New years eve

In my country it's usual to spend the evening with oliebollen and appelflappen. A picture says more than a few words.
So I wish you a happy New Year.
And keep your resolutions. I try too!

Snowy

It's winter. The north of the country can't be visited by public transport. Trains are cancelled. Buses too. In fact The Netherlands has come to a halt.
Doesn't matter on a Sunday.

Socrates

Been very busy at work. Today I did everything what was on my list. So my year at the office has almost come to an end (6 day's work).
Today was the last day working with GWS4All, Centric-software for municipalities.
That means the last moment to make some payments with this system. It also means that I saw the birth, rise and fall of software used in an organization of 5,000 men/women.
Quiting GWS4All also means that all people from the Centric-organization leave our's. Less external-staff in our business, that's what we want. Next week on my department a few people have to leave. The necessity has been questioned by some people.

Sometimes I have a feeling that managers do things to favour others. With my manager I also feel that she tries to do what's best for herself.

I hear an inner-voice calling:

examples, examples or you ought not to write this down.

Oops

GWS4ALL will be replaced with SOCRATES, software for the 4 largest municipalities in the Netherlands and also developed by them.
Hopefully the name is wisely chosen, because Centric built software which couldn't completely satisfy user-demands. Socrates can? On January 4 the new system will be operational.

Next year will be an important year:

- my work and how will it be organized;
- works council and the restructuring of some departments;
- cycling Paris-Roubaix in June;
- vacation.

I really have no resolution for next year. I hope that I will pick up my cycling again to be able to ride Paris-Roubaix.

So hopefully Twenty Ten will conditionally be a better year.

Of course twenty-ten will give us all hope on a great future. (however the Copenhagen Climate conference makes me shiver (politicians talk, leaders act))

May 2010 bring the best for you and us.

Die Mauer

In 1983 I visited Berlin on occasion of a school-trip. In fact we travelled by bus from the Dutch-German border, through the federal republic of Germany to the German Democratic Republic. In the GDR, I remember a long road paved with concrete. We, all children, didn't see any people in the gloomy and grey landscape we crossed. Arriving in West-Berlin was like arriving at an oasis after being in the desert for a while. I felt exited.

The most impressive thing was the memorial for a few people who tried to escape from East-Berlin but were shot in their attempt (`auf der flug erschossen'). It was situated on the left corner of the Reichtag facing the river Spree. When I was there I saw Vopo's (Volkspolizei) or guards in their watchtower looking over the mined and wired field to the Spree. (in fact it wasn't mined because of the noise it would make. How cynical!) And I looked at the memorial and watched the Vopo's.

Walking along the Spree to the Brandenburger Tor I had a first view of the concrete Berlin Wall. It was on the right corner behind the Reichtag facing the Spree. Some classmates touched the Wall. I didn't, reading the signs. Can you believe it; I stood there face to face with the monster called Berlin Wall and I didn't touch the Wall. I was to impressed and afraid of things what might happen when you wake up the monster. What I felt was the Cold War! But I missed a once in a life time opportunity.

Some days later we went on a trip to East-Berlin. In the Pergamonmuseum a doorman, who was in fact a woman, told that she has never been in the west, but she told that she knew a lot about Holland. When I remember the sadness in her eyes I feel the pain in my heart back in 1983, because she was prisoned in that system without being guilty. Of course they will have laughed. For me it didn't feel good. At the Fernsehturm in East Berlin we stopped also to have a view from the television and radio tower. Walking in the December cold on the Alexanderplatz I stopped to buy a warm sausage. It was so cheap and I felt such a pity for the boy who sold the food that I gave him much more than the actual price.

On our way back to West-Berlin we visited checkpoint Charlie. There I bought a poster of Solidarnosc, the Labour Rights Movement of Lech Walenza in Poland. In fact the fall of the communist dictatorship started with that movement of Lech Walenza and others in the early ninetheen eighties.

In 1992, only 9 years later, I went back to the places I went before. The memorial site for the man and woman `auf der flug erschossen' behind the Reichstag had disappeared but the Watchtower of the Vopo´s was still there. I walked to the other side of the river to the field where the watchtower was and I climbed on it. I had the same view of the Vopo´s in 1983 but I saw a complete different world. The world can really change in nine years.

Now, 20 years and one day have past since the Berlin Wall fell. Step by step this Cold War disappears, but we got to be alert for new wars like these.

The German movie "Das Leben der Anderen" is an example of life in East-Berlin.

The extreme control of the East-Germans is made clear in the plot of Das Leben der Anderen

Thoughts

A week ago I had a meeting with the Works Council. We talked about matters I can't remember immediately. That means how important it is. In fact the decisions are already made by management. Management of a Municipality controlled by politics. The Works Council can only slowdown the process. In fact that is what we did.

The Council has to agree with a proposal of management to reform some departments. Management gave us a 50 pages report which doesn't give a clear view of what the management wants. That's why the Councils chairman decided that a new brief report of 2 pages has to be sent to us. Not a 50 pages bookwork.

After one month of being part of the Works Council I can say that it's a lot of paperwork, a lot of invested hours, even time outside office hours and not much effort. The only advantage till now is that I see more the organisation as a whole.
Of course I know the organogram, but now I can fill it with real people. And they all got the same problems, like the vertical and horizontal mobility of people to other functions. Management is supposed to know that the quality of an organisation depends also the learning possibilities of the employees.

My employer uses people for it's short term benefit. The benefit should be mutual on the long term. So there should be development programs for every person and not for a few.
So there must be more possibilities to grow. One of the goals of management is that young people should take the municipality into consideration as a employer. The way it works now isn't one to think about my employer.

If management only think in short term benefits they are like the banking system and their management. Greedy people, only thinking about their own sake. But the Dutch and the British Government know what to do with their banks.

bankrun

Maybe you heard the news about a bank run in the Netherlands.
I always thought it would only happen abroad, till last year, when the Northern Rock received support of the Bank of England and a real bank run emerged. That was the moment when the American credit crisis came to Europe.

That was September 14 2008, now it's October 25 2009 and stability has not come back.
In the Netherlands another bank collapsed this month. It happened very quickly. The Dutch bank authorities had problems with DSB-bank of billionaire Dirk Scheringa. There where some reforms in DSB and there was a press statement made in a breakfast TV-programme by one of the stakeholders in DSB. He called for a ordinary bank run asking all bank account holders to withdraw their money. A week later the bank was bankrupt. Now 4,000 people with more than Euro 100,000 on their account lose all above that number. Hundred of thousands of people can't get their money for some time. 2,000 people lose their job. They should tell on their curriculum that they worked for a known crook, Dirk Scheringa.

Autumn

The leaves are falling. The wind blows around the house. Temperatures sank below 10 degrees Celsius. The stove is working again after 5 months. The nights will be cosy again. Yes it's autumn.

In the previous month many things happened. Of course I made my trainings hours on my race-bicycle. Every week a little bit more. The last 2 weeks I rode on Wednesday with the club. Only 70 kilometer because at 8 pm it was to dark to ride.

September 24, the day when I had a severe accident in the past, will always be my day of reflection. This year was a special one. At work we had a day out for the employees, our team. In the afternoon there was a visit arranged to an institute for handicapped people. They were mentally handicapped.
The people who work with the handicapped people welcomed us with the words "welcome in our world" We were supposed to work with the mentally handicapped who were also fysically handicapped.

My task was to make a walk with the people who live in the institute.
A wheelchair and 2 other persons were appointed to me. My colleague had 2 persons and there were employees of the institute. Some people could have epileptic attacks, so instructed personal had to be present.

It made me go back to November, December 1982 when I was "locked up" in an institute for fysically handicapped children (under 18). In that institute was a boy of my age who had a brain-injury. He could almost be one of the visited institute. What "welcome in our world"? It's our world. At least it could have been a part of my world.

This short trip was good for ourselves because it made us think. Also it was good for inhabitants of the institute, they cheered up. It was no team building or a sociable day to a leisure park.

Many things happened I said. Also I will be member of the Works Council of the department I work for. It will start on Monday October 5. Many things to learn, a lot to see. I'm looking forward to it. It's a lot about the organization and the place of the employees in it. The time ahead of us will be one of change and turmoil.

At work we have fixed work places. Again the whole organisation of the place has been altered. My colleague and I had an option on 2 places between we could choose. We have lots of space now. Far above the minimum.

Vuelta

Last weekend I was the town I grew up partly. The cycling race tour (Vuelta Ciclista a España) started there. Friday I saw the team presentation. For the first time in years I had a dinner with my mother and her friend in a restaurant. Saturday I took my bicycle and cycled 75 k through the province. More times I had to shelter for rain showers. One of those sheltering moments I was in front of the house in Westerbork where I lived in my youth. From that place I cycled over the route the Vuelta would take the next day. I cycled from Westerbork to Tynaarlo, a 35 k or so. It never crossed my mind to do that. Along the route I visited the burial site of my dog. It's a piece of land close to a stream where nature can be nature. It overwhelmed me that that site has actually become a nature reservoir and it was so mature. Years ago there where meadows originally meant for cows. The land was given back to the wild animals, deer, badgers, rabbits, foxes, birds, insects and plants. On Sunday the Vuelta passed my mothers house. It was a spectacular scenery of 198riders passing by.
Look at this video:


Between last weekend and the present weekend I had a week off. I had to think about joining the Works Counsil. This counsil has every 2 weeks a meeting to talk about subject which are important for the employees. Every month the counsil has a meeting with the head of the department we´re working for. I haven't seen an agenda with things talked about. That's what I have to do Monday morning as soon as I started the computer. Hopefully the network is working.

Fresh

I was washing the dishes when this song came into my mind. Make up a happy melody yourself. ;)

" In kindergarten they said
I had a lot of imagination.
What?

My aunt is Turkish
and my uncle is an Indian

My father is a chinese poo
and my mother to the moon

Later when I was wiser
it seemed to be true.

I've searched on the Internet.
and we are all family apart

lalalala lalalala

In kindergarten they said
I had a lot of imagination.
No kidding.

My aunt is Turkish
and my uncle is an Indian

My father is a chinese poo
and my mother to the moon "

Documentary

I saw a part of a documentary on BBC Worldservice today. I didn't really pay attention to it and I thought it was about the economic recession in Iran.

What I saw was a man who showed the rooms in a house. Listening I learned that he was a famous football player. He was married and had a so called mistress. Now his wife was murdered and the football player his mistress found the dead body.

Now she is the accused murderer. Her name is Shahla Jahed. She confessed she did the manslaughter. But later she withdraw her confession, saying she was under pressure.

The law is severe in Iran. She is sentenced to death by hanging. When I see her in the documentary as a smart woman pleading not guilty I believe her. There is reason for doubt and that is one of many reasons I am against death penalties.

Investigate this, prosecutor of Iran, instead of prosecuting peaceful demonstrators.

google on "Shahla Jahed" bbc

democracy

In the Greek period of Homerus, Socrates and other wise men (men and women!), there was democracy. But what kind of democracy. One had to belong to a certain class to raise their voice. Later the Roman empire was an oligarchy. The old empire was ruled by a few men and their family in their own interest.

In the western world we still live in an oligarchy. According to some this is the irow law of Oligarchy. This theory was formulated in 1911 and says that democracies develop into oligarchies. The reason behind this can be found on wikipedia.


What happens in Iran looks to me as a reaction on the suppression of the Iranian theocratic government. But suppressed people will always find a way out I was told. So, where are their votes?!

According to the International Programs Center, U.S. Census Bureau, the total population of the World is 6,788,007,610 06/21/09 at 12:33 GMT (EST+5) Only a few worldleaders decide the faith of the world. Isn't that tragic?

update: watch and hear the news updates about the G8-meeting in Italy. They want to reduce pollution and stop climate change. Their goal is world average temperature not to increase with 2 degrees Celsius.
I say this because I don't feel myself involved in this decision making process. It's an example of the oligarchy on a world scale.

How can we fight that oligarchy? It's not how to fight oligarchy but how to become active instead of being passive. A passive population is one of the reasons why an oligarchy can exist.
Have a look at Russia. In Russia is no real opposition. Medvedev and Putin have a carte blanche ruling Russia.

The best example of an European oligarchy is Italy of Berlusconi. He's is a person a lot of Italians hate. They just do nothing because the majority doesn't matter him to be in power. He´s chosen but that doesn´t make him no oligarch. Some people say that he is a delay on Italy's development.

Do I undestand that oligarch´s collect power. Do they in order to preserve their power don´t want change in their Kingdom?

Yes, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is a veiled oligarchy. And a lot of countries are.

running

I ran today. I don't know how long, but it felt better than last time. I ran quite a long distance along the canal, crossing 2 bridges. Maybe I should do this more often. My legs hurt momentarily; Running and cycling are different muscle groups.

The advantage of running is that it's cheap and you don't need so much time to waste energy compared to cycling. It's what I call a recession proof sport.

4th of June

Election Day in the Netherlands and Great Britain.

It was a day to vote for the EU parliament.
The silly thing is we got to vote nationally.
That means that for the appr. 730 seats thousands of would be European parliamentarians are on the list. In my country we can only choose 25.

And the most stupid thing is that head president of the EU, at the moment Portuguese mr. Barroso, will be chosen behind the curtains of talks between heads of the member states. There isn't any transparency. This is no democracy.

So world, even in Europe there isn't real democracy.

I voted on a party that is in favour of the EU but doesn't want to expand for a while. The party lost half of it's previous seats. My party I vote for nationally gained in the EU elections. They doubled their seats.

stress, obsession

It seems ages ago that I wrote a small post. It's about my obsession with cycling.

When I think about it I admit that it´s a metaphor for a compulsion in dealing with matters. Traffic is the issue in which I can get very furious. A certain stress comes over me. Sometimes I feel nothing can happen to myself when a car or bicycle on the wrong side of the road pass me at close distance.

Is this an obsession? What I do know is that it happens to much and it doesn't make me feel good.

Why do I have to tell an immigrant not to cycle on the cycle path in the wrong direction. Why? The immigrant might offend me with racism or whatever. But it isn't. It's my perception of justice.

I've chosen the wrong profession. :-( I should be an ordinary policeman in the streets.
Maybe I shouldn't be so relentless.

obsessive

I'm okay... maybe I'm a bit compulsive.

Does it mean that I do things I don't want to do?

Today I felt to tired to cycle 80 k. So I didn't. Normally I would just do it.
It might have to do with last Sunday when I cycled almost 190 k with my cycling-friends.

Do I feel good now? I have to think about that.....

attention: raw food and bottle of water

When I pay attention to it I see girls and women with small bottles of water...only fifteen minutes away from something to drink.
And what about eating raw food, when I pay atten...., yes I see it all around me... even Caren might eat raw carrots...
And men, no here in Europe we don't have anything to do with that.

whale

click this video. It's about a whale seen close to the Verrazano bridge, New York. Is that Sarah Ackerman on the video? No of course not. :-(

being small

To extend my last post, even in peace lacking Mosul (Iraq) there are some lucky people, like Najma and her fiance. Maas from Mosul is writing again as dr. Human after being busy with her study.
Dr. Human, aka Maas and Najma were friends when I read their blog for the first time some years ago. Now their blogs aren´t linked anymore. Hopefully their friendship is still there.

Today, April 4, it´s 400 years ago since the ship de Halve Maen sailed from Amsterdam. The VOC ordered the English captain Henry Hudson to sail along the edge of the north pole to find a new route to Asia. He disobeyed orders and discovered land in his effort to find another passage to Asia and more specific the Dutch east Indies. Hudson failed in his mission and found Mannahatta, in the language of the native people. On nowadays Manhattan the first settlers founded Nieuw Amsterdam.
The West Indian Company claimed land that Henry Hudson sailed and called it nieuw Nederland. In 1624 the first settlers from the Dutch Republic arrived.

In 1664 the English attacked Mannahatta. It was the end of the Dutch presence. Nieuw Amsterdam was renamed New York.

Peace

In the midst of on economic crisis nations realize what's more important than economic prosperity. That's a long and durable peace.

I know there are some people who ignore that. Like an Israeli Professor, but his country is constantly at war. Israels Prime Minister Netanyahu prefers a long and durable peace with the Arab world. Watch and see how this episode in the history of the Israelites continues....

The Netherlands did host the World Forum on Afghanistan today. Appr. 70 countries were in The Hague to show unity. Some citizen in The Hague said that their city needed this Forum to show their importance to the World (of course there are some temporary tribunals of the International Court of Justice and it's headquarter)
It needed to be a success. Well, saying that some 70 countries talked about the Afghan situation they had their success before the chairman opened the meeting.

Today was a really fine day. Time to enjoy the sun. In my lunchbreak I went outside to eat an Italian icecream. Sitting in the sun close to a small sluice in the river. Because of the running water from the sluice I didn't hear the city noise.

At 1 pm my colleage and I had an appointment with another department. My colleage works temporarily at another location and forgot the meeting. After a phonecall he did come with some delay. Actually I forgot the meeting too, but Outlook reminded me when I was upstairs again. It must be the tranquillity of the afternoon.

Days when everything works out without troubles are really fine days. And this was one of them, one day of peace.

just some thoughts

I had a discussion with my boss about my complaint. I told her almost exactly what's in the previous post. She said that she shares the problem and wants me to monitor and do what's necessary to keep progress.

This month I started more frequently to cycle. Not only short distances of 30 kilometer, I increased the distance to 96 km occasionally.
Last night daylight saving time is valid again. We got an hour extra at the end of the day. The nightingales-season (some people who ride together some kilometers) has started last Wednesday. Next Wednesday I'll be there to for some 60k after 6 pm and of course after work.

work

I'm a bit down because of the spirit at work. We promise time and time again that we'll pay our debts automatically. Some preferred creditors only have to email their invoice in a CSV-format. We will use the CSV as input for our data-system. After some checks and with a datarun we finally pay the invoice on a client basis. Just as we do manually till this moment. Today I learned that the March invoices will also have to be paid manually. It's insane. I got no words for it -and I got to do it-.

My boss asked me lately if I have a schedule what I do daily. I told her that I start the day paying invoices and finish the day. Of course there are some things I have to do in between but they all have to do with paying those invoices.
She asked me to write down my complaints about the whole situation. Well, this might be the first incentive.

freedom means responsiblity

On CNN Dick Cheney, former vice President of the USA said that the policy of President Obama endangered Americans. I have to laugh. He is past, passé, finito, histoire, vergangenen Zeit, verleden tijd. So why does he make that statement?
Does this man feel any responsibility for the things that happened? Guantanamo Bay, Abu Graib? Waterboarding?
Dick Cheney you're as guilty as can be.

The USA under the Bush administration were harmful to the open society. Protecting America's values it was called. Freedom expresses it all. If the republicans were still in power, a massive protection wall would be created to stimulate the own economy. (where is freedom when wealth is at stake?) That protection wall denies that America's power is borrowed power. China and other investors don't want the protectionists to rule the USA and the world. And America has to please them.
America and freedom? I think it's becoming a nightmare.

Freedom of speech is one of the 4 freedoms but I had the feeling while editing this blog that I didn't write down things I wanted to say. Possibly that's a matter of taste.

archaeology

You should read this Der Spiegel article about an engineering project in the Roman empire, millennia ago.

It's like discovering the CERN LHC project in 4000 AD.

Both projects of civilizations which have collapsed or will collapse in the future.

I don't IKRIP yet

With a couple of deceased people in a few years time for me personally and knowing that many of my blog visitors lost close people too an exhibition drew my attention. We all die in the end. But when the end is now, there will be know one to look after my blog to say I'm gone. It's feels the anonymeous blog has become a part of my real world. This is where

I was actually looking for the -IKRIP- site I found this video.

change = turmoil = succes?

A formula on how to survive the crash of world economies

Oeps, the world's stock indexes in week 10 of 2009 reached their lowest level in one or two decades.
The world is in turmoil. The IMF and World-bank shiver. Obama, Brown, Merkel, Sarkozy and all the other heads of State catched a cold or better are seriously ill.

Economies are wrecked. People with land as their property must be the lucky ones. Buy some sheep now, cows as well as some pigs. Don't forget the chicken. Together with homegrown vegetables you'll survive the food-crisis. It's not a Third World problem alone anymore. Have a horse or two.

Make your own water-well. Water will also be a product where people fight for.
Have some trees left on your property for shade and timber for repairs to your house.
Make yourself self-supporting like in the old days, before we traded on a massive scale.

The 2 horses I mentioned are ment for transport. The price of gasoline and oil will rise while wages fall. There will be a massive change in wellfare and wellbeing.
Maybe that's the change Indians in central America spoke about.

Capitalism is on the brink of extinction. It's the not C who rules the world anymore. The W should go to a regulated economy. The Asian model to say so. Did a Chinese economist already won the Nobelprice on Economies? I wonder.

funeral and plane crash

Last Friday family, friends and neighbors had the funeral of my neighbor. It was very emotional. I told my boss about it and she saw me dealing with my emotions. Maybe, she said, you should find yourself some help. I'm not quite ready to meet a shrink.
It's easy to tell another one what to do or what not to do.

My colleage is very lucky he survived the plane crash in Amsterdam. He's not the luckiest man because his wife is injured at the back side. I don't know much about her injuries. On the internet I saw a picture of my colleage (at the right, in the white T-shirt) being caterpillared to one of the ambulances.
Poor colleague, I wish him and his wife, aswell as the other victims lots of strenght.

200 years after Darwin

This evening I cycled back home and came along the hospice were my neighbor would end her life. Two bicycles were parked close to the entrance. It was too busy to visit her I thought.
I already called my neighbor last Friday and she looked in her agenda and said that she also had time on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. She was a bit confused. She probably didn't know that it was Friday.

Tonight at 6.30 pm I was busy making diner when the doorbell rang. It was my other neighbor. She told me my neighbor died this morning. Luckily without any extra pain. She died in her sleep. She had some shots morphine though to kill the pain. At 7.30am CET this morning, 16 February, she passed away.

The sad thing is that she had some anxiety on the night before she died. She called 911 and told there was a dead body in the basement and that she would be next. So Sunday night the police stood at the doorstep of the hospice.
The door was opened by the night watcher and than it appeared to be the address were people die.

Today she's layed in the coffin which was immediately closed. She wanted that.
The last dead person I saw was my father in November 2007. I tell you, then people are used not to say a word.

Some time ago we talked about death and she described the afterlife, where she believes in, as a journey where you don't know where you go. It's not like a cash & carry journey which can be composed in travel stores. Where you know where you go. This is completely different. She doesn't know she told. It's more like the Charles Darwin his Journey on the Beagle.

For me the last 30 minutes with her were the best. Every minute was worth it. Of course after that I telephoned her. That were also very expensive minutes about her travels and the Journey of Darwin to the Galapagos Island, the Beagle, India, Mumbai.

More that 4 years suffering. I respect her toughness, but I hope she now make the journey of her life starting on 16 February 2009 (exactly 200 years and 4 days after Darwin's birth).

Respect Jeanette!

Life

What did Darwin think when he wrote things down in his dairy when the Beagle took him to undiscovered places? He collected material which he brought back home. That material he studied and compared. I don't know exactly how he did it, but at the right moment he wrote his book On The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection.
It was published in 1853 by an editor named John Murray (and coincidental Murray did win the ABN AMRO tennis-tournament in Rotterdam today) From that moment man begin to think about his real origins. The evolution of mankind by coincidence.

A few day's (or night) ago I thought about a girl I studied with in my youth.
By coincidence her name appeared as first name on a list of the school we visited together years ago.
I googled on her name and found that she has a small company (Joe the Plumber like) close to my hometown.

There was more. I learned that she had mental problems for 10 years. She went to the psychologist. Therapy learned her that she hasn't dealt with the past of her grandparent who was in fact a collaborator in World War II.

The strange thing is that she is third generation!
These things live a life in the brains of people and are passed to next generations. Some alterations make mankind better adapted to crises. The evolution hasn't stopped.

Sissy Britons

In the Netherlands we have a representative in national Parliament listening to the name Geert Wilders. He made a movie called -Fitna-. He tells us that Islam is a danger for freedom in our country. He says more. He can say that because there is freedom of speech. Now the man is invited by a English MP to show his movie in the English Parliament.
The English Government didn't allow Mr. Wilders to enter Great-Britain.

This is unacceptable. Outrageous in fact.
A country which almost invented speakers' corner doesn't allow mr. Wilders in because of his opinion.
I think it's also not respectable to ban Mr. Wilders for the Dutch nationals who voted for him. He is a member of an European National Parliament and in the EU there is freedom to go where you want, even if you're a political nobody like me.

I think that Great-Britain has made a mistake not accepting Mr. Wilders. This must be a misunderstanding.
I think the Britons simply don't want him because of his haircut.

Italy

In Italy a young woman died

What happend in Italy with Eluano Englaro is not really extraordinary. The media attention makes it horrible like manslaughter. But is it?

Now (February 26) she has passed away and does the media still write? Am I right that the mass media fooled itself again? Mass media doesn't know the meaning of the word integrity.

work

Last Friday I had a scheduled discussion with my boss about the results I'll meet coming year; I had a quick look at it and I did realize that it was on my account and depended on coorporation with other collegeas, more or less specified, if I 'll meet the goals. Sunday I overlooked it once and I read about goals which are no up to date anymore. I went to bed and slept well till Monday morning.

When I woke up I had a positif feeling but strangly when I went downstairs to get my bike I suddenly had an awkward feeling that it would be a problematic day.

I didn't pay really attention to it. It became obvious at work at 9am I had planned a short consultation with my co worker. But it became a long one. We discussed both results and the goals we've to meet. Only at 12pm we were ready. Oh my, it's much time we spend but we made some changes in our interest.
I didn't feel comfortable with the situation knowing that I still got so much work to do.
I wrote some alterations/suggestions down and sent an email to my boss.

Tomorrow at 10 am I've another meeting so I stop writing in order to be sharp tomorrow.

Inauguration

Everything worked out. Nothing happened on the day Obama could call himself president. Okay it worried me that they organization did keep up with the time schedule. It made me nervous. 12pmm, no oath, no president, new election. Oh my god everywhere little men calling themselves George W. Bush, George A. Bush, George B. Bush, George C. Bush, John McCain, A. McCain, F. McCain. They shout McCain for President. Oh my, skip Aretha Franklin peforming on the spot. Let Barack H. Obama swear his oath on the spot. It was only a dream. Than the judge and Obama came forward for the oath. This is the finishing touch.

Then my deception came, it was a sgt. Pepper's lonely hearts club band feeling.
I heard songs from the past but still present, I saw faces from long ago, I heard a dream which came true and I heard that at 12pm Obama was already President without swearing the oath.

Israel, Palestine -seize fire-

Yesterday Israel said that they met their goals. Today the Palestinians answered with a seize fire. Hopefully they stop the war efforts.
Probably this hope is idle because Hamas will succeed to rearm itself. That will allow Israel to attack again.
The stupidity of Israel is that they don't see that suppressed people will finally get away with the suppression. They'll fight for it.

I don't think Hamas is the right party for the Palestinians but they chose them in a democratic election. Why shouldn't the western world talk to them. Maybe they could learn some international diplomacy and that words are easier than the bombs they use.

Hamas has to build Palestine up from the bottom. Maybe the UN has to help the Palestinians as the UN does for many countries with a poor administration. Maybe even the EU could help. They got some expertise on the Balkan.

Economically a port in Gaza-city could boost the internal economy. That port has been hardly used. Hamas really didn't stimulate the economy. That's what they should do now.
A fishing industry for the local economy, outsourcing cheap labour to Israel, export of agricultural produce, tourist industry, maybe even a tax haven. And if the Jews are smart with money, why aren't the Palestinians? At least, the Hamas-leaders aren't.

-------
I was watching the inauguration concert on Sunday 18 January, when I heard the song "higher Ground". The melody was very familiar. Looking on the internet it was RHCP's song. Originally Stevie Wonder's.
The lyrics

People keep on learnin
Soldiers keep on warrin
World keep on turnin
Cause it wont be too long

Powers keep on lyin
While your people keep on dyin
World keep on turnin
Cause it wont be too long

Im so darn glad he let me try it again
Cause my last time on earth I lived a whole world of sin
Im so glad that I know more than I knew then
Gonna keep on tryin
Till I reach the highest ground

Teachers keep on teachin
Preachers keep on preachin
World keep on turnin
Cause it wont be too long
Oh no

Lovers keep on lovin
Believers keep on believin
Sleepers just stop sleepin
Cause it wont be too long
Oh no

Im so glad that he let me try it again
Cause my last time on earth I lived a whole world of sin
Im so glad that I know more than I knew then
Gonna keep on tryin
Till I reach my highest ground...whew!
Till I reach my highest ground
No ones gonna bring me down
Oh no
Till I reach my highest ground
Dont you let nobody bring you down (theyll sho nuff try)
God is gonna show you higher ground
Hes the only friend you have around

Fade

It's just as my neighbor said lately when we discussed life and death.
She believes that there will be a next time on earth till life is okay. Then there will be a next level. It's actually the hope she has that everything will be different and better when she leaves the bad times behind her.

How's life?

So much is going on these day's.

- Israel is bombing Hamas (unbelievable why civilians, especially children and women aren't in shelters. Are they used as human shields?) and the world community is not doing it's utmost to seize fire, or is it?

- The financial credit-crunch is still going on. The impact on the man in the street is growing.

- Obama is only one week away from his presidency.

- Hillary Clinton is almost minister of foreign affairs (is this the name?) She wants the USA to lead the free world again. This leadership needs support of the allies.
When writing this I think allies will always support. It only depends on how far the allies will support the USA. Obama won the election with faith and change. That's what there must be. The situation has changed dramatically in the past years. 8 Years Bush did harm the USA and the world.

- Holland has an obligation to be in Afghanistan in a peacekeeping and rebuilding role till 2010. We might support the Afghanistan mission after 2010.

- In Holland the ice is melting but the winter isn´t over.

- In the Ukraine are again troubles with Russia about the gas-supply to Europe. Eastern Europe is held hostage to to supply gas because the Ukraine in it's role as distributor has debts to Russia. In the midst of winter Hungary, Romania, Slovakya, the Tsjech republic, Germany, Poland have gas shortages. This happening for the 3rd year now. People already died of the cold. The Russians are unreliable from this point of view. Maybe the Ukraine plays a role in it I don't know. They have the benefits of the doubt.

- Life is okay. I got a new coffee machine which makes good coffee. Having a cup of coffee I write my blog. I still cycle, even in winter. After Christmas in the cold dry weather I cycled in total 200K. I feel fine.

- 2 day's ago I made a trip of 50K and found a photo camera, worth €150,=. I made a call of it with the Municipality I found it. The Internet makes life very easy.

- What's not going very well is my neighbor. The cancer is poisoning her liver. However she gets nutrition, she doesn't gain weight. So she decided 5 day's ago to stop the supply of nutrition with a drain. She gets weaker day by day. Last time I saw her was December 27.

ice

Enjoy the ice. Some photo's of the Dutch on ice.

time and ice

A few hours ago I finished the 4th day of the working week. My goal to have dinner earlier is working. The food is cooking. This evening sauerkraut and a sausage is on the menu.
Meanwhile I listened to the radio, a discussion about the introduction of the Euro 10 years ago.

Yesterday I thought about time. How a day felt when I was 10 years old compared to now, so many years later. Yesterday it was a busy day for me and when I finally did the dishes I realized that when I was a little boy time felt the same.

One day I had a busy school day. After school I played (mostly soccer, the European football) outside with the other kids in our neighborhood. When it was time to go home to have dinner with my father, mother, sister and little brother the day was almost finished. But there was a children program on the only TV-channel we had. That expanded the day and made it long.

Yesterday the day was long. But with washing the dishes the evening fell. The time after that last action was an extension of the evening. It almost felt like the years when I was a little child.

It's cold in the Netherlands and Europe in common.
In Germany temperature dropped to-33 degrees C. In Utrecht it was -10C. The Dutch attack the ice, they made a track on the ice floor and then they are ice skating.
The media is giving the low temps since X-mas much attention. Now they even talk about the E-word. You shouldn't talk about. It's the famous and heroic Elfstedentocht.

When I talked with my mother on January 1th she said something about the low temps and that if the freezing temperatures remain an Elfstedentocht would be possible, we had almost quarrel about it and certainly different opinions. Last week ice didn't get any better in Friesland.



Temperatures on January 6th 10:20pm.

I live in the centre of the map, the darker blue area, while Friesland is in the light blue (under the 3rd and 4th island from the left)

Of course so much happens in the world today. War in the Gaza, economic crises everywhere and so on. But the Europeans got to count their savings.
Where would the Europeans be today if they didn't have the Euro, where would the world be if the Euro wouldn't exist. 1999-01-01 Is the day introducing the euro- as an accounting currency. 2 Years later the physical coins and banknotes were introduced. That was a negative part of the whole conversion. The Dutch had to let go their famous Guilder, our Gulden, the golden coin, a save haven times long ago. But in today's turmoil it would have any change to keep it's worth. 6 Years after it's physical introduction the Euro is a part of daily life in Germany, France, Belgium, Italy and in other countries.

Back to work

After a holiday since December 25 today was the first day of being back in office.

This is the time for new resolutions. I have at least one: I have to start cooking earlier. I'm fed up eating at 8:30/9:00 pm.

Another thing I got to bear in mind is fail-ability and reflexivity, after reading books of Soros.

At work it's business as usual that means a lot of work to do. Tomorrow morning my co-worker and I have an evaluation of estimated costs in the future.

Tonight will be cold -10C to -15C. That's the cold we need to be able to organize a Dutch championship speedskating on natural ice over 100 kilometer. Probably it will be held on Thursday January 8. Tomorrow, maximum temperature -5C
It's crisis :(, but we can skate and that's good for the attitude of the Dutch.

A lecture

This long video of a lecture of George Soros.
It's about his book "The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crash of 2008 and What It Means" a book I'm currently reading (in Dutch of course, isbn 978-90-254-2951-5)



There is a lot of criticism on Soros and I don't know why. Of course he earned his money in a way many people disgust, but his theory is quite right. It's about fallibility and reflexivity.

Fire Works New Year 2009

No shooting, no bombs? New Year starts with it.