Archive for March, 2007
Green line
Monday, March 19th, 2007Tipical Dutch… Since next year we have a new marker on the road. The green line. Never heard of it, never seen it jet. No campaign to let people know what the meaning of this new phenomenon is or what they are expected to do. Can you believe that. I would not have known only becouse I was listening to a radio
program where they expressed also this feeling of unbelieve in the authorities who does these things without letting the people know.
Anyways, it means that you may not drive faster than 100 km p/h.
A shame, I hoped it would mean that these roads are the most beautifull in the country.
Bad weather
Sunday, March 18th, 2007Today the weather is awfull. Raining, cold. And the forecast for the rest of the week is not much better.
All the more reason to go to Antigua…
Route tracker
Sunday, March 18th, 2007I have this little gadget programme on my PDA. It’s called NoniGPSplot and it communicates with an bluetooth GPS. At the end it shows the route you take on GoogleEarth.
Like this. This was in Portugal. First Picture shows us, the jellow line, sailing from PortiMao to Sives. The second is the route we walked in Silves.
I’m not very familiar with the program jet (it has a French manual) but finally I managed at least this. I’ll try to improve when in Antigua next month. That will be fun, to see the tracks we sailed at the races.
I’m sorry, I just saw that I wrote about this subject also on februari 23rd. So what is new, and I still don’t know this programme very well, do I.
Cricket
Saturday, March 17th, 2007Dutch newspapers: amateurs play against pros in the Caribbean… and loose alomst the best ever.
WK cricket: Nederlandse amateurs tussen profsvrijdag 16 maart 2007 12:53Het Nederlandse cricketteam begint vandaag aan het WK cricket. Nederland is geen serieuze kandidaat voor de eindoverwinning, en dient vooral als opvulling voor het 48 dagen durende toernooi.Nederland doet mee aan het WK cricketEen speler van het Australische team in duel met zijn Indiase tegenstanderVoor het WK op het eiland St. Kitts is het Nederlandse team ingedeeld in een poule met Australië, de titelverdediger, en Zuid-Afrika, nummer één van de wereldranglijst. Aan een overwinning op het overgebleven land in de poule, Schotland, hebben de Nederlanders niet genoeg om de volgende ronde te halen. ‘Het is zeker géén reisje van een speeltuinvereniging’, benadrukt Maarten Westermann, directeur van de Nederlandse cricketbond KNCB in Trouw. Maar met enig realiteitsbesef zegt hij: ‘De jongens hebben keihard getraind. Het zijn topsporters, maar wel amateurs.’GoedbetaaldHet WK draait om ‘testmatches’, meerdaagse wedstrijden tussen de toplanden. Tot de crickettop behoren alleen landen die in het verleden onder Britse invloed stonden. In landen als Australië, Pakistan, Indië en Zuid-Afrika is cricket immens populair en zijn de spelers goedbetaalde professionals. Om het WK een meer diverse, wereldwijde uitstraling te geven, heeft de internationale cricketfederatie ICC voor dit toernooi acht ‘ontwikkelingslanden’ aangewezen.
Elsevier.nl – Laatste 24 uur – WK cricket: Nederlandse amateurs tussen profs
En het resultaat:
Nederland verliest fors op WK cricket(Novum) – Het Nederlandse
cricketteam is op het wereldkampioenschap in Brits West-Indië tegen een
forse nederlaag aangelopen. Zuid-Afrika, dat eerste staat op de
wereldranglijst, won met 221 runs verschil van Oranje: 353-132. Het was
het op twee na grootste verlies op een WK in de geschiedenis. Zondag
speelt Nederland tegen wereldkampioen Australië.Het toernooi vindt
plaats in acht landen: Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago,
Grenada, Guyana, Antigua & Barbuda, St. Lucia en St. Kitts en
Nevis. Nederland speelt op het eiland St. Kitts en is naast Zuid-Afrika
en Australië met Schotland ingedeeld in groep A. Nederland doet voor de
derde keer mee aan een WK. Eerder was Oranje van de partij in 1996 en
2003.Het WK cricket duurt tot en met 28 april.
Trouw, Laatste nieuws (Novum/ANP)| novum_laatstenieuws – Nederland verliest fors op WK cricket
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Apple stof
Friday, March 16th, 2007This title is Dutch, for ‘stof’ means dust and that is what this is all about, but is looks also very much like the word stuff of which this is also about.
I have this MacBook with which I’m writing all of this, since oktober last year. Not to old is it? So when I discoverd more and more dead pixels on my screen I went back to the store the other day with my laptop. There they looked at it and told me it wasn’t dead pixels at all but dust ore something like that on my screen. And he went with his nails over the screen. Which gave me the creeps becouse I always am very carefully not to touch it and he even scratched it!
And then he took some cleaning fluid, brushed it on the screen and whiped it. And I must say… perfectly clean. So I bought this fluid at once. iClean it is called. What else.
And since I was there anyway, I also bought me a standard for the MacBook and a keyboard with wire and a mouse without. Might be better for my RSI. And it is beatifull stuff. Aspecially the mouse is a beauty.
Flight change
Friday, March 16th, 2007When I changed my flight from the 12th of april to the 23rd of march they told me that everything would be exactly the same, only the date was differerent. In fact I wouldn’t even need another comfirmation.
So when that confirmation did come next week I didn’t look at it. Until yesterday. Then I found out that my flight from Amsterdam to Gathwick was not planned at 7am, as requierd, but at 9.30am. That seems more convenient but the risk it far to great for there is only 50 minutes in between flights in London.
Last time I had this flight in december my luggage did not arrive until the next day. If there is a small delay I will miss the flight to Antigua or they wouldn’t even let me go to London for when the plane leaves Amsterdam to late they know for sure I’m gonna miss the flight. Paul had that last year. Which was nice for my girlfriend and me becouse he did sail another day with us on my boat back home. But for him…
So I had this interresting conversation with BA. They wanted me to pay for this change to the early flight. I did not think so!
Finally we came to an agreement. They changed the flight to 7am and I am not paying anything. I can live with that
taxes
Friday, March 16th, 2007The last days i have been busy with preparing for my taxreturn, incometax and VAT. The VAT has to be done right when I’m back from Antigua, before the first of April. The income tax can wait but I’d rather have it done. Boring stuf though!
I was never very fond of doing my administration but as long as I could send invoices, I could see the fun of it. Now that I can’t even do that… boring.
But on the other hand, not beeing able to send invoices means beeing able to go to Antigua isn’t it? Only one week and then I will be off.
mailproblems
Tuesday, March 13th, 2007As of from yesterday afternoon I could not sent e-mail. Now I know what the solution is, it was a very simple problem (which problems always are, isn’t it?).
But it took me hours and hours talking to several helpdeskpeople yesterday and today. They all want to know the problem, they al have a stroke when they find out I have a mac (which is not te problem at all), they all finally don’t know the solution so they say it is on my side. Once I was even send to the Windows helpdesk.
But I could recieve mail, could internet, could phone (since I have an all in one connection also an interesting fact) only could not send mail.
Finally I asked my very helpful digital women-on-the-web-netwerk for help and one of the girls said; it looks like you are connected with another network then your own. Isn’t your wireless computer by accident connnected with one of the neigbours’?
And that is was!
Not one of the helpdesks could think of that and it’s there job. OK, my frustration is stil showing, I know, sorry. They can’t help it, they have only the very simple information to give the screen is showing them. And they are not selected by nobelprice winning kwalities.
And I’m glad there is no problem anymore al last.
France
Saturday, March 10th, 2007It is very decadent, i know but this time I went to France. Jill has a very nice house in Bion which is only 8 hours drive. Took time for several stops on my way.
We drove around on Friday. To St Malo. Very nice ancient town within walls. Turned out that I had been there before but that is a whole different story.
Here is a picture of me on that wall.
And the weather was so good. We sat in the sun for a cappuchino and an Earl Greche tea. Did not even have te wear gloves
On my way back I passed the Pond de Normandie. Gorgeous, isn’t it?