Around the Ardennes
2008-08-04 15:59:00
'back from a weekend visit to the Ardennes, a wonderful area of hills and forests located in eastern Belgium, about an hour south of Maastricht. It's easy to access for a short escape, and has a variety of activity for everyone's tastes. To the north, there is a national nature reserve, the Hautes Fagnes, reminiscent to the moorlands of Wales or Yorkshire. It's covered with walking and biking trai
How crowded is the Netherlands
2008-07-31 11:30:00
Friends often tell me that the Netherlands
is the most densely populated spot in Europe, with 16.4 million people in an area of 16,000 square miles: an average density of over 1000 per square mile (1). Yet it feels spacious to Americans: the drive from Utrecht to Arnhem consists of fields and forests, punctuated by occasional low-rise villages. Even approaching the Arnhem city center, there is li
The end of the scientific method
2008-07-30 08:53:00
Wired Magazine has published a provocative article in this month's issue, The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method Obsolete. The author, Chris Anderson (who also wrote The Long Tail), argues that the growth of massive databases and faster computing has enabled conclusions to be derived from statistical analyses whose quality rivals the traditional scientific method
of "hypoth
Updating progress
2008-07-29 10:18:00
I think that the occasional rain evaporates as steam when it reaches the ground, enhancing the humidity rather than drawing moisture from the air. Under the circumstances, it's hard to get a lot of drive behind any task except soaking in a pool or sitting in the shade. Nonetheless, life moves on... The first-phase job hunt is winding up: I think that I've talked to most of the people
Read more: progress
Men are (?) boring
2008-07-28 08:03:00
You never listen!You just don't hear what I'm saying!Why don't we ever talk?Despite being literate, open, engaging, and witty, I will admit that (even) I (gasp!) get these questions from time to time.And they now merit better discussion, following Sabine Durrant's article Are Men Boring? in the summer issue of Intelligent Life. She maintains that men just don't say anything in social settings, an
Read more: boring
When is a sport not a sport?
2008-07-27 06:43:00
I was watching the Olympic trials on BBC yesterday; the track and field events are always remarkable. The way the hurdlers flow over the jumps without breaking stride, or the pole vaulters know just how to bend and when to push to arc over the bar, demonstrates the years of practice and dedication behind the competition.There are over 400 events in the Olympics, listed on the IOC website. Most a
Read more: sport
Dutch electrical systems
2008-07-26 11:23:00
The lights went out at midday. I didn't notice, still hammering at the data filling my spreadsheet. With the scientists headed for 'garden leave' around the first of August, our paper won't get done if the preprocessing isn't finished. It was only when I noticed the battery icon, curiously displayed at the lower right, that I stretched and broke to see what was going on. Cord still plugged i
Read more: Dutch
, electrical
Back in the NL
2008-08-23 16:02:00
'arrived back in the Netherlands Thursday morning, and have been burning the candle at both ends since. There have been a series of farewell parties filling days since I got back, and I finally collapsed into bed last night to sleep straight through to noon today. Very uncharacteristic; very telling. The staff farewell get-together was worth returning early for. The eight of us
Crossing Eastern Washington
2008-08-21 08:55:00
I've commented before about the contrast in distance, density, and landscapes between the Netherlands and the US. Driving border-to-border yesterday really brought it home for me, so I wanted to share a few pictures (starting with a Washington
Windmill, so the Dutch feel at home...) Washington State is in the extreme NW corner of the United States, nestled against the Pacific and Canada.&#
Read more: Crossing
, Eastern
The way things are in Washtucna
2008-08-19 11:02:00
I checked out of the Moscow hotel early, meeting my daughter at 6:30 to swap keys so that she could go to sorority rush. Hopefully the last bits could be solved by noon, but the problems started immediately. Software conflicts kept her computer off the college network, XP SP3 broke the Windows Installer, a cable was broken where her rabbits had chewed through. The temperature rose 20 deg F each
Read more: things
Moving the daughter to college
2008-08-17 23:08:00
Our day began at 4 am, when a stray thunderstorm wandered north of Seattle and the flash and crash tumbled both of us out of bed. No arguing with nature's will: we packed all of the bags and boxes into the van and hit the road. It's a strange feeling, she's lived her whole life in this same house and now she's not. We talked about school and the future as the sun rose over the mo
Read more: Moving
Saturday morning over the Cascade mountains
2008-08-16 12:50:00
It's a flawless morning in the Pacific Northwest. The plane flew in over the Cascade mountains
, a young volcanic range to the east of the city. It's always a fantastic view with the morning mist and the blue skies. I'm driving through them tomorrow morning and will post some ground-level photos as well.
Read more: Saturday
US and Dutch traffic contrasts
2008-08-16 06:53:00
The Corporate offices are scattered around a number of campus sites, and even though I cluster the meetings, it still ends up being a lot of driving. I allow fifteen minutes to get back and forth, the it takes five to get to the car, ten to drive, five to get from the car. The driving process is, as a result, stressed. I'm used to Dutch
driving now, so I really notice the differences
Read more: traffic
Bits and bobs before the sun rises
2008-08-14 06:49:00
I'm up early this morning; it's only about 3:30 here in the room outside Minneapolis. Normally I take a couple of Melatonin tabs a half hour before bed and it helps me to sleep through the first couple of nights. Unfortunately, I didn't pack it along this time, so I'm going to have to rotate things more slowly this trip. Nonetheless, it's quiet outside (the thunderstorms pass t
The Conversation Prism
2008-08-12 18:58:00
I'm on the road for a week: four days in Minneapolis, then four in Seattle - Pullman. The Minneapolis part is to settle an interim position for the next eight months in Europe and to lay groundwork for options after that, while the Seattle visit is to move my daughter to college. The Dutch women continue a strong showing in the Olympic keelboat competition: after six races in the Yngli
Read more: Conversation
, Prism
I hate job hunting (part 2)
2008-08-10 08:05:00
I got this gem (and a smile) from a potential employer this morning: It’s the best rejection letter I've ever had (and one of the most final).I feel both proud and deeply rejected :)We refer to your job application of August 5th 2008 and thank you for your interest in the above position.We regret to inform you that we cannot take your application into consideration for this post as your qualific
Read more: hunting
Dutch sailing skills
2008-08-09 13:55:00
I was watching the women's sailing competition today from the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, located on the Yellow Sea about 500 km SE of Beijing. The Sailing Center is built on an old shipyard of the port, close to the business center of the city, and the events take place in Fushan Bay against the backdrop of the skyscrapers. The women race in 3-person teams in a standardized Yngling ke
Read more: Dutch
Autumn in the air, and in the pocket (2)
2008-09-09 15:31:00
Last essay, I reflected on the increase in household expenses, reflected in the Consumer Price Index. I'd like to touch on the income side today. For most people income has not kept pace with expenses. Wage increases for most people I talk with have averaged just over 3% this year. Investment income, whether from bank accounts, CDs, or bonds, has been less than 4%. Stock
Read more: Autumn
Autumn in the air, and in the pocket
2008-09-07 09:54:00
The winds rose, the clouds lowered, and the cold rain arrived this weekend. No doubt: there's autumn in the air. Signs are everywhere, contrasting yellow in the green trees, puddles of leaves in the gutter.The economic news seems to be drifting towards winter as well. True, oil prices are down and the dollar is up, but markets are still sagging and friends sound worried. Even setting gas and f
Read more: Autumn
Expat advice and surveys
2008-09-06 14:41:00
James at American in Amsterdam posted some useful reference information this week: I took his advice to pick up some breakdown insurance with ANWB. I've always been a member of the AAA, a similar service in the US, and have gotten great value for the membership over the years. The AAA provides road service, maps and trip books, and bail bond services (better than dropping off my dri
Read more: Expat
, surveys
Improved methods for innovating
2008-09-05 12:55:00
A large-company scientist, buried within the research organization, discovers a customer need: Stroke patients don't get to the hospital fast enough for treatment to be effective. She finds a novel technical solution: an infrared sensor that measures brain oxygen saturation. She works with university partners to collect data and prove that ischemic brain regions can be detected non-invasively
'sorry to be scarce....
2008-09-03 15:11:00
I've been catching up with lots of life events the past few days, on the road Monday and Tuesday, locked in a writer's garret all day today. I've been on a quest to answer some questions about long-term assignments in the Netherlands. It turns out that there is a former ex-pat (5 years, circa 1995, when corporate didn't check so closely about who was where doing what) who is about to retire, 10
Read more: sorry
What makes 'Mooie Dorpen'
2008-08-31 05:00:00
When I pitch out into the Dutch countryside, I often take along my copy of 52 Mooie Dorpen, a guide to scenic villages throughout the Netherlands. Yesterday, I visited Spakenburg and Baarn, two listed towns near the Emmeer waterway north of Amersfoort. However, the visit was disappointing: both are modern towns, filled with the low brick shops and two-tiered apartment complexes typica
Read more: makes
Expatriate safety nets
2008-08-30 05:36:00
"Touch of Dutch" wrote a good essay last week about the need for expatriates to have a sensible contingency plan for taking care of themselves if their domestic situation goes bad. I think that its a good time to echo her sentiments.I was faced with the potential loss of my expatriate contract a few months ago, and made a list of the things that would need to be replaced if my support were sudden
"I need to get better."
2008-08-29 14:27:00
I watched Barak Obama's acceptance speech last night (as I'll watch John McCain's in full next week). It was well written, well delivered, hit most of the issues that I align with him on. I wish that something more had been said about restoring civil liberties, banning torture, and closing Guantanamo ( a comment echoed by Slate). I thought some of the promises for Iraq, health insurance, and t
Read more: better
Nieuwersluis and Kasteel Sypesteyn
2008-08-27 06:37:00
Over dinner last night, I was asked which region of the Netherlands was my favorite. The villages around the Vechtplassen hold a special charm for me, with picturesque villages and lakes filled with holiday boats, and winding roads along tree-shaded rivers. I'm starting a two-day round of meetings in Amsterdam this afternoon, so I took advantage of the time to make a leisurely circuit through the
Catching up with life and the future
2008-08-25 11:21:00
It's been three months since the announcement that our corporate parent would move responsibility for our product back to the US, closing the facility here and releasing the 200 Dutch folks in our division. It's been a difficult period: coming to terms with the changes, finalizing the Social Plan, transferring the programs, closing the building. I've written occasionally in this blog about the pr
Network, neighborhood, community
2008-10-03 07:33:00
A brief pre-note: I’ve finally finished getting pictures selected, edited, and posted from the conferences and travels in Italy the past few weeks. I won’t publish too many here, but the albums are available on my Flickr site. --------------------- I wanted to take a bit of time today to reflect some thoughts about the importance of communities of friends and colleagues. I had a chance
Read more: community
The water folk and the mountain people
2008-10-02 06:37:00
I know that I’m on delicate ground today, but I’d like to spend a few paragraphs contrasting the Dutch and the Swiss. I’ve lived in both countries, in Switzerland when I was 17 and in the Netherlands today, and I have high regard for both cultures. They have always seemed to me to have lots in common, and so I’ve been surprised to have each warn me away from residing with the o
Read more: water
, people
Shoveling out the backlog (and the financial industry)
2008-09-30 09:23:00
‘back in town, but a bit scarce while I collate tasks that have accumulated in my absence and try to address the most pressing ones. It was a great trip, but there’s always the return to earth when it’s over. The weather is deteriorating as fall moves in. Not a good thing: I’ve got to start plans to move to Maastricht and rain, wind, and cold just make that more difficult.
Read more: industry
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