fifo.nl

People say adding or not adding www at the start of a website address doesn't matter. As a matter of fact, they claim, not using www is the best way!

However, the KNMI (Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute) has a whole different opinion about that, it seems.

Please have a look at the 'actual weather' page at their website.

First, let's use http://www.knmi.nl/actueel/:

Second, let's use http://knmi.nl/actueel/:

Seems like using www points to today. Not using www points to yesterday.

How rare!

Am I the only person who gets absolutely sick from the self-centered way of the Dutch media? The screenshot is a perfect example again:

Dutch people wounded by earthquake in Haïti

What the f*ck?
An earthquake in Haïti, 7 on the Richter scale, has probably caused the death of thousands of people, and all they care about here is "OH MY GOD SOME DUTCH GUY GOT A SCRATCH!!!!"

*vomit*

Sometimes, when reading a book, they speak about the fire in one's eyes. It could be anger, or love, or ambition. But what does it look like? Today I finally received the answer to that burning question, when a decent looking headscarfed Muslim girl sat down opposite me in the train and looked me in the eyes. I guess she was Moroccan, but that doesn't really matter. The thing is that her eyes were alight. Like little flames dancing in her dark irises and pupils. I don't know which emotion was attached to it. She seemed loving or caring. Anyway, the fact remains I was like 'WOW. Those eyes... They're on fire!'
I'm happy to know it actually does exist :-)

From Prague, I wish a Merry Christmas to all.

Life is good in this amazing city. I didn't really make much photos so far, because I'm too happy to just walk and be here with Veronika. Maybe tomorrow I'll get off my pretty bottom and go wander while the day is still light.

Last night we went to the Christmas mass in church. We went to the Kostel Nejsvětějšího Salvátora (Sint-Salvatorkerk / Jesus Christ the Saviour church) which is a rather large traditional Catholic basilica church. It's the church in the picture above. They say that the Czech Republic is the most atheistic country in the world. But for such a Godless country I was amazed to see so many people in the church. To be honest I've never seen so many people squeeze into one church before. The people were everywhere. All seats were taken, and people were standing all the way from the entrance at the back of the church to the altar and around it. It was freezing cold, so I admire those many brave souls who have been standing all service long.
The service was great. Everybody, and there must have been a couple of thousands, was welcomed personally by Tomáš Halík, a famous Czech. Veronika was like WOW I MET HIM! :-) And he did little parts of the service in English so I even understood some.

It's Christmas :-)

And if you don't celebrate Christmas: have a jolly good time anyway, as you should always.

Byebye. Next update probably from the depths of the Czech mountains around new year!

Sometimes it's good to have a small drink...

...just because a big drink would be a bit too much!

What a nice Johnny Walker Blue Label magnum!

I liiiiiiike.

Fujitsu started a new billboard campaign here in The Netherlands for their laptops. Check out the poster. It's in Dutch, but I'm sure you'll understand.

"Fujitsu advices Windows Vista Home Premium!"

"New laptop with Windows 7"

"Windows Vista Home Premium"

"With Windows 7 Home Premium you can do this that and the other...."

riiiiight.....

Bye bye, love.
Bye bye, happiness.
Hello, loneliness.
I think I'm a-gonna cry-y.

Bye bye, love.
Bye bye, sweet caress.
Hello, emptiness.
I feel like I could di-ie.
Bye bye, my love, goodby-ye.

And then I said bye bye to my Reigate home for an undetermined long period of time. It's completely empty now. The keys have been handed over to a letting agency to look after it. Bye bye, love. See you much later.

As I start the processes of clearing out my English home, for either rental or sales, because I'm not using it anyway at the moment, I think about the thing that connects the west and the east: nature.

I am aware that it might seem absurd, but as I grapple to understand the emotions that a ripe cornfield or a herd of cows or even a tractor on the skyline provoke in me, I can find no better - or more honest - term than love. (...) If you have ever caught your breath at the natural world, if you have ached to be by a favourite stream or meadow, or grieved at the violation of a forest or copse to make way for an airport or housing estate or bypass, if your heart soars when you see a hawk hovering or a skylark on the wing, if the bark of a fox or scream of an owl stops you in your tracks, if you are mesmerized by a hoar frost or falling snow, if the moan of a high wind or the muttering from a thunder cloud fills you with awe, then you will understand that the term love in relation to rural England is not as ludicrous as it might at first appear. Anyway, I felt at home in Yasnaya Polyana.

This is a quote from Jonathan Dimbleby. English reporter, writing from Ясная Поляна (Yasnaya Polyana), the former home of Leo Tolstoy, in Russia.

In my case, I'd only alter 1 thing in that quote to make it mine:

'Anyway, I feel at home in Eastern Europe.'

For example. Check out this one that was driving through Apeldoorn (NL):

(To the English speakers out here: "Duw an" is basically Dutch for "push car from behind to start" ;) )

Op de KVK website staat een interessante powerpoint presentatie over hoe pinpas betaal automaten, zoals in veel winkels gebruikt, gemodificeerd worden om te skimmen, en hoe je ze kunt herkennen. De moeite waard om even door te nemen, en bij het pinnen op te letten!

Click hier voor het document!