Ok, Amsterdam was getting a tad tiresome, so we upped sticks and offed to The Hague. Saw the International Justice building, where a lone guy was standing outside protesting for the release of some guy called Gun Falan or something. I remember reading about him, but I really can’t be bothered bringing up google now to find out the whole story just so I can put it here and seem knowledgable. Saw the prison where Nobel Peace Prize candidate Mr Milosovic was holed up. Also hit the North Sea, great beaches (maybe you’ll see the pics someday) with topless sunbathers all candidates for Miss Blackpool atleast. Back in the Dam managed to fit in some canal trips before settling down at a posh Italian place where I wasn’t supposed to put my elbows on the table, and you get huge plates with no food. But I did love the Ravioli ricotta i spinaci. With butter and sage sauce. Yummax!
(addendum)
it’s Falun Gong, a religious movement in PRC that’s being persecuted by the govt. Surprise me!

There’s only one Rijk’s Museum, and it was host to me! A warm sunny day ’twas today, so I slapped a ton of sunblock on my visage and headed off to spend the day indoors amongst crowds of strangers and smelling of Nivea 45 xg or summat. Unlike yesterday when I was lain on the roof of the NEMO building until cooked to a Naz Thermidor. Saw Rembrandt, Vermeer, Witte, amongst others. They said hi Delft plates and plaques, magnificant doll houses etc. A great big model of a Dutch galleon ( Oh, and they battered the British at sea, apparently) Busy day for Mr. Kodak Easy Share C340. I believe a new talent is going to burst onto the Manchester scene soon, with techniques honed in Amsterdam by studying the Dutch Masters. I’ve heard of United’s thrashing of Newcastle, and England’s humiliation of Ponting’s tourists.

I’ve been hearing reports over here about the severe threats posed by Asian birds. Apparently Asian Birds flew. So what, weren’t they flying before?
-Confused

It’s flippin’ four o’clock here, can’t sleep at all. The flight was great, Amsterdam’s as great as ever. Early start tomorrow, cycling tour and whatnot. There’s a special display of Van Gogh’s sketches in the VG Museum. I’m nicking someone’s wireless internet connection Back to pollinating blogs, and listening to music online. Oh, and I had spring chicken in Tarragon sauce (I’d never heard of tarragon before!) and it was flippin’ mind-blowing! And they had a real buttery taters mash with veggies in it. And I et it all! And I’m hungry now. The waitress brought us beer in little 250 ml glasses, so we (I) asked for bigger ones, and she said “Do you want pint glasses?” So the English have been here as well! We’re at the Arena hotel, great place! Free Internet and all Should get some shut-eye.

Ioannis sent me G ‘n’ R’s (so many apostophes!) November Rain. Hadn’t heard it in a while. Still a great guitar song! Molto grazie.

“Would we see ourselves as fallen angels rather than upright apes?”
New Scientist, of which you all know I’m a big fan, has a few articles compiled under “What if?” If Darwin didn’t go on that trip on The Beagle, if Einstein’s work wasn’t published, etc. Wonderful stuff, although a few hints of tech determinism creep in here and there.

Yes, swimming alright! It’s pouring down in Manchester, so I guess we’ll all just get in our shorts and suits and stand outside! Also muscle ache is catching up with some of my WEAKER, WIMPIER comrades! I rushed home yesterday in order to fix myself a meal before settling down to watch Liverpool play CSKA Sofia. The scousers had a 3-1 lead from the first leg in Bulgaria, so they didn’t have to play much. And you bet they didn’t play much! BOOOORIIING! Long balls everywhere, strikers absolutley useless (Commentator goes “Morientes looks like he’s going to explode some time” – To which I say “Yes, but not in this life mate”) Riise looked sharp as usual, but he always has. Garcia on in half-time made a difference, but the fact remains that without Gerrard Liverpool is hopeless. Then I watched a cracker of a film. Described as a horror comedy, ‘Lake Placid’ was neither. A 30+ foot crocodile, 150 years old, living in a lake in Maine. How does it get there, an observant reader might ask. It swam the sea from “another continent”! Now the only salt-water croc I know of is the Australian mugger. So I think it must’ve flown Qantas. Oh, and the lakes in Maine do FREEZE in winter! Here’s a bunch of ‘facts’ I learnt about crocs from this informative movie.

‘Fact 1′ – Crocodiles can’t see very well underwater. ‘Scientific explanation’ of ‘fact’ – They have a nictating membrane that covers the eye. I says – So all those hours watching Discovery where crocs are gobbling up fish willy-nilly underwater were staged? Attenborough’s nasty secret?

‘Fact 2′ – If a croc’s coming at you, dive underwater. ‘Scientific explanation’ of ‘fact’ – Look at ‘Fact 1′. I says – That might be the last thing you’ll ever do then, my friend.

What crap acting as well! Jeeeez! The ingredients used were standard fare.
Actor 1 – Pretty blonde, clever, not afraid of trying although she’s a girl
Actor 2 – Outdoor, woodsy man, “Oh what the heck, let’s DO it!”
Actor 3 – Eccentric rich ‘specialist’ scientist who explains things (like croc behaviour) to everyone (and to us stupid audience)
Actor 4 – Fat sheriff (always value for money)
Actor 5, 6, 7 – To get eaten

As for the plot. Opening scene, people out unaware, sudden tragedy, clue = lots of thrashing in the water. Then progressively we see more and more of the croc monster, (presumably the Special Effects people are getting steadily better) until a final showdown. Interspersed with a few private moments between all the ‘action’ so we can get to know the ‘characters’ better.

Today was the first day in a loooong string of days that I woke up to with a jump. That was because we (John, Rayk, Tracy und I) were playing squash at 11. Great way to start the day. I sincerely believe that this has given me a comparably superior attitude towards problem solving and dissertation writing. Swimming tomorrow!!!!

Today’s treat for you my little ones, is Sinosplice, a page of interesting links to blogs written by foreigners in China, Chinese people in China, and a few Chinese living abroad. As you might have guessed by now, the common theme is China I’ll be reviewing a few of the interesting ones soon, but I can already see quite a few really special ones. Some of the blogs have been blocked in China (they’re the ones with the beige background instead of white).

So there’re these scientist folks, right. And they like, wanna prove that the earth is not heating up, like. (Like some Tobacco-funded ‘research groups’ saying smoking doesn’t kill, like). So they made mistakes, like we knew they would, like. That’s the error of circularity. Lesson ended.

I was watching QI on the BeeB yesterday and this interesting fact came up:- Aparently, in the whole history of our world, only once ever have two democracies declared war upon each other. Can you name the two democracies though?? Watch this space for the answer (or alternatively you could send some money to my Education Fund, the arrival of which I will celebrate, which in turn will loosen my tongue, and I’ll let slip the answer to you).

Now I’ve heard it all!! Apparently a guy in Japan was arrested because he played a virtual game with software bots instead of real human beings, which therefore made him unbeatable. He used his bots to mug other players of their virtual possessions, which he then sold to other players for real money!! A lot of games allow you to make real money if you play well, opening up the way for crime, because where there is money, there are people looking for an easy buck. More info on New Scientist here.

Just received an email from PK confirming what some of us were dreading. There were some rumours around, though nobody was sure what had happened. I am shocked. We are going to get flowers + card by 12 am tomorrow.

I just realised that I’ll be losing another four days in Amsterdam!! The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley! I thought I’d be cruising. Where’s everybody? We’re supposed to be working in K2 together! HELP!

The ‘settlers’ are to move out of Gaza soon, let’s hope everything goes smoothly. Seems that there could be a genuine step forward in our lifetimes.

We were at Jessy’s pad last night celebrating (?) the return of German Boy. Wanjia turns up with the most attractive partner and star of the night. This dog called Dim Sum (or Chow Mein, depending on your mood) was simply the friendliest dog in the world. We got some great photos on Antonia’s camera, which she’s gonna put up any moment now on her weblog.

My sas got stung by a wasp while meddling with them as part of her research into animal behaviour. I says that’s the first of many! She got her first salary, and she’s getting her new 5-tom Premier drum kit delivered from Singapore. Here’s to success! Atleast someone in the family’s gonna amount to something
-Much later (circa 01:00)- Yawn! tired, I think I’ll go home and hit the pillow!

I watched this movie again on the idiot box yesterday. I loved it the first time around, but this time it only depressed me seeing as how this Jackal man (Bruce Willis) could plan such a meticulous operation, and I couldn’t even write my bloody dissertation. I’ve always thought that I could really hack it as a spy or a top-level assassin, (of course, it wouldn’t be by choice, but circumstances + the kidnapping of a beloved one or some similar pressure would relieve me of my high moral inhibitions and force me to adopt stringent measures in best Hollywood tradition ) but I guess this movie is conclusive evidence that I can’t

There was a young schizophrenic called Struther,
Who, when told of the death of his brother,
Said “It’s true, this is sad
But it isn’t too bad
Atleast I still have each other”

I have every empathy for the anglers who sit in a pond all day long, trying out different bait and lures in order to get a single measly fish. That’s how I feel writing all these blogs with no comments on them except the one I force out of people sitting close by. (Like a fisherman returning home with the only fish in his basket being the one he bought at the supermarket). Perhaps I should choose another patch of water, or cast my net wider. OR USE DYNAMITE TO BLOW THE DAMN FISH OUT OF THE WATER!!

I was browsing through some Dilbert comic strips rather than write my dissertation, and I came across this strip with a Dogbert’s definition of Karma:-

I believe in Karma. That means I can do bad things to people all day long and I assume they deserve it.

Students of any Management Science will be well aware of the truths in Dilbert’s apparently comic world. Quite naturally, I thought of Dilbert while nicking pictures from despair.com

A rich woman was reaching the age of 50, and decided to finally take a break from her hectic life running her businesses and get married. However, she had one firm stipulation; the man she would marry must not have had sex with a woman before. Out went her minions in search of such a suitor. The scoured the continent, then looked further afield, taking out advertisements in newspapers in a hundered different languages, running spots on television channels, etc. Finally reaching Australia, they found one such man who had lived his life in the outback and had never so much as laid eyes upon a woman.
The rich woman asks him to confirm that he had never slept with a woman, and then agrees to go ahead and get married to him. On the wedding night, she goes to the bathroom to prepare herself and then enters the bridal chamber, only to find her brand-new husband standing naked in the middle of the room with all the furniture piled up in a corner. Taken aback, she demands an explanation for his behaviour. He says, “Well, I’ve never had sex with a woman before, but if it’s anything like sex with a kangaroo, I’m going to need all the room I can get”

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.
-Bob Dylan

Full lyrics here

There was a good friend of my sister’s, way back when I used to drive my first car (circa 1994), who lived close by and shared a common interest with us of books, chaat (an Indian savoury dish) and Iron Maiden. She was also my sister’s classmate for a while, and they used to go to college on my sas’ grossly under-powered moped, which was the butt of many a joke. Many years later (smartly bringing this narrative back to the present day), I discovered via Yas that she was in America, so I sent her an email. Unfortunately I stored her email address under the nickname that we used to call her by at the time, which wasn’t flattering, although by no means was it meant to be offensive but rather endearing. Guess what happens next. Yes, through some interweb thingy faux pas she discovers this and, to put it mildly, is not amused. Of course, nothing one does can assuage her feelings now, so what does one do?

I saw this French film t’other day. Basically there’s this forty-something called Angele who works with two other younger girls in a beauty salon where everyone is so pretentious and superficial. Angele has troubles of the heart (surprise!) and finds it difficult to commit to a man that her girlfriend would jump at, because (in a French accent please) “Zere eez no such theeng as Lurve. One person always gets hurt”. It ends with snow, them in a clinch, she wearing a ball-gown of Cinderella proportions (which he presented her, because what man would be desirable if he wasn’t financially secure. Oh, and of course, he’s a sculptor. Don’t they have decent jobs in France, or is everybody un pain-in-the-effing artiste?) and sparkles raining down on them from above where his ex-girlfriend has just shot out the shop’s neon sign. Awwww, bless!

I see the discovery of a tenth planet, temporarily called 2003 UB313, has gone remarkably unremarked upon. It is 97 times further from the Sun than Earth, bigger than Pluto, and what would you like to call it?
New Scientist also tells us that the risk of schizophrenia more than doubles in individuals who suffered famine in childhood. On a lighter note, the data was gathered from the “Wuhu” region of China. Maybe it’s not a coincidence.

This guy wrote an open letter to the Kansas Education Board, saying that if they wanted to promote the theory of an ‘Intelligent Being’ (God) over Evolutionism, they have to remember that there are many ‘Intelligent being’ theories. This letter is great!! And go to the site, the illustrations are even better.

I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.

Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him.

It is for this reason that I’m writing you today, to formally request that this alternative theory be taught in your schools, along with the other two theories. In fact, I will go so far as to say, if you do not agree to do this, we will be forced to proceed with legal action. I’m sure you see where we are coming from. If the Intelligent Design theory is not based on faith, but instead another scientific theory, as is claimed, then you must also allow our theory to be taught, as it is also based on science, not on faith.

….

I’m sure you now realize how important it is that your students are taught this alternate theory. It is absolutely imperative that they realize that observable evidence is at the discretion of a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Furthermore, it is disrespectful to teach our beliefs without wearing His chosen outfit, which of course is full pirate regalia. I cannot stress the importance of this, and unfortunately cannot describe in detail why this must be done as I fear this letter is already becoming too long. The concise explanation is that He becomes angry if we don’t.

….

In conclusion, thank you for taking the time to hear our views and beliefs. I hope I was able to convey the importance of teaching this theory to your students. We will of course be able to train the teachers in this alternate theory. I am eagerly awaiting your response, and hope dearly that no legal action will need to be taken. I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence.

Sincerely Yours,

Bobby Henderson, concerned citizen.

P.S. I have included an artistic drawing of Him creating a mountain, trees, and a midget. Remember, we are all His creatures.

I particularly love the artisitic drawing.