Displaying posts in the Real life category.

Rekeningrijden: red onze privacy!

This post is in Dutch as it concerns Dutch law and politics.

In het bezit van een auto en gesteld op privacy? Lees voor de grap eens de informatie op redonzeprivacy.nl (en als je tijd en zin hebt, de achtergrondinformatie waar zij naar linken). Als je je daarna nog niet geroepen voelt om de petitie aldaar te ondertekenen, dan heb ik serieus met je te doen. Naïviteit is één ding, totaal blind zijn voor de potentiële gevaren van dit alles is iets heel anders.

Rekeningrijden: De overheid weet altijd waar u bent! Red onze privacy!

Kom op mensen, wordt het niet eens tijd dat de overheid gaat stoppen met die eindeloze verzamelwoede van ze? Dat de mogelijkheden tegenwoordig bestaan om alles van iedereen te weten en op te slaan, wil nog niet zeggen dat die ook daadwerkelijk gebruikt moeten worden. Ik kan ook vanavond nog met m’n auto bij de dichtstbijzijnde bank binnenrijden. Was het nochtans niet van plan.

28 Nov 2009
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Google Street View in my home town

This morning, I saw a Google Street View car driving around in my home town Oosterhout (map). I it was a black Ford Focus (if I’m not mistaking), and it had a German license plate from Hamburg (HH). Unfortunately, I was unable to take a photo of it. However, I might encounter it some more in the coming days, since I’m a taxi driver (so driving around a lot), and it’s perfect weather (dry, but not too sunny) for Street View photographing these few days. So I may get another chance.

I knew Google was busy in the Netherlands, they already have Street View for Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Groningen available. And they’re also photographing touristic attractions by bicycle right now. What I didn’t know is that they are actually photographing smaller municipalities. Oosterhout is relatively small, it has just over 50,000 inhabitants.

It’ll probably be a couple of months before the pictures are online, but it’d be nice to be able to see my home with Street View, or show it to others. I may even find myself (or my taxi anyway) in one of those pictures. :P

Update (November 12, 2009)

Apparently, Google hasn’t really done my home town, just the freeways and a couple of local streets. Either that, or they still have to process the photos. In any case, Breda, the nearest larger city, is now extensively covered in Street View. You can use the link above and zoom out a bit to see what’s covered in my neighborhood (drag out the little orange figure above the zoom bar; covered streets get a blue outline).

Update (March 12, 2010)

Google has been busy again. Pretty much whole of the Netherlands is now covered, including my home town. I can now virtually visit my own home. :)

13 Aug 2009
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Internal combustion

After a few years riding around on a scooter, I’m pretty sick of it. Not only because of bad weather, but mostly because time and time again, someone doesn’t see me, or someone sees me coming but doesn’t care, or I don’t know. But I’m tired of being almost run over virtually every day. :(

So, I started looking for a nice small car. I don’t need something big, so I was mainly interested in a 3-doors hatchback. And not too old. My previous car was almost 20 years old, and it looked and behaved like it.

After looking around here and there, I found a nice, blue Peugeot 306. It’s from July 1997, has a 1.6 liter gasoline engine, and has 163,000 km on the clock. It’s equipped with standard options: power windows, power door locks with IR remote, height-adjustable driver seat and steering column, power steering, stuff like that. No a/c though, but I can live with that. The previous owner did not remove his JVC radio/CD/MP3 player, so that’s a nice extra.

So, enough talk, time for some pictures:

A blue Peugeot 306 car

Front

A blue Peugeot 306 car

Side

A blue Peugeot 306 car

Rear

Well, so far (I’ve only driven some 20 km, not counting the test drive) it drives like a charm! It feels quite fast, it’s very responsive to steering, the engine makes enthusiastic noises, and the interior makes no noises at all, not even on bad roads. I’m happy. :)

14 Apr 2009
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Hilarious politics

Although Jan Peter Balkenende first took office as prime minister of the Netherlands in 2002, until today I din’t know the man actually has a sense of humor. At least, I hope that he does.

On multiple occasions now 1, he has said, and I quote: “I want a VOC mentality again.” VOC in this context standing for Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, or Dutch East India Company. By this he means “the will to advance and the will to be the first.” The first in what exactly is not clear to me though.

The VOC, those were the guys that traded for — or simply took, that’s a matter of opinion I guess — spices and other goods in what is now Indonesia. Later they colonized the place. They did not hesitate to use force against the locals if it suited their needs. There are reports of pretty brutal slaughters that took place there.

So that is the mentality that our prime minister so desires? Strange, I was always taught in school that these were activities one should not be proud of. So either Mr. Balkenende must be joking, or he really ought to read his history books again, thoroughly.

Just thought I’d share this with the world. Maybe something for foreign governments to keep in mind the next time they have dealings with him. :P

1. This page is in Dutch, here’s a translation by Google.

26 Jan 2009
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The Mother of All Demos

Just a post to commemorate that 40 years ago today, Douglas Engelbart held The Mother of All Demos (video), introducing concepts such as the computer mouse, hyperlinks and e-mail. Taken for granted today, back in 1968 those were things no one had ever heard of.

Just think, without the mouse, graphical user interfaces probably never would have come off the ground. And what would the Internet be without e-mail and hyperlinks? In my opinion, this counts as one of the pivotal moments in history that made possible the computer as we know it today.

9 Dec 2008
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Elektronisch Patiënten Dossier

This post is in Dutch as it concerns Dutch politics.

Als het goed is heeft ieder huishouden afgelopen zaterdag een brief van minister Ab Klink ontvangen over het Elektronisch Patiënten Dossier (EPD) dat op stapel staat. Ik, en met mij vele anderen, zijn het totaal niet eens met deze gang van zaken. Niet alleen vanwege de gebrekkige privacybescherming (waar kennen we die van?), er kloppen meer dingen niet. De minister claimt dat het EPD tot minder fouten in de zorg zal leiden. Dat is nergens bewezen en die claim is dus op niks gebaseerd. Sterker nog, het tegenovergestelde is waarschijnlijker. Ook is de wet er nog niet eens doorheen, dus de minister is veel te voorbarig. Als je nu geen bezwaar maakt, geef je de minister in feite carte blanche. Daarbij was de brief ongeadresseerd, waardoor die bij de meeste mensen waarschijnlijk allang tussen het oud papier is beland.

Hoe dan ook, ik ga natuurlijk het bezwaarformulier invullen en opsturen, tezamen met een brief op hoge poten aan de minister. Die moet alleen nog worden opgesteld, als ik in een creatieve bui ben. Mijn eerdere idee om dezelfde brief als Henk van de Kamer te sturen was niet zo zinvol. Klink moet juist weten dat meer mensen hem niet snappen.

3 Nov 2008
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I’m an uncle!

Last Monday early in the morning, my sister gave birth to a daughter, making me become uncle for the first time. The child has been given the name Janna, and on birth she weighed 3140 grams and measured 48 centimeters. I’m not exactly an expert in these things, but according to both her mother and her grandmother, she’s a beautiful newborn. I guess that figures. ;)

a picture of my baby nice Janna

Well, it’s a nice child. She doesn’t cry very much (yet), she mostly sleeps. And I can’t say I blame her. What would you do? :P Haven’t held her in my arms, and not planning to either. I like newborns just fine, as long as they’re not mine and I don’t have to hold them. :)

31 Aug 2008
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A little rant on anti-smoke fanatics

Alright, as of today, The Netherlands is the next country where it is no longer allowed to smoke in hotels, bars, restaurants and other places like that. Fine, so we won’t smoke there anymore.

But leave it to these anti-smoke dickheads to find their next thing to wage war on. Now, they want us smokers to stop smoking on sidewalk cafe’s. People, we’re talking about open air here! Where then do we have to go? Where can we finally smoke our damn cigarettes without you fuckers constantly driving us away? It’s not like we’re criminals or something, though we are more and more being treated as such.

Idiots who decide to go driving while totally drunk, those are criminals. Go bug them. But please, let us in peace. You anti-smoke fetishes now have plenty of room to go where there is not a molecule of smoke in the air. And don’t come complaining to us if the air still smells bad. Instead, take the bicycle instead of your car for a change…

I’ll repeat that again: STOP YOUR FUCKING COMPLAINING!!! Don’t you think you’ve won by now?

1 Jul 2008
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Happy New Year

I wish everyone a happy new year. A few days early, but I won’t be at home for the occasion so it will have to do. :)

Try not to harm yourselves or others with fireworks!

30 Dec 2007
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Merry Christmas

I’m not really in the habit of celebrating it myself (heck, this is the first time in years that I’m actually at home for the occasion :P ) but I do wish everyone who reads this a merry Christmas.

I’m taking this opportunity to make a proposal. It seems tradition to kill each other all year long, save with Christmas. I suggest we stop killing each other alltogether from now on. How difficult could it be to accept people who think a little different? Is it really so much to ask to look beyond our own ideals and respect someone else’s?

Also a note to those who apparently live for the sole purpose of being offended by everything that others do or say. I think we all know whom I’m referring to. Someone once said: “The prophet is beyond any insult.” If the prophet himself cannot be insulted anyway, why bother to be insulted in his name? If you ever encounter a cartoon you think is offensive, just remember that. ;)

25 Dec 2007
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