Archive for May, 2011

Cross fingers for my driver’s license

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011

Today I sent in a formal request to the police asking for a reduction of the 4 month period that my driver’s license is taken, which lasts until July 9.

I really hope they are nice to me and take one month from the penalty…since I won’t be in Norway anyway the last month of those 4 months, and the right to drive a car was taken specifically for Norway, they should, right?? πŸ˜‰

Cross fingers…being allowed to drive after June 9 will have a BIG influence on the summer holiday, and Pohoda!

Charge your phone by yelling into it?!?

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

TG Daily: “As if it weren’t irritating enough to have to listen to people on their mobile phones, a South Korean team has just given people an excuse to yell into them even more loudly. Dr Sang-Woo Kim, of Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, has devised a technology that allows phones to be charged simply by talking to them – and the louder the noise, the more quickly the phone will charge…Kim says the technology could also be used on a larger scale through the installation of sound-absorbing walls alongside major roads. These could not only generate electricity, but would have the added advantage of reducing noise levels.”

It is a nice idea, but honestly, I believe this to be a hoax or at least far-fetched…it requiresΒ  quite some groundbreaking research to increase the efficiency of the ‘charger’ to a more usable level.

Then again, what if this technology is used in environments with loud natural noise, such as deep underground, specific wind-catchers, ocean wave breakers…who knows, it could become the ‘unlimited’ energy source of the future!!

Airplay turns the AppleTV into YOUR personal TV

Monday, May 9th, 2011

Apple’s AirPlay is slowly unleashing its true potential now that more and more iOS Apps support the protocol.

AirPlay enables you to stream media directly from your ‘iDevice‘ (iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad) to your AppleTV or AirPort Express which is connected to your audio system and/or TV. The first Apps supporting the protocol were some ‘native’ Apps such as Photos, iPod and YouTube, but more and more 3rd party Apps start to support AirPlay as you can see in this list.

It is already great to play music on your iPhone and listen to it in any room where you have an AirPlay enabled device available; I have an AirPort Express in the kitchen and the AppleTV in the living room.

The bigger potential for AirPlay however is that you can play video straight from your iDevice to your big-screen TV with an Apple TV attached. It will give you to possibility to create your personal TV experience: every App on your iDevice will be a TV channel, available whenever YOU want, with content that YOU choose!!

QOTD May 8 2011

Sunday, May 8th, 2011

John Updike: “We are most alive when we’re in love.”

Beach!!

Saturday, May 7th, 2011

The sun is shining, it’s 25C+…I am ON da beach! (drinking Polish beer πŸ˜‰ )

Up in the sky in a Hot Air Balloon

Friday, May 6th, 2011

My Karma call from last Monday worked: we went up in the sky in a Hot Air Balloon today, yay!!! Absolute a FANTASTIC experience!!
They say that pictures say more than a thousand words, but this is something you have to experience for yourself…

And…the ride gave me the title ‘Baron from Utrecht to Nieuwkoop’, hehe I’m royal! πŸ˜‰

Liberation Day

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

A lot happening on this Liberation Day in The Netherlands:

As every year my dad has Birthday today, 66 years young and still going strong…CONGRATS! Life and death came together as it was the funeral of Tjerk’s dad this afternoon; strength and love to him and his family.

One of the reasons to be in NL this week was the transfer of our (ex-)house. Today we put all signatures are on paper, which made it official and final; the dutch house is really SOLD!

Haha, that left us without a house, so no place to stay…uhh, we went to the north of NL, to a farm close to Groningen, to have a ‘Night in the Hay‘… πŸ˜‰ it was Jaap & Sonja’s gift for our Ode to Love, super romantic!

Swedish Chef

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

I rediscovered the Swedish Chef from The Muppet Show during last Friday’s ‘KoninginneNach’ afterparty (uhh, it was actually early morning Queensday / Koninginnedag πŸ˜‰ ).

The number of clips are endless and it is hard to stop watching when you start (especially after drinking ‘some’ beer or wine πŸ˜‰ ).

Below two clips to get you into the mood…hehe, let me know what *your* favorite clip is!

Spaghetti

Chocolate Moose

 

PS. just over 2000 ‘Likes’ of the Swedish Chef Facebook page is of course way too low! πŸ˜‰

 

QOTD May 3 2011

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011
Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata: “There’s something amazing about the passion of youth and its power to sustain. If there’s a more powerful energy source, I don’t know about it.”

Hot air ballooning…guess what?

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

As mentioned last Friday (aka ‘windy’ Friday), we would have a new attempt today to continue the hot air ballooning never ending story…well, today will go down in history as ‘windy’ Monday…in other words; no hot air ballooning! πŸ™

Next chapter in this saga will be written coming Friday (which I will call ‘hot air ballooning’ Friday from now on for more karma! πŸ˜‰ )

40th Wedding Anniversary

Sunday, May 1st, 2011

My parents celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary today; the official ‘Ruby‘ day is May 19, but nevertheless: CONGRATULATIONS!!

It is a very sunny day and everyone is happy…let’s have a great party!!