Standing on top of the world I see .......
Life is like climbing a mountain and cope with difficulties and setbacks, resulting in enjoying the perfect view. Eventually that's what this blog is about. With a smile I say it's climbing Maslows mountain.
In Holland people are some what strange sometimes... A lot of commotion is going on concerning a televisionshow. In this show a person who has a short time to live wants to donate a kidney to a person who is on the list to get a donor kidney. The giver can choose out of 3 possible receivers and public can vote for who'll be transplanted.
The public broadcastcorporation who will transmit the show (BNN) also says it is untasteful and disgusting but it's better than the truth. Too many people don't have a donorcertificate (or donorcodicil as we call it) and say no against giving away vital organs after death. Also the system of being donor is questionable. If it were an opt-out system more transplants might be possible. Now we have an opt-in system and if people don't have a codicil family will have the final word and that is losing essential time for donation I think.
In the Netherlands we have a shortage of organs to be transplanted. It could be more if the community was informed better and the system worked better.
Maybe the great Donorshow will raise enough publicity to change the system and the attitude of the people....
Sometimes people overestimate themselves. I overestimated myself 2 days ago riding on my bicycle north to visit my mother. I thought it would be an easy trip but the rain in the morning when I left, the wind and lower temperatures than I expected, made my calculation of what I could ride a little bit opportunistic so to say.
I calculated before I left home I would cycle at least 200 kilometer. After 50k I had a stop to have a cup of cappuccino. That was refreshing. After another 50k I crossed the IJssel bridge at Zwolle. That means 80k to go on the shortest route.
As I wanted to go along the house where I was born
I decided the night before to cycle another 20k plus. I made it to the house, even photographed it and some kilometers further. Then I had 2 possibilities. Option 1 go to the nearest train station and go by train, or option 2 cycle for at least 30k. I choose the first because I was feeling a little bit cold, I wouldn't make it before 19.00 pm and the tour had to be fun I made some miscalculations and overestimated myself I think.
The sun is shining for over a month now. We didn't have any rain for over 1.5 months and temperature is far above long year average this year. It's like Holland moved to the Mediterranean. But after this weekend temperature will drop significantly and it will rain in the homeland of Hans Brinker.
But Bangkok (scientist conference about climate) or not climate change will urge us for some action. To keep the world temperature rise limited to 2 degrees it will cost each person in the world 300 Euro a year. Make that 10 times more for people in Europe, America and Australia. Brazilia, India and China should start with environment "friendly" production of the same responsible product.
Better it is to stop consuming goods endangering the environment; I mean consuming, such as using old Philips-lights instead of energy-saving lights, eating meat from the other side of the world instead of meat of cattle from regional farmers (no meat is even better), driving a car or taking a plane instead of using other much more environment-friendly means of transport.
I know hypocracy rules the world (Bob Dylan). I haven't driven a car for 12 years now and it's comfortable to have the opportunity to drive a car when you need one. That's why I had a medical test last month to exclude the risk of epilepsy while driving a car. I have a driving permission of 5 years now and it feels good.
But mainly I still use my bicycles for everything. 3 Weeks ago my cycle-club an I went to the coast and back: 200 kilometers, 2 weeks ago I went to my mother and cycled back home: 200 kilometers and this week for training 280 kilometers (including riding with the club on Sunday, May 6).
Today, May 5, is the day of celebrating our liberty. It started in 1945 and now this day is really changing to a day of looking to the future. In Utrecht at noon the national liberty day began with a liberty-concert. A well known, everybody-likes- them, middle of the road band had a short concert close to my home.
At 11.30 am I heard and saw an Apache coming from the northwest with bands to act and at 1 pm I saw the same helicopter flying to Amsterdam. It was like Apocalypse now. Flying low I saw the guns pointing at the ground. Men with drums and guitars were shooting music to the ground. I heard a rising sound of the motors which overwhelmed the music and then they disappeared as quickly as they came.
In the local paper I read that the heli pilots served in Afghanistan. Those pilots might have fired some Hellfire missiles to a Taliban depot. It´s just that this contrasts with our liberty day.
I took some freedom not to write for a while. Or may be this isn´t freedom at all. In fact the virusprotection licence has ended and I bought an update which could be installed from CD-ROM. When I tried to install the update it seemed that my CD-ROM and DVD didn´t work.
At work everything is fine. Yesterday a girl who worked temporarily at our office resigned. She and her friend will go to Asia for 5 months for a kind of development-aidproject.
She will visit at the end of May first Iran and will go to Isfahan as a stopover for a week. Thanks to readers of Ocean I know it must be a beautiful place to be....
On a training session after work I had my camera with me. I decided to film this ship on the Lek.
