway. Even I sometimes long for a solvable Nescafe as it reminds me of good old times (it's not that bad for when you are traveling light). It is often even better than those coffee-padmachines (Senseo Drama, not talking about espresso systems with pad, those are often pretty fine, depending on the brand of the pads).
But now... I thought I knew a bit about making coffee (hey, I'm not a Barista!).
Personally I never really thought about those machines with levers to pull... Until I got to pull one myself. Timing is everything. I am talking about the Mirage Idrocompresso by Kees van der Westen:
Well, see for yourself. Apart from the wonderful taste you can produce with it, it even looks impressive.
I tried to find out how much such a machine would cost. Nowhere to find. I would say two times half the price ;)
From what I read about it in reviews, it is one of the top-models you can get these days. Although I am pretty curious what will happen when fully automated machines can do the same...
Monday, February 12, 2007
C.T.I. Vliegreizen
This paper promotional record for a Dutch (?) airline/charter from the sixties (?). I have not been able to retrieve any information about this former airline company, but it served fully accommodated trips in Europe and Northern Africa.
To capture this record I had to adjust the weight on the needle to 3 grams, otherwise it would jump of the record as it is far from flat.
To capture this record I had to adjust the weight on the needle to 3 grams, otherwise it would jump of the record as it is far from flat.
Corry Brokken en de Hi-Five introduceren de BP Super Mix Song
This is a song about a new fuel: the BP Super Mix. BP introduces three 'new' types of fuel. Those fuels are mixed from the two types of 'ordinary' fuel in the sixties: Normal and Super (nowadays in Western Europe you hardly can find any Super anymore, as it was leaded fuel, Normal I haven't seen in ages).
The record itself was pressed the same way the Senton-record which I posted before: by use of the 'Procédé Sonopresse'.
Funny thing on the front-cover: in small letters it tells you that Corry Brokken only sings on PHILIPS records.
Anyway, enjoy:
The record itself was pressed the same way the Senton-record which I posted before: by use of the 'Procédé Sonopresse'.
Funny thing on the front-cover: in small letters it tells you that Corry Brokken only sings on PHILIPS records.
Anyway, enjoy:
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