If you got a problem with wintertime, bear in mind that every winter came to an end (so far)

my wonder years

It's been a great day. I woke up early to have some time to cycle as the forecast was that in the morning there would be some sunshine. Maybe it's the first time in this young year to cycle in sunshine. Ha ha, my short term memory (< 1 year) is like good cheese; it got holes in it.
In the last working week I spent my lunch-break outside the office. My colleague and I walked through the neighborhood. Everything looks so different then. Normally I don't walk in other neighborhoods other than my own, especially not on a working day. I only cycle through other boroughs. I saw many houses for sale, some for a long time now, expensive ones and cheaper ones. In none I would like to live in.

I'm still looking for a new place. So was my new neighbor. I met her today "I'm your new neighbor" she said. She told me that he's got to paint the interior next week. That's what you do when you move into a new house.
Well, bon change!
She bought the house which I don't do, not my own house.

This week I analysed my behaviour concerning buying things, or even my house or another house.
I wonder if it has to do with the stress I had as a child loosing all his toys and relations built up in the child-years, in the wonder years, either by divorce (of parents) or removal.
I just know that one can easily loose everything he has. However from zero one can also build something up easily. Especially when there is time.
Am I afraid of loosing?

At work I was a kind of angry when my boss came to me with the question if I could explain something to her. It was something 2 colleagues asked me on a Friday. (So I had a weekend to think it over and build up the anger) I answered them the same day and my conclusion is that one colleague did something for which he's authorized, but apparently without knowledge. Murphy's law will be suitable then. You can wait till things go wrong. The other thing is a payment which went wrong. In this case the procedures have to be followed, they were not. Nevertheless the payment was mistaken.
Luckily the creditor has seen that and did the right thing in his opinion. Unfortunately he didn't inform my department till now.
Well, being a little bit angry is showing my responsibility for my job. Hopefully my boss interprets the same way.

One colleague I told about my concerns. The next day she asked me how I felt. Okay, I said, but how are you, how was your holiday I asked.
Holiday, she said, I'm planning again.
Where do you go? I asked.
Israel, she said, hopefully we fly El Al.
A colleague asked if she's Jewish then.
Yes, she said, but don´t tell anybody.
The colleague asked if her mother's too.
Yes, she said, but don´t tell anybody

In my life there are people who told me their secret.
Some of those I don´t remember
Other secrets I understand that it´s my secret as well
This secret is so weird.
It frightens me because is there so much to be scared for that one can't publicly be Jewish?

US secretary criticizes NATO approach in Afghanistan

The undertitle should be: in a war we'll never win.

US Defense secretary Gates said in the New York Times in this article that NATO forces don't know how to fight the insurgents. The names of the countries who are operating in the south are mentioned. The Netherlands is one of them.
In the Los Angeles Times Gates is quoted

It seems to me that the US defense secretary doesn't know anything about the mission and possibility of the NATO forces being in South Afghanistan.

The Netherlands lost 2 soldiers on January 12 in so called friendly fire.
They were well trained men, but with 20 and 22 years of age they were only kids.

These soldiers were not trained for the Fulda Gap. The LA Times thinks that European NATO forces are trained nowadays to stop a Soviet invasion.
If that's true the countries united in NATO including the USA should blame themselves and should redefine the mission statement.

Maybe Mr. Gates never heard of a Quick Reaction Force, the Provincial Reconstruction Team and the real mission.

Wasn't it the US who don't know itself how to deal with insurgents in Iraq until David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Baghdad who co-wrote the military's new counterinsurgency field manual? And this manual might be implemented in south Afghanistan? Don't they know that you never win a war from insurgents with a hit & run tactic? It's a way of living they're better adapted to compared with us staying in Afghanistan for a 3 months period.

The Netherlands has to get out there immediately, else they face a defeat like Srebrenica in 1995. But instead we extend our mission with 2 years, until the end of 2009.

Hopefully we can say mission accomplished by then.

What would you do?

What would you do if you're a suspect in a disappearance.
You live on an island and with 2 friends you meet a girl.
On the beach you get drunk and apparently you seem to be the last person who saw the girl.
You are suspect in a missing case. What would you do?

First of all you got to deny everything.
Secondly you write a book about the missing.
Thirdly you talk in the press about the case.
Fourthly you go to the United States.
Fifthly you present yourself with mother and dad in a talk-show in your homeland.
Sixthly you are questioned by an eager man, he's a guest in the show too, well known in solving murder cases.
Seventh you say that you weren't honest to the police because you didn't know what to do.
Eightly at the end of the talk-show you throw a glass of red wine in the man's face.

Mind that you are only 20 years of age and that you were 17 years old when the case started.

Yes I'm talking about the Natalee Holloway disappearance on Aruba.

If I were Joran van der Sloot, that's the guy I'm talking about, and happily for me I'm not because he's a spoilt young man, I wouldn't do the same except the wine-throwing-part.

Spielerei, together we can make it work

The Addled writer got an e-mail about this thing where her story "Carrie Pilby's New Year's Resolution" is nominated. It didn't come out in 2007, so she doesn't know how she is eligible, but she's on the list, so take a look and vote...third category down!

I thought why not, let's all vote for the book of Caren Lissner.