May 31

Last day of spring? We had a couple of 30+ degree Celsius. A wonderful May in fact. I only forgot to shoot the changing landscape, the new life and the changing colors.
Now green is darker then before, the blossom is brown, but the roses flourish.
Downstairs part of the house is covered with a climbing rose and the red flowers are showing themselves.

Today I did another buy for next vacation. I don't wanna have the have problem like last year with my feet. I bought a pair of sandals with a hard nose and good stability. I need that and when cycling in might be refreshing. On this site you can see a picture of the shoes.

Tomorrow will be decision day on the EU-Constitution. I have a mantra in my head repeating -I'll vote yes- to keep my choice. Afraid that anything will let choose no Concerning the Sunday opening hours of shops, our second referendum I say probably no.

Time for dinner..

Nom de Dieu

Now the results of the French referendum are there, it's a blow in the face of President Chirac. Almost 55 percent said NO against the EU-Constitution.
What happened? Is not from one day to another. France is loosing influence in Europe. France has internal, social and economical problems. The external solution of the constitution doesn't solve the internal problem. It is the cause of the problem. So France voted no.
The EU expanded to quick. And when you think forward you can see new problems on the horizon; Turkey. A country with a large population wants to become EU member. This country will have a large influence on decisions taken in the EU.

Turkey is a Muslim country. It isn't even a part of Europe. Only the Turkey on the west side of the Bosporus is on the European continent.
It has approximately 75,000,000 inhabitant. Larger that any present EU country.
That is a threat.
The threat is that our daily Christian-Jewish-Humanism life style will be influenced by the Ottoman Turks.
The danger is that we cannot stop the process of Turkey adapting it self to enter the EU. We're giving them hope but after 10 years we can't go back and say no to Turkey. We hardly can say no to Croatia entering the EU. And after Croatia, Serbia will knock on Europe's gate followed by Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania possibly.
So we give them hope but it costs the old EU-countries a lot of money.
We import problems we can not deal with. Criminality will rise. Social benefits will be the same all in Europe which will cause a social downfall in the wealthiest EU countries.

France has said NON, so instead of my yesterday's Yes I can more easily say NEE.

Extra update

The pollingstations in France are closed since 10 pm this evening.
The exit polls says that the NO-campaign will win.
If so the Dutch referendum means nothing. A Yes or a No will be irrelevant for the ratification of the new and better EU-Constitution.
The only thing is that Europe can blame France for the NON.
There is no plan B was said by politicians. So in fact we didn't and don't have any choice to accept the Constitution. For many French this must be a reason to vote No. Other reasons they have is that much workforce goes to the east of Europe where the payload is much lower. Also the bureaucracy will be a splinter in the eye.

For the Dutch it is almost the same. Almost proudly someone in a radio panel said that France and the Netherlands have the same attitude.
But a winning NO campaign in France makes it much easier for the Dutch to vote for want they think the vote is worth it.

One can say that a YES vote will make Europe stronger. There will be a EU foreign minister. For the outside world he will be the face of Europe. Maybe that is a kind of windowdressing, but certainly it makes foreign policy much easier.
On the other hand one can say that a NO vote will be a blamage for the head of state (weather it'll be France, Denmark, the Netherlands, etcetera). This is the opportunity to say no to the Government.

In my view I think the Dutch will vote NO, because the Constitution is not well written. The vote doesn't really count when the French say NO and our minister-president says that his prestige in Europe is in our hands. And many of his don't want him to have any prestige.

Yes, France makes my decision much easier. Merci Beaucoup. Wednesday I'll vote No too.

Designed?

This is my Eureka! (moonshadow duo) Which will be my home for a couple of weeks.

We're all designed to fail, aren't we. When our lifetime is over, we're dead. There seems to be no living animal that has no expiration date. Our design isn't optimal.
Maybe future models of the human being has a much longer lifetime.

But actually it isn't about lifetime, it's about efficient use of our time and the perception of time. Look at a one day fly. It uses time efficient though it's real time is not long. For humans 20% of lifetime is meant for childhood. Does a fly, a bee, etcetera need that percentage. They're much advanced by evolution. Everything goes faster when you're small. Those little animals flew around long before dinosaur walked around. They were evoluated to what the presently are.

I don't think about a plan, a grand Masterplan or something like that.
In time we learn more and more about evolution of material and there will be a time that humans know about the evolution of the brain and the mind, what humans make human. And this accident is the most wonderful thing which could ever happen.

Holiday feeling

Yesterday the Netherlands finished work very early. Everyone who had some hours left, left the working place. At three o'clock there where not many at in my office.
All because off the sudden warmth. From 16 degrees we went to 27 and yesterday even 31 degrees Celsius.

I took some time to put up my new tent for the first time.
The tent pegs are not very well. For more solid earth, mixed with rock en rubble I got to by new pegs.
I tried to cycle at almost full package. My front, low rider has been installed.

Ready to go!!!
In 14 day's I'll be riding, no more television, no stock exchange, no work. Nothing on my mind than where do I go, where to eat, where to get drinks (water, let there be water) and where to sleep.

Dudek

Have I ever spend 150 Euro in such a short time after work?
15 Minutes to get some cycle clothes.
It's all about the holiday. Yesterday I thought about the shirts and shorts. I need some socks too eventually.
I went to the cycle store for my low rider (to hang the front bags on) I came home with 2 shirts and a short.

Who saw the European Championsleague final between Liverpool and AC Milan?
Ohw, what a final.
At half time AC Milan was believed to win easily. It lead by 3-0 and was much stronger than Liverpool.

What happened in the in the catacombes at half time only insiders know.
There were 2 different teams in the field. Liverpool trying to make a goal. AC Milan trying to maintain is position. But after the 3-, Liverpool had a force and overclassed the AC and within 10 minutes it was 3-3.

After that AC Milan had some chances to make the 3-4. But after the extended time it was still 3-3. Penalties had to decide who was going to win the final.
The teriffic goalkeeper Jerzey Dudek stopped 2 penalties. The last one was the winning stop.
Dudek was the matchwinner.

Dressed to race

Strange how someone can loose his ability to speak. Is this an act? How long can the pianoman keep up his appearance.

Strange how someone can loose his appetite to race his bike. Is this an act? How long can Jan from Jansblog keep up his appearance that in fact he doesn't like being tortured.
Not more than 2 weeks

I've been to the haircutter, and try tonight to ride a few kilometers. I have to because next Sunday I got to race the 80 k.
(oh, yes it's going to be a hot end-of-the-week.

Forgotten

Again it was a busy day at work.
At 10 am I made a appoinment with the haircutter. At the end of the day I totally forgot it.
First time ever to forget an appoinment with the haircutter. Well tomorrow I got a new chance to miss it.

First day

...of the week at full speed.
Also I planted a few centimeters grown sunflower in the sun, close to the office. A white flag was put next to it.
How large will it be in September?

She's so beautiful

This weekend I had a dream about my girl in the north, her happiness and we being together.
In real we're separated in a strange way. In my dream we found each other again.
Shoulder to shoulder we sat against a wall, telling about our life.
It was hot and we were sweating. I saw here devotion.
Totally satisfied she was sitting there.
Spoken about a Goddess, she was one.
She spoke with her deep brown eyes. In my dream she was so beautiful.

Well, today I have been in the north. A late birthday of my mother. She was happy with both surprises. Yes, you could read it in her eyes.

one week

It's a week ago when my four days off work began. I felt already sick by then. I came over that illness and worked from Wednesday on till Friday. Today I'm getting back in my normal routine.
However I had to buy a present for my mothers birthday. And for me that's difficult, in fact I don't like it. a couple of years ago I gave her a very good blender. I think she never used it.
Today I bought her a perfume (yeah, risky I know) and a DVD (Casablanca).
Next week the weather will improve. Temperatures will be above 20 dgsC. So I still got time to put up my tent. That reminds me that the front lowrider has to be changed.

In the Dutch media a Dutch minister suggests a (national?) debate about the evolution theory and the creation theory.
This is unheard!

Nightmare or dream

What is the difference between both.
A nightmare can be unpleasant, wake you up in the midst of the night, sweating and with a pumping heart. But a scary dream can also be just like that.
Do they always mean something?
In the eyes of the beholder there is often truth in it.

I say

In a dream lies the wishdom of the dreamer

.
Thats why I seldom remember my dreams.

Oh sh*t

Yesterday evening, I was late at home, I opened my letterbox downstairs. There was a claim of a "process-writ server" in it. I was sued to pay immediately my debts I had with my former landlord.
I really didn't know anything. I thought about a sick joke. A setup because exactly a year ago that same office claimed the debts of my father. So he had to sell his business.
Today I needed a lot of energy to put it straight. The previous landlord says that I don't have any debts. But they sold the claim to that bureau. They even gave my old address so I didn't receive any letters in the past year in which they claimed money.
If so I could handle it immediately. No way, I got to pay it at once else there will be juridical trouble.

I hate this stressy situation. If I lived nearby the place where the bureau keeps office I would burn that place.

Excuse me Miss, I'm sorry sir, are you the owner of this miserable office. Stand there please, just before the hole. Then I'll execute you, mr Claim and ms Suability.

Strike?

Today at work we learned that we are going to strike for a day! Yahoo, strike!
Okay we're striking because our payment will be raised bij only 0.43%. That is almost nothing. The inflation rate is 1.6%. So our average NET buying power decreases this year with 1%.

I had a critic about yesterdays post:

Very Nice and "thought provoking" post. I also hope the world is sensitive to individuals. Unfortunately, I don't think the greater part of IT is. Our world is so pushed and fast. Our News is not pleasant. We see hurt/death/murder/children killed... We see untruths/neighbors against neighbors. When all that is thrown on us, people step back and retreat. People don't offer themselves to another without reservation. Why jump into a fire if you don't have to. THAT is unfortunate... learning and growth take risk. It is how invention and love developes. It IS people such as yourself{and others} that TRY, that make a difference and a better world. Keep up your thoughts and positive thinking... IT is bound to make a difference! Best Back... :-}

The best critic I ever had. So my English is improving? Can I really write down my thoughts? Well for a Dutchie it isn't bad at all.


Still 3 weeks to go for the cycle tour to Switzerland.
You know, in Great Worldwar II many Jews in the Netherlands who didn't feel save here, tried to go to Switzerland.
I thought it was a very great distance until I learned about a cycling track of about 650 kilometers through Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany, France and at last Switzerland. In Basel (Switzerland) I'll cycle back to the Netherlands.

Difference

I just tested my IQ. This is what came out;

Congratulations, Jan!
Your IQ score is XX {note of myself: the score has really 3 figures}

This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others.

Your Intellectual Type is Inventive Inquisitor. You have the unusual distinction of being equally good at math and verbal skills. This means you are a creative thinker and are uniquely good at teaching others through experiences. You are also a great improviser and very good at handling change.

Maybe I am an Inquisitor, my work has much to do with finding ways how to optimize the payment of 1.5 billion Euro each year. In fact what I do now is to easy for me really. You can say that I work under my skills. On a temperarilly basis that is not bad. I had to get some new job experience. Maybe now it's time again to educate myself again.
What I did not know is that I can handle change. Haha, accepting and handling change are 2 different things.

Do you know Bob Geldof's the great song of indifference? Is that our future? I don't hope so.
Are people indifferent to what happens in the world? When I look at a lot of blogs I know that is not true.
I ask myself if insensibility can be compared with indifference.

In this materialistic, egotistic and egocentric world (look at the blogs again) there is something like I got my problems so don't bother me with your problems, okay?.
Worse is Oh, you got a problem, how bad. I got none, so don't bother me.

Everyone should ask themselves when they cried for someone else, really.

Giro d'Italia

The professional cyclists are a week underway on their tour through Italy.
The Belgium television broadcasts almost every important tour. So we (Dutch) can watch the Giro via Belgium better than via our own broadcastcorp.
Today there was an exiting time trial, with an unexpected winner of the stage, an expected winner of the piink jersey for the overall lead and an unexpected looser in the battle for the pink jersey on arrival in Milan.

Saturday

Saturday.. I just did the necessary things I had to do. Feeling almost done enough for today.

At last I heard something that was not said in the last 10 years.
A friend of my mother's was in Srebrenica at the time of the genocide in July 1995.
He told me that he was gone to a riverside outside of the compound on instigation of a local. His companions saw some bodies, executed lying on the riverbank. He told me that he was looking out for Serbs at the entrance of the yard where the bodies were found.
On a hearing in the Hague on Friday May 12, he told that he saw 10 bodies of men executed. He said that the Dutch Bataljon heard some shooting on July 11-12, which could not be related to fighting.
That friend excused himself being too soft at that time as an (UN-)Army.
That doesn't help the thousands executed in those days.

Weekend

Weekend it is, but for the second time in 3 weeks I am 4 days off duty.
I am intended to put up my tent somewhere. I was intended to cycle to my mom, but if I gonna cycle the whole part, no I not sure. If you could hear me coughing you know why. I even try warm milk and honey.
If I have to take such measures than I'm not myself. However if it were critical I would go to the doctor. So it's not so bad afterall, but really inconvenient for myself.

Going to bed early after a warm milk and honey should maybe help.
Yes, in two hours I should be sleeping :)

Naijma

Most bloggers feel that they have to write. Even nothing happened. The same feeling as Naijma has.
It's like running a marathon; Only the first step counts, the rest will follow
I'm still having a bad throat. But this doesn't stop my holiday preps.
I bought new cycling sunglasses, actually the same I had for over 8 years, and a new tent.
This tent is a little bigger than I had but the structure is modernized so the weight is the same.

throat

Yesterday evening I felt my throat aching. In the middle of the night I took a paracetamol. I fell asleep.
When I woke up I felt horrible. Not knowing that my voice was very low I called my co worker to tell I would come a little later.
He didn't recognise my voice. It was turned in Marlon Brando's when he drunk too much the other day.
Today I miss the cycling though the weather is beautifull now. I think I'll sow some seeds I bought yesterday.
But fistly I eat my pancakes, tomatoes, cumcumber and capsicum annuum, or sweet peppers and a dessert.

A dream

The day breaks, your mind aches.
And when you get up wondering where you are, you finf yourself in the bathroom.
Looking in the mirror, you got a beard of 3 days.
You think -where have I been-.
You shave, take a shower, make breakfast, brush your teeth and go to work.

The rest of the day is a dream.

You definitely have to go to bed earlier.

Unemployed

Yesterday I picked up something of a TV documentary about being unemployed and the difficulty of getting back on track, being employed again.
What I saw were some men and women who had a high levelled job.
All of them lost their job and were assigned with a jobcoach. He is the person who helps the unemployed to get back in business. At least he generates ideas, but let's the work be done by the unemployed.
The men and women had ideas and hopes for a better future but they didn't succeed though they were high skilled. They had the same experiences as I had. Being rejected for a job tempers ones humor. No, one gets a bad humor of it and finally gets in a negative spiral.

When I finished my Business school and got my Bachelor degree I was pleased that some headhunters wrote me to apply for a job.
But nobody wanted me after I wrote my application letter.
After graduation it took me three months to get a job, which didn't last very long.
I tried to find a job again and thought that it would come in time. (But actually I got no time, the cost of living are high without any social benefit. For me time was money.)
After writing dozens of letters to employers I noticed that on 10% of my applications I got an invitation.
Most of the times it went wrong in application "talks".
The gaps in my employment history were to difficult for me to fill.
Beside that my social skills were not very flexible. That was the key problem.
It took me years to accept that an accident at the age of 14 was the problem.

I went to an application training and was gone on short notice because I had another job.
In 1994 I started a business to provide stock investors and other investors with information about stocks, bonds, interest rates, etcetera.
In 1995 I studied at the Open Univerity: 2 studies into investment, maths and one about controlling a municipality.

But even then I didn't succeed. I kept my head up because of the stockmarket.
After some other jobs, everyone a step closer to what I do now, I went to the unemployment agency. The told me about a Law about reintegration of people with a handicap.
That was scary for me to step in.
Firstly, I dídn't and don't consider myself as a handicapped person.
Secondly, what if I step in. Will I be grinded?

Well, I did it and came in contact with a jobcoach who just gave some advises to adjust my curriculum.
I made better letters and applied only at jobs I wanted or liked.
So the first serious job application was on an island. I had a chance but it wasn't me.
Soon after that my present job came. I called and heard that the first application round was passed. I had to act immediately. My flexibility was tested!
And what, I passed the test.
Thanks to Jaap Adamse of Quality coaching.

And off he goes

Anti-Bush protester in Maastricht, Netherlands.

In a free world one should be able to express oneself. This is what the photo means.
Bush and his Dutch colleague spoke about freedom and they emphasised the lives of so many soldiers whose efforts are the fundamentals for the peace we got here for 60 years on this day, May 8 2005.

And off goes the president in his Boeing 747, on his way to Russia.

-We got him...-

Dutch Mountains

A blogger reacted "en vanaf vandaag hebben we Bush! lekker belangrijk" meaning -And from this day on we got Bush! Very important! (in a negative context)-

I like to comment on that.
There is a paradox in what he says.
With "from this day we got Bush" he refers to the present time, while I referred to the past and commemorised the victims of war and the freedom for which they gave their lives.
On the other hand he says that Bush is important.
But, written in Dutch it has a negative tone.

He surely wrote his lines about the present to react on what I wrote about the past.
With the addition of, the negative, -very important- he makes the past less important.

Freedom

Let's keep them rolling is the organisation which maintains the rolling material of the Allies in the 2nd World War.
This rolling material brought the men that gave us freedom. We got a legacy to take care of for 60 years now. The legacy's name is FREEDOM.
Today we celebrated this legacy. On many places with our liberators who are in their eighties, nineties.

The 4th of May we honoured the men and women who fell during the World War, whether they died in prison, of famine, on the battlefield, in concentration camps, at sea.

This photo was taken on my way to the Grebbeberg at Leersum.
I cycled 100 kilometers exactly by the way.

Liberation Day

Hey hey hey, it's Liberation Day.
The 60th anniversary of the liberation in the Netherlands. The official ceremonies, the speeches and the celebrations.

I think I go to the small villages around Utrecht to get a glimpse of the festivals and then I'll cycle to the Grebbeberg. A small hill close to the Dutch delta where the army could uphold the Germans around the 10th of May 1940.

Off

This morning I was awake early. At work all was okay. I worked some things out.But I felt so tired.
Later my colleague told me we had a lucky surprize about the maintainance cost of wheelchairs. A creditor will return us 36,000 Euro. Allright, that's a windfall.

At 1.15 pm I left the building to get a tetanus injection. When I came there the assistent said it wasn't necessary. I took the rest of the day off.
This is the main case of the day: being tired.

Tres fatigué

The exceptional weather yesterday with temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius in some areas made me sweating just a little too much during the 90 k ride.
This morning I still bear the negative consequences of it. I felt tired all the time and when I came at work I was sweating already. The whole day I felt bad.
But inside the building temperature wasn't okay. My colleagues and I didn't feel well.
In 2 months time (March 4 till May 1) temperature went from -20 degrees to +30 degrees Celsius!!!
I realize it at the moment I write this.

My holiday starts the June 10 so some preparation is necessary.
The maps of my previous trip aren't sufficient. I got to buy new ones but nervertheless I know what I want: cart# 12 and #31 of the IGN series.
But fortunately I already got to go to the fietsvakantiewinkel in Woerden for a route from Maastricht to Basel by bike.
16 May will be my testride for this vacation. If the weather will be fine I'll cycle at least 180 kilometers that day.

We had some minor rainshowers in the evening. The birds are singing in the late evening sky.
Although the sun set half an hour ago it's still light outside with a clear sky and no wind.
Maybe, time for a glass of wine to fall asleep immediately.

Stop

Stop Bush, for a justified world, demo Amsterdam May 7, 1 pm

I thought about the demo next Saturday. Bush can kiss my @ss. He might not know that I'm not there. He won't probably know that I'm going to Washington or his Texas ranch to put some things straight in a more effective way.
One to one talks are mostly more effective than demos and assaults.

Talking about assault, I heard that Muslim terrorist are concentrating their efforts more on Europe and Iraq. Probably the terrorists are tired of coming to America. The US is well protected.
That is one of the reasons the European Union needs a constitution. To fight terrorism effectively with one voice, meaning a European ministry of foreign affairs.

Today is the first anniversary of the extension of the EU with 10 member states.
The old member states got the same problems with employment as the US fears not controlling the border with Mexico. The new member states can produce at a lower cost, so companies move to the east. Workforce from the east moves to the west because here they look for opportunities to work. And there are opportunities if one wants to work. They earn more than at home. They are equal or sometimes better skilled and the natives don't want to do the work. Mostly it's in the agriculture, in the meat processing business, or in factories.

My vote was last Friday a No to the EU-constitution, but I lean to a Yes momentarily.