Another rotting corpse, more cheese and a bigger fish!

A few weeks ago i blogged about my visit to the nationial botanical garden to visit a large and stinky flower, we were too late but hurray hurray, there's another one coming out!!

The progress can be followed here!

This is what the website shows right now:


Maybe this time we'll be lucky and be on time to actually smell the flower!
(lucky ? well maybe not lucky but it will definitely leave an impression :-))

Nothing interesting ever happens in Antwerp ...

...untill today!!

A sperm whale (Physeter catodon) was pulled ashore on Antwerp's beach (Sint-Anna).



Of course me and my dad went to have look!


Here's the series of picture's i took.

Interesting books to read..

i've been planning for a while to put up a list here with interesting books, with a short review.
No time now but here's a few important ones, i'll give more info at a later time:
"The New Peoplemaking" by Virginia Satir
"The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins
"Biomimicry" by Janine Benyus
"Cradle to Cradle" by William McDonough & Michael Braungart
and many many more,
the reason i'm putting up this post right now is that PZ got a booklist meme up a day ago or so, and that's a post i'll want to go back to when i'm expanding the series of post about books i'm planning to make here.
Here's PZ's post.

Have fun and read read read!

...from a wonderful movie.

Here's a strange news article..
about a garden gnome that gets stolen, travels all around the world and is then brought back with pictures to prove it..
A cool idea, but certainly not new,
it surprises me the article doesn't mention the movie:
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain
(imdb, wikipedia (obviously already mentions this news feat))
A wonderful and truly inspiring movie, i'm glad someone did the gnome thing!

Good night!

This is fun!

I tried the world challenge twice

This Traveler IQ was calculated on Monday, August 11, 2008 at 03:59PM GMT by comparing this person's geographical knowledge against the Web's Original Travel Blog's 2,927,022 travelers who've taken the challenge.

The first time i did the world challenge i got up to level 10 with 357601 points;
the second time up to level 11 with 444278 points.
Have fun :)

A rotting corpse, cheese and fish!

As a biologist, i have an interest in nature ... D'UH
A very inspiring voice is that of the naturalist Sir David Attenborough
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHaWu2rcP94 (watch the clip, its short but important to understand the rest of this post)
The flower in this movie clip has just been flowering in the National Botanic Garden of Belgium
This i a picture of their page about it (a picture because the page probably won't stay there)


Today I visited the plant, together with Steven (one of my bio-buddies) and Karo.
But as you can see...


We were too late! Better luck next time.
Fortunately there are lot's of other beautifull flowers to be found there.




And Venus Flytraps


A mammoth tree


A castle


And also ... something dangerous ???


Steven seems to like it though ;-)


have a nice day!

The bloggnome is no longer fighting disasters alone!!

Beware, for i have help now!!

Need help to keep a commitment?

Everybody has a price ...and if you make a contract with Stickk, you'll pay that price if you fail!
Maybe if i have a little more selfdiscipline, i'll try it ;-)

byebye adsense

For a few months now Google was placing charity-ads on this blog, because as long as i didn't register myself, they couldn't pay me so no ads of "ordinary" companies would appear ... but i just saw a few normal ads appear here ... using my blog for free then i guess ... so i kicked off AdSense

Go, Herr Christer & Stefmeister, GO!

I believe in you!
If this kid can find two hours a day to practice ..



There's no time like the present, as far as i know, you only have one life!
xx paul

ps: talent is for losers that aren't willing to do the work ;-)

Good morning from Chicago

I woke up this "morning" at 3pm, because i didn't went to sleep untill 7 am,
working nights in stead of days on the dissertation,
and somehow xkcd found out what's going on in my life AGAIN ... i really like his comics!! Check em out!!

Newest playlist addition meme: Sungha Jung

I actually discovered his songs a few days before Andy's songs, but somehow Andy got posted first, maybe this kid is technically not as good as Andy, but maybe that's because he's only 11 years young!!

At first this is the song i liked most:



And then he posted this one:



Very nice, and impressive!

And he's got a channel on Youtube ..
www.youtube.com/user/jwcfree
it's just packed with nice songs he plays !!
and some can be downloaded at hisspace:
www.myspace.com/jungsungha

must go practice my piano now ;-), ciao

It's easier to be an asshole to words than to people

I've done it, especially when things get a bit emotional, losing touch with reality because of words on a screen and what i made of them in my mind, and i'm sorry!

so as usual, xkcd is right

INTERNET ARGUMENT


Please keep in mind you're dealing with real people.

from: http://xkcd.com/438/

What does an adversity mean to you ??

Well to Napoleon Hill it means this:
"Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit." – Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
And if I can give you one advice about your mental attitude, it is to incorporate this advice into your character.
I've been working on it for at least half a year now, it's not easy but holds tremendous power when used!
So in stead of tossing and turning and getting upset about spontaneously waking up at half past 4, when i'm trying t get enough sleep to stay awake during studying, i'm using this time to post this here (and satisfy my evergrowing group of fans ;-)), send a few important emails, and come back here to post at least 1 cool thing!
So dear friends, stay tuned, be delighted, and find the good in every bad!

Some music..

His name is Andy Mckee, and he can play the guitar..



..VERY WELL, i'm a fan!

And apparently a "normal" guitar isn't good enough for him :)



His recordcompany has a channel on Youtube, with a playlist so you can easily listen to a bunch of his songs as backgroundmusic. He's also on hisspace.
(What is that myspace-thing anyway .. :-))

Lookin' for somethin' ?

"There are two things people want more than sex and money... recognition and praise."
– Mary Kay Ash (1918-2001)

Have a little faith in people, try to understand them before you expect to be understood!



("Newest playlist addition" - meme)

Ridiculously beautiful

Pictures of toxic nudibranches by David Doubilet at nationalgeographic.com

via PZ

The Ironman Widget

Watching this movie will be my reward when i hand in the thesis, looks supercool!

Can not get enough of this song ... (newest playlist addition meme)

... not yet anyway, but I keep liking many songs, so why not this one?


Ok the view is rather ... monotonous, but that just means you can hit "play" and continue surfing in another tab while enjoying the music!

Many thanks to Margo, the inspiration behind http://www.viesta-festival.hyves.nl/, a festival for a new world!
It's a cultural/music festival with a mission to make a difference:
Finding peace within and in the world.
Aiming at individuals for the improvement of well-being and consciousness of the individual and society.

Antwerp

It's a well know fact that Antwerp in Belgium is the best place in the world, just ask any Antwerpian and he or she will completely confirm that ultimate (almost dogmatic) truth!!

Many many many many (ok you get the point) wonderfull activities are organised here, there's a massive amount of cultural heritage, you'll find the best beers in the world here (and that's definitely not Carlsberg or even worse: Heineken, real Antwerpians/Belgians wouldn't even give that to their dogs, if it would be ok to give beer to your dog)

For instance, here's a nice upcoming activity: a culinary high note

Recently our local television channel held a contest to find the new "Ode to the city" aka "Ode aan't stad" it will not surprise anyone that many candidates showed up with songs about how much we love this wonderfull metropolis, here's two:
Zot van A (in Antwerpian/Antwerpish)
Stad on de beik (in antwerpian)

the first one won, here's the videoclip

De strangers (a local treasure) have a song to praise our wonderfull city
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHIsGTlpcIA
and another one: Antwarpe 'k zien a zoe geire


and here a nice commercial about Antwerp
't stad is van iedereen (in dutch)

this link also ended up in the draft of this post ... don't really know why ... it's in antwerpian ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB2KRXcWx-Y

Antwerp is so wonderfull i could write many posts about it every single day into eternity and beyond. But this will have to do for today. If this post is to big, the internet will probably crash because too many people will want to download too many things about Antwerp at the same time.

See you in Antwerp!

Happy ending!

May everyone have a happy ending..



Of course the ending preferably later than sooner, the happiness right now, and now, and now, and now, ... every now!

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.
– Cherokee Expression

back to work ;)

To do - list: walking on fire

some time ago i made a draft post about this,
and tomorrow i'm going to use it as an example in the Physics-class on heat transfer i'll be teaching

Sure makes you want to try it ... no?



But I seriously would really like to try this, so if anyone wants to join me, i'll have some time this summer! If you don't trust it, just come and watch, there will be party-snacks and drinks!

Teaching physics

Tomorrow will be the second lesson in physics i'll be teaching as a teacher in training... and this is just what i needed ;-)


via PZ

Language not suited for children, insights not suited for Americans

Giving more power to the people

This one comes from the free Public Service adds i'm letting google put on top of my blog.
http://solar-aid.org/



I'm not (yet) absolutely enthousiastic about this one because i'm unsure if the efficiency and durabillity of solar cells already outweigh the cost and pollution that are unavoidable in their production. But if so, I say: GO FOR IT, we really need to stop putting things on fire all around the world.

Is it ... a policecar? .... a firetruck? ... in a hurry? ... No it's ..

a car driving in traffic...



...without a driver!

Here's PZ's post about it

drive safely!

Happy easter, viral marketing!

It's small and yellow and you can stomp it with your feet...
... a little chick!

And now for something completely different..

Giving power to the people

electrical power from something that looks like a yoyo
This makes me wonder if there are fitness centers who save on their electrical bill by using the "wasted" energy of their customers? Anyone?

This i want to read ...

http://www.gp-field-guide.org.uk/,
Genetic programming is cool!
And someday i hope to use it consciously to fix a problem.
This has just enormous potential to benefit mankind in general!
So it's on the "must read-list"
i'll try and post that list sometime soon because there are really interesting books on there through wich anyone could have a mindexpanding experience!

But now i'm off for a three day seminar to get some issues handled! (Excited!)
To quote David D. "The boy must die in order for the man to live."

May your day be wonderfull!

So far out ... yet daily reality for millions of children

via PZ

Chaos, the way of the future.

Today I had a very interesting conversation with Robin Rowley,
I was introduced to him through Leen, a friend of mine, as her lecturer at the Plantijn Hogeschool. Some time ago, when i was talking with her and Tom about my plan for my future, she mentioned him as someone who I should talk to, and she was right.
He's an expert on Communications, Organisation Behaviour & HRM, Entrepeneurship, Strategy and Change Management. And this is exactly the field that's been calling to me for almost half a year now, drawing me away from my present career in biology.
He has also written a book, "Organize with chaos", available at Management Books 2000, of which he was so kind to give me a copy of the previous edition, the new one is just out.

A man's mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions. And this hour he gave me today was certainly a mindstretching experience!

I'm kinda very busy finishing this neverending masterthesis so i'm right now not able to do a lot with the new idea's and insights but this will come soon enough!

As a preparation for this conversation i read this introduction on Chaos and Complexity:
http://complexity.orcon.net.nz/index.html

It's by Victor MacGill, a very interesting person who's website i will discuss soon, but this link from his website was too nice to keep from you:

Which answer will i take today...

http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2008/03/07/

Who in this world still cares as long as you can have fries with it?

So many lessons to learn

http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2008/03/14/

And if I don't learn this one soon, i'm going to be in a lot of trouble.

be really carefull what you wish for ... part deux

Nothing comes for free, unless you've prepared yourself and thought things through

Oh no, it's the apocalypse ...

http://www.viruscomix.com/page433.html

Somehow, this kind of apocalypse doesn't look so bad..
via PZ

Stonehenge reloaded

There's this guy,
and his name is Wally Wallington
and he does some amazing things!!



Here's his website with explanation

If anyone ever tries to tell you aliens were needed for the construction of the pyramids ... show them Wally's website!

Thanks to Pieter

AdSense

Hmmm, blogger has been telling me i can make money with my blog if i put banners on it, being curious by nature (and facing a huge mortage) i clicked on it, and for now, as long as i don't really register, "non-commercial" ads are being shown..
I don't make any money of it, but a seemingly worthy cause is drawing attention to itself .. not a bad thing i think!
Let's try it for a while.

Tired

This morning something (probably myself) woke me at a quarter past 5 and apart from some lingering and turning around, i couldn't sleep anymore so I got up (and posted the previous post among other things)
in the afternoon i slept a few hours because i was just wasted, and now i'm still tired..
Anyway, maybe i should stop whining, bitching and complaining and make some stuff happen!
As Og Mandino says: Those who are weak, wait for opportunities. those who are strong, make them. Opportunities! Your life is full of them.
(i'll post some more thing about Og in the future)
I think i'm going to use this oppotunity of being tired to get some sleep :)

Have a nice day!

Early morning math! A game theoretic approach to the toilet seat problem.

If you ever find a woman who will agree with the following (really agrees and not just pretends and makes you pay for it in many other ways), let me know!

Necessary disclaimer: I said "agree" not "understand", I know many intelligent women and some of those are even way more intelligent than I am, understanding it is not the issue here. This is really not about intelligence nor is it about logic.

A GAME THEORETIC APPROACH TO THE TOILET SEAT PROBLEM
By Richard Harter

from The Science Creative Quarterly

The toilet seat problem has been the subject of much controversey. In this paper we consider a simplified model of the toilet seat problem. We shall show that for this model there is an inherent conflict of interest which can be resolved by a equity solution.

Consider a bathroom with one omnipurpose toilet (also known as a WC) which is used for two toilet operations which we shall designate as #1 and #2. The toilet has an attachment which we shall refer to as the seat (but see remark 1 below) which may be in either of two positions which we shall designate as up and down.

Toilet operations are performed by members of the human species (see remark 2 below) who fall into two categories, popularly designated as male and female. For convenience we shall use the name John to refer to the typical male and Marsha to refer to the typical female.

The performance of toilet operations by John and Marsha differ in a number of respects. The costs of these operations are peculiar to the respective sexes and are fixed except with respect to the position of the toilet seat. In particular:

Marsha performs toilet operations #1 and #2 with the seat in the down position. John performs toilet operation #1 with the seat in the up position and toilet operation #2 with the seat in the down position. If the seat is in the wrong position before performing the toilet operation the position must be changed at an average cost C. Optionally the position may be changed after performing the toilet operation, also at an average cost C. (Changing the position of the seat during the performance of a toilet operation is beyond the scope of this note and is definitely not recommended.)

Consider the scenario where John and Marsha each use a separate toilet. It should be obvious to the most casual observer that each minimizes the seat position transfer cost by not altering the seat position after performing a toilet operation.

For Marsha the seat position transfer cost is 0 since all operations are performed with the seat in the down position. For John the cost is greater than 0 since seat position transfers must be performed.

Let p be the probability that John will perform a #1 operation vs a #2 operation. Assume that John optimizes his seat position transfer cost (see remark 3 below.) Then it is easy to determine that John’s average cost of seat position transfer per toilet opeation is

B = 2p(1-p)C

where B is the bachelor cost of toilet seat position transfers per toilet operation.

Now let us consider the scenario where John and Marsha cohabit and both use the same toilet. In our analysis we shall assume that John and Marsha perform toilet operations with the same frequency (see remark 4 below) and that the order in which they perform them is random. They discover to their mutual displeasure that their cohabitation adversely alters the toilet seat position transfer cost function for each of them. What is more there is an inherent conflict of interest. Attempts to resolve the problem typically revolve around two strategies which we shall designate as J and M

Strategy J
Each person retains the default strategy that they used before cohabiting. This strategy is proposed by John with the argument “Why does it matter if the seat is up or down?”. As we see below this strategy benefits John.

Strategy M
Each person leaves the seat down. This strategy is proposed by Marsha with the argument “It ought to be down.” As we see below this strategy benefits Marsha.

Consequences of strategy J:
Under strategy J the toilet seat is is in the up position with probability p/2. The respective average cost of toilet seat transfer operations for John and Marsha are:

John: p(3/2-p)C
Marsha: pC/2

The incremental costs (difference between pre and post habitation costs) are:

John: ( p - 1/2)pC
Marsha: pC/2
Total: (p^2)C

John’s incremental cost would actually be negative if p were less than 1/2. This is not the case; p>1/2. Note that Marsha’s incremental cost is greater than John’s for p<1. Marsha objects.

Consequences of strategy M:
In strategy M the seat is always left down. When John performs operation #1 he lifts the seat before the operation and lowers it after the operation. The respective average cost of toilet seat transfer operations is:

John: 2pC
Marsha: 0

The incremental costs are:

John: 2(p^2)C
Marsha: 0
Total: 2(p^2)C

In these strategy Marsha bears no cost; all of the incremental costs are borne by John. John objects. Note also that the combined incremental cost of strategy M is greater than that of strategy J.

It is notable that John and Marsha each advocates a strategy that benefits them. This is predictable under game theory. However the conflict over strategies has a cost M in marital discord that is greater than the cumulative cost of toilet seat transfers. It behooves John and Marsha, therefore, to adopt a strategy that minimizes M.

This is not simple. A common reaction is to advance sundry arguments to justify adopting strategy M or J. All such arguments are suspect because they are self serving (and often accompanied with the “If you loved me” ploy.) A sound strategy is one that is equitable and is seen to be equitable. In this regard there are three candidate criteria:

(1) Minimize the joint total cost
(2) Equalize the respective total costs
(3) Equalize the respective incremental costs

The argument for (1) is that John and Marsha are now as one and it is the joint costs and benefits of the union that should be considered. This principle is not universally accepted. It is readily seen that (see remark 5) that the joint total cost is optimized by strategy J which has already been seen to be suspect.

Criterion (2) seems plausible. It requires, however, that Marsha put the seat in the up position after performing a toilet operation some percentage of the time. No instance of this behaviour has ever been observed in recorded history; ergo this criterion can be ruled out. (But see remark 6.)

Criterion (3) argues that the mututal increased cost of toilet seat operations should be shared equitably, i.e., neither party should bear a disproportionate share of the costs of cohabitation. A short calculation reveals that criterion (3) can be achieved if John leaves the seat up after performing toilet operation #1 with a frequency

f = (2p-1)/p

Since the value of p is seldom precisely measured and is variable in any event it suffices to use an approximate value of f. If we assume that p=2/3 then f=1/2. This suggests the following convenient rule of thumb:

In the morning John leaves the seat up after performing #1.
In the evening he puts it down.

This rule may not be precise but it is simple and approximately equitable; moreover the use of a definite rule sets expectations. The seat is put down in the evening to avoid the notorious “middle of the night surprise”.

I expect that this analysis should settle the toilet seat controversey for once and for all - if John and Marsha are mathematicians.

* * *

Remark 1: The toilet has an additional attachment called the toilet seat lid which can only be down if the toilet seat is down. When the lid is down the toilet is (or should be) non-functional for toilet operations. Some persons maintain the toilet seat lid in the down position when the toilet is not use. For these persons the analysis in this note is moot. Such persons pay a fixed cost in seat movement for all toilet operations.

Remark 2: Toilets are also used by domestic animals as a convenient source of drinking water unless the lid is down. (See remark 1)

Remark 3: Experimental evidence suggests that almost all bachelors optimize the seat transfer cost, the exception being those who put the seat up after performing a #2 operation.

Remark 4: Folklore has it that Marsha performs more toilet operations than John, hypothetically because of a smaller bladder. John, however, drinks more beer. We shall not discuss his prostate problem.

Remark 5: “Readily seen” in this context means “It looks obvious but I don’t know how to prove it; you figure it out.”

Remark 6: The toilet lid solution is to put the toilet lid down after all toilet operations. This solution imposes a cost of 2C on each party and is accordingly more expensive. It is, however, more esthetic. It also eliminates the “doggy drinking” problem.

* * *

(REPRINTED FROM ISSUE ONE, MAY 23rd, 2005)

Richard Harter is an eclectic auto-didact, a man of letters and software. By turns a mathematician, a software maven, and an entrepeneur, he has retired to the wilds where he tends his garden and his web site. He has a keen interest in science, the philosophy of science, and science fiction, and professes to have the wit not to confuse the three

Let's walk

Because of the course in mindfulness i'm following, i'm experimenting with mindful walking.
Focussing on the legs, the shift of balance that accompanies every step, focussing on the hips, sometimes using a mantra to accompany the different steps, etc

But sometimes i just walk like these guys ;)

So that's how it works ..

Just recently a few friends (Chris, Zeno, Lotte and Karo) explained to me the game that when you see a yellow car, and if you see it first, you can punch the person next you you ...
I thought it was a silly game ... but that's just because they didn't explain it fully !!

Luckily xkcd comes through once more

If you have some time to spare ... or need a laugh :)

A few vids from monty Python and some parodies.
danku pieter voor de tip

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, so true

(http://assets.gva.be/Albums/GvA/Cartoons/slides/070509K.asp)

For those whose dutch urgently needs improving, a translation:

Title: The Netherlands are considering a ban on alcohol for people below 18

Male Officer: He was trying to make beer by boiling the water from the central heating system together with the dirty underwear of his grandparents.
Female officer: But that's actually not illegal ...
Male Officer: Heineken accused him of industrial espionage.

(Heineken is a really terrible beer when you compare it to just about every Belgian beer, but somehow they managed to merchandise it all around the world, despite the fact that it's just a disgusting excuse for beer.)

911 call

Found it on Sigmund, Carl & Alfred
I don't know what else is on that blog, I just went there today for the first time, via a link @ Pinks, i'll check out some of the rest at that blog later

auch, this one is dark ..

a bee

The power of Wii

ok this guy has been doing some amazing things with some "everyday" materials,

In this video he creates an interactive whiteboard ... this opens some really cool teaching perspectives !!


Here's his website with all his projects, check it out!

(Via Steven)

Hey ... I like oranges

but i admit, i usually use a small knife to start peeling them

but they should be next to the pineapple!

via xkcd

A parade of super heroes

If you have some time ...
http://www.thesuperest.com/

please please watch 'em all by starting at the first hero

(via PZ)

Lio vs. Disney: 1-0

this one has insects in it :-)

You'll find a link to Lio's comics-page in my links section,
Update: I'm also putting the picture up here because after a while they seem to be removed from the website

9 words women use

2 days ago Lotte, a good friend of mine, sent me this chain e-mail, thanx for the advice :)

1. Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
2. Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
3. Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
4. Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!
5. Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)
6. That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
7. Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says "Thanks a lot" - that is pure sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. Do not say "you're welcome" ... that will bring on a "whatever").
8. Whatever: Is a women's way of saying F@!k you!
9. Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "What's wrong?" For the woman's response refer to # 3.

* Send this to the men you know, to warn them about arguments they can avoid if they remember the terminology.
* Send this to all the women you know to give them a good laugh, cause they know it's true.

Bodyscan ... just another way for falling asleep ??

Wednesday i think i actually fell asleep before i started .. it's all a bit unclear.
Thursday i tried it twice, didn't get past the left foot (the very beginning after the "slowing down"-intro).
Yesterday i tried it with my eyes open but again somewhere at the left foot I fell asleep ..
Today I'm going to try it in the afternoon, with my eyes open, maybe that will get me farther into the excercise.
Needless to say it's going to need a lot of practice!
Or maybe i really need to sleep more :)

Mindfullness session 2

yesterday I had the second mindfullness session,
the largest part of the session compromised of a bodyscan
(dutch explanation)
and this was so relaxing that somewhere halfway I felt asleep until the girl next to me nudged me because i was breathing heavily (no, NOT snoring)
as an excercise i now have to do this every day until the next session on tuesday

if you want to know more about mindfulness, just google, it's a hot topic these days

Viva Pachelbel

There's a song that i can almost play on the piano,
it's the Canon by Johann Pachelbel.
Rob Paravonian has made a funny standup act about it,
go to http://www.youtube.com/user/paravonian
and then click on "Pachelbell Rant"

his "The Friends Theme and Sugar Ray" is also great!

october --> february

Some main points that have happened since last time.
Hopefully i'll find a time in the future to elaborate on each of them.

For now i'm still working with people in retirement homes for the University project.

When that's over i'm going to finish my teacher's ed, i still have to do the practical part, 20 hours of actual teaching.

From 3/2/2008 through 10/2/2008 i've been hiking through the French Jura.
It was great!
a report (in dutch) with some pictures can be found here

Last tuesday was the first session of a training in Mindfullness i'm following. Very interesting sofar!

And today is the first day of the rest of my life!

hi there

4 months since the last post ...
I guess the largest part that kept me away are the dark clouds of the still unfinished master's thesis, the real world. Because if i can find the time to post something here, i could also finish an urgently needed extra paragraph.

And it's not that i just didn't write anything here, i used to frequent a few blogs on almost a daily basis and that has also stopped.

A few times i've been very tempted to write something here, always at moments of an emotional crisis.
And today, with the master's thesis still unfinished (but that's not the reason), i've just hit a small emotional rock-bottom, so here i am, hoping that writing here, sending words into the great open plains of the internet, will somehow help me cope with what i'm dealing with right now. And guess what, it's already very slightly helping to put things in perspective.

So i'm goning to post a few things, an update about me and some posts that have been lingering in the draft folder.

and thanks Scary, for the christmas greetings, apparently you've laid your blog to rest ... may your stompyness continue whereverer you go!

with love,
paulus