Go Back Up

Did you know that laptop theft, even from the most "so-called" secure places like a safe in a hotel room, is on the RAMPAGING RISE?
Did you realize that laptop theft is one of those classical cases where 1+1 equals more than 3? - at least to you, in terms of personal damage, and... even worse, to your employer or company?
Some estimate an average laptop, say from a mid-level manager, to contain up to 100.000€ of valuable data, that (you betcha) any hacker can extract, whether you have standard encryption or not...

Our advise: watch your machine! back it up: all the time - and get insurance in the form of weapons-grade encryption mechanisms and fire-proof redundant back-up systems.

Alternatively, you can just simply stop storing stuff, go out, sniff a breeze of automn and enjoy life without wires!

Further Reading: Study on 128 stolen from 29 companies: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/04/report-average-stolen-laptop-cost-is-50k-intel-buy-vpro.ars

$50,000 average cost as follows:

Laptop replacement cost: $1,582
Detection & escalation cost: $262
Forensics & investigation cost: $814
Data breach cost: $39,297
Intellectual property loss: $5,871
Lost productivity cost: $283
Other legal and regulatory costs: $1,117

Perhaps the most counterintuitive result from the study is that having a full backup of the lost or stolen laptop actually increases the average incident cost by almost 50 percent. The theory put forth for this by Ponemon is that "the backup makes it easier to confirm the loss of sensitive or confidential data (i.e., ignorance is bliss hypothesis)."

One Drop: this Sat 2009-10-10 @ 0200 - WATCH IT

Reading: King
Viewing: Terminator 3 - Salvation (oh yeah baby)
Listening to: Nine Inch Nails
Thinking: You've got the watch, we've got the time
Travelling: from Bangkok, to A'dam, to Geneva, to Paris & back home

The Essence of Summer

 

Reading: 378+ Emails
Viewing: Tuscany of the North
Listening to: "I gotta feeling" - Black Eyed Peas
Thinking: Starting a new "Extending My Own Date of Expiration" Campaign
Travelling: Paris today, Amsterdam, Geneva & Brazil later this semester
Last picture: See above: 3 Flag-Waving Kids

Promoting Integrity at World Water Week

 

Reading: Paul Verhaegen - Omega Minor
Viewing: Black Dots in front of my eyes
Listening to: Black eyed Peas
Thinking: Gratefull for friendship
Travelling: from Stockholm to Duinbergen
Last picture: after Integrity Radio interview with Prijay Shah from the Water Integrity Network
Writing about Chakosj! - stay tuned

Vive la Fête

Reading: Geert Mak - In Europa
Viewing: The English Patient
Listening to: Sigur Ros
Thinking: Bundestreue
Travelling: Lisbon, Paris, Duinbergen, Stockholm
Last picture: National Belgian Holiday in Maredsous

How to saber a bottle of champagne/cava/bubbly

Cooking Time - Trein vol andijvie

The Age of Panic

 

Paris Metro, just after reading over the shoulder of an American Embassy worker that "serviceman in Normandy havee been quarantined following infection with H1N1".

Van oud naar Nieuw

 

location: Gaasbeek / Kester

Een magische avond in het Pajottenland

 


Reading: A most wanted man - LeCarré
Viewing: 28 weeks Later
Listening to: Daan -Manhay
Thinking: Politicsareoverrated
Travelling: Paris tomorrow, Italy next week, Portugal in July, Stockholm in August, Seaside-Duinbergen in August
Last picture: God moving over the face of the Pajottenland prairies (see above)

Have a little faith in a banker

Unethical investments: the case for buying stock in weapons manufacturers

War: check
Internal policing problems: check
Insecurity on the rise in Western Societies: check
Maffia on the rise: check (see Sicilian wind farms)
Pirates of the Somali coast line: check
Increased population pressure vs limited resources: double-check
"Steeds meer wapenbezit op school": check (DS, 2009(05-08)
"The need for non-lethal weapons is growing: effectivly stop a subject by pain, up until 100m...": check
Global growing insecurity: crashing stock, people loosing a fortune while some guys make a living out of it and...become targets...: check
Government laxness, democratic indecision: check
Growing war-mongering, destabilising regimes, unrest in former 'allied states': check


What the hell are we waiting for? Who could advise against investing in "non or less lethal weaponry"?

Unethical Investments

I was struck earlier this weeking reading an interview with a hard-driving, cool-rocking CEO in his late 40ies: questioned about his wheels he answered: "driving a VW 4x4with a heavy engine, and seeing it as my contribution to fighting climate change..." The guy obviously is meant to hit some tree with an attitude somewhere somehow soon. In the meantime, he's allowed to spread his misbelief that he's helping the "planet" by advancing the date by which we, as humanoids, become extinct, that is...the unhappy majority unable to be boarding some Virgin Galactic flight soon.

I was thinking: does the guy have kids? If yes, what kind of legacy does he want to leave for them? Is it a lack of transgenerational solidarity to drive a SUV, or...are you advancing the cause of Mother Earth by helping to extinguish some of the most polluting creatures she's ever created?

You can hardly expect dinosaurs to be held accountable for global warming: all of them farting at the same time would not contribute anything in terms of Kyoto gasses - because -strangely - animal and human produced bodily gasses and emissions do not count...

So, let's all start driving 4x4s instead of these UGLY planet-saving cars. Or bike (just as I did today, to get cost item#3 in daycare)...and get killed by a hysteric 4x4 driving mom with an attitude.

So: instead of free-riding: buy HEAVY Cars (while they last) or invest in some tyre-blowing equipment and armory (take a look at http://www.fnherstal.com/)

How to tie a proper tie: the Windsor (or double windsor knot)

Only in Belgium: Veroordeelde oplichter krijgt job bij Financiën terug

Nog een chance dat de rechtbanken goed werken!

donderdag 30 april 2009Bron: BELGA Auteur: jbs
Bron: De Standaard

Een in 2006 door de rechtbank veroordeelde oplichter heeft zijn job als afdelingshoofd bij het departement btw van de federale overheidsdienst (FOD) Financiën teruggekregen. De Raad van State oordeelde namelijk dat het ministerie van Financiën te lang gewacht heeft om de man te ontslaan.
A.M. werd drie jaar geleden veroordeeld tot een voorwaardelijke gevangenisstraf van acht maanden omdat hij verschillende btw-plichtigen had afgeperst. De feiten dateren van eind 2002.

Het ministerie van Financiën bracht M. er in augustus 2008 van op de hoogte dat hij van ambstwege ontslagen werd. Te laat, oordeelt de Raad van State nu. M. kreeg daarop zijn job als btw-controleur terug.

Krantenkoppen

De Morgen online treft wel een paar keer doel vandaag: een overzicht

"1 op 10 Vlaamse verkozenen 'erft' zitje" - té gek om uitgevonden te zijn, only in Belgium?

"Waalse politici op 'missie' kiezen hazenpad op luchthaven" - écht Boonsiaans tafereel moet dat geweest zijn!

"Guantanamo-gevangene slaagt erin Al Jazeera te bellen" - Obama-style?

"Britten denken nóg meer aan voetbal dan aan seks" - wat nog maar eens bewijst wat voor een idioot gedoe voetbal eigenlijk wel is. Over de geaardheid van voetballiefhebbers zelf zullen we het verder niet hebben

Bring Back the Rhubarb

Rhubarb gardening made easy: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/rhubarb_in_the.php?dcitc=weekly_nl

a new take on puericulture

Now this a truth worth reading. Carl Honoré, in praise of slow food, slow sex, slow education: http://www.carlhonore.com/?page=1

"Just look at Finland. By any yardstick, it has one of most successful education systems in the world. Competition for teacher training is fierce in Finland, and those who make the cut study for five years before qualifying. Yes, five years.

Finnish teachers are so well trained that the nation holds them in high regard and trusts them to do well by its children. That means instead of dealing with endless inspections, assessments and bureaucracy, they can get down to the most important job of all: teaching."

The Age of Stupid

“We could have saved ourselves, but we didn’t. It’s amazing. What state of mind were we in, to face extinction and simply shrug it off?” - http://www.ageofstupid.net/the_film


Reading: The Black Swan - (****)
Listening to: Viva la Vida II - Coldplay
Thinking: see above
Travelling: on Bike

Battle in Seattle - trailer

Water Rights & Wrongs

A young People's Summary of the 2006 Landmark Human Development Report

from UNDP: http://hdr.undp.org/external/hdr2006/water/index.htm

"Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty, and the global water crisis"

Herd Behaviour

SCHOOLZONDERGRENZEN

Promotional Video for the Kids' School Project

NVDELENNIKSEKIEKENS

Promotional Video for the Kid's School Project

USA - Under Construction

 


Reading: L.P.Boon - De Kapellekesbaan
Viewing: RocknRolla!
Listening to: Kid Rock
Thinking: "Oscar Wilde: A well-tied tie is the first serious step in life"
Travelling: From Austria to Washington and from Brussels to Istanbul
Last picture: Obama's White House

Inglorious Bastards Movie Trailer!

Get off my Lawn!

I've always known it!

Recent research indicates that the dirtier you let their kids play: i.e. the less you worry about desinfection and getting in contact with animals etc... - the more tuned up there immune systems become resulting in higher and lifelong protection for your offspring! don't believe me, but the NYT

Camille Races

charity: water - give!

Jennifer Connelly in charity: water Public Service Announcement from charity: water on Vimeo.

Happy 2009

 

Don't fall thru the ice!

ending an annus horribilis

A tous ceux qui m'ont envoyé leurs meilleurs voeux pour 2008,

je leur signale qu'à ce jour cela n'a absolument servi à rien !
Pour l'année 2009 prière de m'envoyer du fuel, du fric ou des chèques-repas !

Merci d'avance.

Nieuw Vlaams Erfgoed

Als 2007 het jaar van DAAN - The Player was
en 2008 dat van ARSENAL met Lotuk, dan
wordt 2009 duidelijk dat van HANNELORE BEDERT met "Wat Als" ...
gaat dat horen!

Low Impact Man

Do you accept the challenge of bringing down your eco-footprint?
Check out this fella: http://www.lowimpactman.be/

First time I enjoyed a You-tube Movie

Bono & Sachs are blogging at the UN

Bono & Sachs, 2 protagonists of the ONE campaign (and DATA and Live8 and ...) are in NYC, covering the UN General Assembly and MDG-Summit. read their blog on the Financial Times' website at http://www.ft.com/devdiary

One thing is for sure: these 2 fella's aren't in it for the money: in fact: they are wasting their money and resources in trying to convince governments and institutions to step up AID,...drastically.

The UN meetings were abuzz that the US could find $700 billion for a bailout of its corrupt and errant banks but couldn't’t find a small fraction of that for the world’s poor and dying.

Or as SACHS puts it:

It’s easy to be cynical about grand challenges like the MDGs. When world leaders assembled at the UN in September 2000 on the eve of the new millennium and adopted eight goals to fight poverty, hunger, disease, and deprivation by 2015, most of the leaders at the UN and those in public paying attention probably expected that the goals would sink out of sight by the next week’s news cycle. Global goals are for photo ops, not for grown-ups, is a popular view of our cynical age.

Yet something has happened which brings world leaders back time and again to declare their commitment to the MDGs. Part of it is the stark reality that 10 million children under the age of 5 die each year of extreme poverty. Even the most hardened of cynics know that this stark fact is dangerous for our hopes for peace and stability, as well as for sustaining human values and quality of life on a crowded planet.

Part of the continued interest is the understanding that the MDGs are not fantasies but practically achievable objectives. Measles deaths have been reduced by 91 per cent in Africa since 2000 through MDG-based initiatives. Malaria deaths have plummeted in recent years in Rwanda, Sao Tome, Zanzibar, Ethiopia, Kenya, and other countries, because of the mass distribution of bed nets and effective medicines. Food production has roughly doubled in Malawi because of an ingenious voucher program for seed and fertiliser for impoverished farmers.

A third reason for the MDG staying power is that poor people and their governments have taken seriously the call to fight poverty. Throughout Africa, governments and NGOs have devised specific plans of action – to grow more food; train community health workers; extend coverage of medicines for AIDS, TB, malaria and other killers; pave roads; and install solar-power pumps for safe water and irrigation. The plans have been made. Special financing mechanisms like the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria have been devised, and have proven their worth.

The laggards in the struggle for the MDGs are not the poor countries or their ostensibly corrupt governments. The laggards are the rich world, so full of promises and high rhetoric and so low on delivery. The MDGs are falling short because of a lack of promised financing to put in place the clinics, schools, roads, power, and other investments needed for their success. Six years ago, the rich countries pledged in Monterrey, Mexico to “make concrete efforts toward the international target of 0.7 per cent of GNP in official development assistance.” Yet the United States stands are 0.16 per cent, Japan at 0.17, Italy at 0.19, Canada at 0.28, Germany at 0.37, and France at 0.39.

Water Wars

 

Reading: Verhulst, Godverdomste dagen... and - of course WIRED NEWS
Viewing: Website stats explode over 55.000 hits
Listening to: AC/DC (|..|-)
Thinking: Speak softly and carry a big stick
Travelling: Barcelona, Paris, ...
Last picture: a copy of ROY 880.000€ (now exposed in the toilet downstairs!)

Land aan de afgrond

NV.A blaast regering op (of toch bijna), op de tonen van "Nu het lied der Vlaamse zonen".
Is het een zwanenzang, of een feniksgebroed?
Laat ons in elk geval Voltaire indachtig zijn als het gaat over "verantwoordelijkheidszin": “No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.”

De Blauwvoet - Wikipedia: "De Blauwvoet"

In wezen is het een referentie aan de 19eeuwse ontvoogdingsstrijd, die poëtische én studentikoos werd ingezet, door Rodenbach e.a. (zie de volledige tekst http://cf.hum.uva.nl/dsp/ljc/rodenbach/blauvoet.htm. De her-vertolking in de huidige context is misschien wat radikaal maar heeft het effect van een zweep op een politiek debat dat regelrecht de afgrond invoert - of toch niet? Het is nu écht wel "storm op zee"

Eyskens was deze ochtend op de radio en sprak de gevleugelde woorden:

heeft Bart De Wever, die toch een fijne historicus is, zijn les niet geleerd: waar leven we hier, in Vlaanderen, dat in 50 jaar tijd een eigen parlement etc....heeft... en bovendien zijn we de meest welvarende region van de wereld, dus van het zonnestelsel, dus van de melkweg...

Nu de NV.A bijna de regering is uitgewerkt, lijkt de weg open naar een niet-communautair geladen oplossing, of toch niet? Want was Leterme niet verkozen met een duidelijke boodschap? Alleszins wordt het land onbestuurbaar: de schandalen van de politie van vorige week zijn in elk geval uit de ether gewerkt... De postjespakkerij-en bescherming teert volop, en ondertussen keldert de economische situatie verder...

Afin, het was mooi zolang het duurde, een land zonder regering, en de ambtenaren waren content...nu komt daar misschien verandering in? Zal Reynders premier worden? Valt de Vlaamse regering? Krijgen we verkiezingen? Wordt de Staat verder hervormd (zoals eigenlijk iedereen wel beseft want het model draait stroef?) Kan ik nog met mijn Franstalige kerelskameraden (blijven) spreken?

Taboulé

 

Try this! (courtesy Milo : and yes, ik zit met een midlife crisis...)

Workout

 

No more excuses! Tune your Wifi to wacondah and look for workout category! (courtesy of the Stockholm Scandic)

Roeien

Zoals WF Schiltz het op De Standaard online zo mooit promootte,
geen speld tussen te krijgen tussen die Al!

Facts about Desalination

* With population growth and concerns about water scarcity increasing, several countries, especially in the Middle East region, are developing desalination plants to convert saline water (e.g. sea-water, brackish water or treated wastewater) into freshwater.

* The global market for desalination currently stands at about US $35 billion annually and could double over the next 15 years.

* In 2002 there were about 12,500 desalination plants around the world in 120 countries. They produce some 14 million m²/day of freshwater, which is less than 1% of total world consumption.

* The most important users of desalinated water are in the Middle East, (mainly Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain), which uses about 70% of worldwide capacity; and in North Africa (mainly Libya and Algeria), which uses about 6% of worldwide capacity.

* Among industrialized countries, the United States is one of the most important users of desalinated water (6.5%), especially in California and parts of Florida.

Source: 1st United Nations World Water Development Report: “Water for People, Water for Life" (WWDR1, 2003)

Walk On Water - I Want One Of Those

Walk On Water - I Want One Of Those

I want one of these seems like the ultimate adult toy sotre!

Get your war on?

Onwillekeurig fronste ik mijn rimpelig voorhoofd

- Lennik hangt niet langer de Belgische vlaggen uit. Aldus Burgermeester Dewaele:"ik geloof niet meer in het Belgisch model - welke lading dekt deze vlag nog?" Vanaf deze zomer hangt de markt vol met Vlaamse Leeuwen (en een spandoek "SPLITS BHV")
- Chiro-jongeren worden in Wallonië VERPLICHT om de Belgische Vlag te hijsen. Er is VRIJHEID van BEVLAGGING tot nader order: dixit het kabinet Binnenlandse zaken:

'Wat niet verboden is, is toegelaten', luidt het op het kabinet Binnenlandse Zaken op onze vraag of de Chirojongens van Emelgem hun leeuwenvlag hadden moeten verwijderen. Volgens Binnenlandse Zaken is het gebruik van vlaggen helemaal vrij, zolang ze natuurlijk niet indruisen tegen de openbare orde. Hakenkruisvlaggen bijvoorbeeld zijn verboden. Alleen in protocollaire omstandigheden wordt voorgeschreven welke vlaggen moeten worden gehesen en hoe die moeten hangen.

- Michel Daerden, de minister van Sport van de Franse Gemeenschap, is tijdens de Olympische Spelen dronken opgemerkt op de tribunes van het tennis en het hockey. 'Michel Daerden heeft een echt drankprobleem, dat weet iedereen', reageert Vlaams minister van Sport Bert Anciaux donderdag in Het Laatste Nieuws. 'Maar hij is niet de enige. Anderen houden het verborgen, maar er wordt nog altijd zwaar gezopen in de politiek. Het ergert me dat al die overdadige alcohol zo vlot gebanaliseerd en zo makkelijk aanvaard wordt.' De woordvoerster van Daerden laat vanuit Peking weten dat 'de minister onmogelijk in de kennelijke staat kan geweest zijn waarin hij is beschreven.'
- Bart De Wever wordt steeds meer het voorwerp van doodsbedreigingen. "Von Wever"-vergelijkingen forceren zelfs de veiligheidsdiensten tot een permanente beveiliging en een onderzoek naar terrorisme: Wanneer komt de moord à la Van Gogh of Fortuyn?. De Wever zelve: 'Schelden aan de cafétoog is van alle tijden', merkte hij toen berustend op. 'In de digitale cultuur werd het internet de langste toog ooit, met onmiddellijke bediening.'
- Volgens Le Soir blijven de statistieken over verkeersongevallen in België uit, en zou dit te wijten zijn aan de trage regeringsvorming... Qué?
- Politici en mandatarissen geven hun inkomen en bijverdiensten niet aan: 650 van de 9.000 van de politici en hoge ambtenaren die hun mandaten bij het Rekenhof moeten bekendmaken, hebben dat niet gedaan. 820 onder hen lieten na hun vermogen aan te geven.

Kubrick's Boxes

First Book - that got you hooked

What got you hooked into reading as a child?

A.M.G. Schmidt? Captain Biggles? Roald Dahl, Koning van Katoren, Suske & Wiske, De Rode Ridder, Snoecks? Into the wild, Oosterschelde Windkracht 10, Tiny? Thea Beckmann? DoReMi?

In the States, they're setting up serious programmes to provide free books to the people who need them most.
Back in my own primary school, a ranking of the class was established at the beginning of the summer and you'd receive straight from the Mayor himself a PILE of literature that you could take home, proud as a monkey with a fresh banana? thankfully I hear that those taxeuros are still at work! Also, in our Jesuit College, there used to be bookfairs every trimester, which enabled you to buy whole series of trashliterature at almost no costs...

Mr. Anciaux would be well advised to keep some of our own precious literature under control (remember Gruuthuyze anyone?) and... to stimulate library visits all over the place. One of the reasons I loved going to public libraries in Dilbeek, Brussels, Namur or Leuven, was the access you got to hug amounts of (almost-nothing-to-rent) CDs! that was a huge stimulus for my reading habits!

Science fiction as a literature genre? lecture by Neal Stephenson

Xeno-ethnologist, confusion of genres, the standard model, post-cypberpunk.
Neal Stephenson has it all, in his ex cathedra "seminar" at Gresham College.
-> The top-10 Movies of all times are SF!

Syndicate Styled Muppets

Brooks Brothers | How To Tie A Tie | Classic Tie Knots

Brooks Brothers | How To Tie A Tie | Classic Tie Knots

A classic All-American store gives advice of note (and pictures) on how to tie a tie!

Why public toilets should pay you. - By William Saletan - Slate Magazine

Why public toilets should pay you. - By William Saletan - Slate Magazine

What? You've been giving away your urine for free?

All these years, you've been sitting there like an idiot—or standing, or squatting, or whatever it is you do—pissing away a perfectly good liquid asset. Turns out, you could have sold it.

I bet somebody will figure out pretty soon how to monetize toilet waste. And it won't be the government; it'll be the private sector. Did you see the New York Times story a few weeks back about restaurant grease? It's being illegally siphoned from filthy bins and barrels. Bandits are selling it for conversion to biodiesel. When bandits start siphoning public toilets, maybe governments will wake up and get in on the action. And you'll stop having to pay.

A Classic Case of Bad Communications

It's time to hide the valuables under the mattress... and buy a gun

Monday Morning Melancholie as the Summer starts on Canoe Lake

Are you rich

what's your annual income: approx. 45.000€? then you are the 56,480,199th richest person on this planet and you fit in the TOP 0.94%!

While you're out calculating, consider giving a bit to CARE
http://globalrichlist.com/

SHOZU

Tool, killer ap. alternative to Iphone...

The 20 Deadliest Plants of the planet... live in your backyard

Oleander, Belladonna-Deadly Nightshade, Taxus Baccata, Ligustrum, Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), Hyacinth, Digitalis purpurea, Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia)

They all live in our backyards and public parks and potentially are a hugely dangerouus threat to our lives...
http://www.purpleslinky.com/Trivia/Science/Deadliest-Plants-in-the-Planet.145297

Zombie Infection Simulation - The Original

Zombie Infection Simulation - The Original: "Zombie Infection Simulation v2.3 - The Original"

The planet is fine... the people are f$cked

George Carlin is simply too much
- the planet isn't going anywhere, we're going... Pack your shit folks
- why are we here? because the Earth wanted plastic and needed humans to make it...

Water Wiki's etc

The International Water Community is discovering new tools on the internet to hook up and spread knowledge and news. the latest discovery is SISWEB

It takes a kid to turn you into a man

Excellent article by serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson, contributor to the FT and who's having his first child later in life. some extracts of note

It takes a child to make a new man of you
By Luke Johnson

Published: June 25 2008 03:00 | Last updated: June 25 2008 03:00

...But becoming a father has a healthy, humanising impact, putting all the stress and ambition into perspective.

And so I have found that the favourite small talk in the 21st century among entrepreneurs is not football - thank God - but discussing one's family, as a civilised contrast to all that wealth accumulation. This is the first generation of New Man executives, whose chief hobbies are not golf and drinking but their children. These business leaders can not only close a sale or raise venture capital but they can also change a nappy, baby-sit and talk knowledgably about schools and exams.

This is a huge behavioural change from their predecessors of the 1960s and 1970s. The old-fashioned boss delegated all child-rearing to women: the wife or perhaps the nanny. He was rarely there for carol concerts or parents evenings - sometimes he was not even there for the birth. He was too busy building a fortune and, in the evenings, socialising with work clients or bankers. But, nowadays, I'm not alone in regularly slipping out of the office early to be home in time for the children's bath and a bedtime story.

Will we make better dads? I hope so. Will it compromise our careers and stunt our material success? Will our children thank us for the extra attention? Who knows?

...Those who marry and have children young face tougher choices. Do they go all-out for success and perhaps miss their children growing up? It is pretty hard to get ahead if you are willing to do only short days and never work at weekends.

...I have met plenty of alpha males who have achieved great things but sacrificed their personal lives along the way. Often they divorced because they were never at home. Sadly, material success tends to come at an emotional price.

... (la question à cent balles)
Should entrepreneurial fathers want their offspring to follow in their footsteps?

Everyone should decide their own path in life, even if there is a family company to inherit. Dynasties and nepotism only work if the candidate has genuine talent and appetite for the role. For those who are the offspring of renowned patriarchs, I advise pursuing a completely different profession, so unfavourable comparisons are impossible. As 19th century humorist Austin O'Malley said:

"The worst misfortune that can happen to an ordinary man is to have an extraordinary father."

I was lucky in that my dad taught me to make my own way in the world and believe anything is possible. It is sad that so many captains of industry have a single overwhelming regret: that their father never lived to see them become the conquering hero.

After all, entrepreneurs and children ought to get on well since they are similar in many ways: impatient, self-centred, demanding, enthusiastic, energetic and wilful. At board meetings it can occasionally be difficult to tell them apart. But, perhaps, that is what makes them fun to have around.

The writer is chairman of Channel 4 and runs Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm

Singapore Water Week Chair: "stop using the under--developed excuse"

The remarks made below by the Chairman of the Singapore World Water Week, should shed some light on the ongoing debates of the "international water community".

Access To Safe Drinking Water Should Be Recognised As A Human Right

SINGAPORE, June 26 (Bernama) -- Access to safe drinking water and to sustainable sanitation should be recognised as a human right, according to a statement at the closing of the water leaders' summit here Thursday.

Singapore International Water Week chairman Prof Tommy Koh said the governments of developing countries should stop using their "under-developed" state as an excuse for not fulfilling their responsibility to their people.
Presenting the statement here, Koh said there were over one billion people in the world, 700 million in Asia alone, who did not have access to safe drinking water which was essential for life.

He said the problem was not primarily due to inadequate financial resources, but to the absence of political will, mismanagement, lack of coordination, marginalisation of the poor and lack of a coherent water strategy.

Koh said there were many success stories on water from developing countries such as Cambodia, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Fiji.

It was also important to educate the people on the value of water and the need to conserve and not waste water, he said, adding that water should be sold at a price which reflected the real cost of water.

Koh said the summit acknowledged that the people lived in a diverse world and different countries needed different levels of water technology.

The summit concluded that more investment in research and development in water and the environment should be encouraged, and efforts to foster public-private partnership in solving water problems be doubled.

Koh said recent progress in water technology, such as desalination, reverse osmosis, membrane technology and their declining costs had enabled many cities, regions and countries, including Singapore, to solve their water problems.

R.I.P. George Carlin

Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker and Tits.

R.I.P

See this great routine on STUFF and below on the FLAMETHROWER

Fresh fruit salad for young kids, an "original" recipe

It may be a bit of a drastic approach,
but it sure as hell is tasty...

Throw away the organic materials into the compost vat


MixxieMixxie Overdrive

Serve for 2

Charles & Vitaly: born entertainers

The Power Nap

No comment: read and sleep!

Verplicht boom te planten bij huwelijk

De Standaard Online - Verplicht boom te planten bij huwelijk: "Verplicht boom te planten bij huwelijk
In Brazilië wil men pasgetrouwde koppels verplichten een boom te planten. Het gaat om een wetsvoorstel dat uit ecologische overwegingen is gelanceerd.
Het voorstel is ingediend door de PDT (Democratische Arbeiderspartij) bij het Braziliaanse Huis van Afgevaardigden. Zo wil men bruidsparen verplichten om tien bomen planten. Als een koppel gaat scheiden moeten er 25 bomen geplant worden.

Daarmee is het nog niet afgelopen. Ook kopers van auto's moeten hun steentje bijdragen voor het milieu. Zij moeten 20 bomen planten. Als het om een auto gaat die veel verbruikt moeten er tot 60 bomen geplant worden. thv"

Bad Taste?

Movie "POSTAL" by Uwe Boll, listed on the Deutsche Börse,
Would be a great asset in an unethical portfolio...

Love & Toilets: don't mix?

Water Wars?

Water wars ? - According to a study by Oregon State University, the world’s 263 trans-boundary rivers (whose basins cover nearly half the land surface of the world) generate more co-operation than conflict. “Over the past half-century, 400 treaties had been conducted over the use of rivers. Of the 37 incidents that involved violence, 30 occurred in the dry and bitterly contested region formed by Israel and its neighbours, where the upper end of the Jordan river was hotly disputed (…), before Israel took control in the 1967 war. And some inter-sate water treaties are very robust. The Indus river pact between India and Pakistan survived two wars and the deep crisis of 2002”. (The Economist – May 03/09, 08)

Boon's Fenomenale Feminatheek en nog meer "kunst" die jij niet mag zien

In Antwerpen werden ze verboden om de "goegemeente" tegen verderfelijke invloeden te beschermen... Resultaat: De Morgen zet ze online en De Standaard geeft het boek opnieuw uit ;-)

Via http://verlichtingshumanisten.web-log.nl/museum_kwetsende_kunst/

Climate Change: Beer at risk!

Climate change: Beer at risk

New Zealand - People who now dismiss the effects of global warming may soon take it really, really seriously. Climate expert Jim Salinger of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in Wellington, New Zealand predicted that warming and water shortages will diminish the production of barley within ten years. Barley malt is the main ingredient in beer. If barley harvests drop, beer prices will go up significantly, Salinger said.

Migrating toilets?

Duncan's sanitation blog is really insightful: a cool example of migratory toilets to induce trees to grow strong lateral roots!

Free Speech in Belgium

11.11.11. is suing Mr. Thierry Debels who has written a best-selling and insightful, yet critical book on the way Belgian development organisations work, raise money... campaign and then spend the remainings on real cooperation. Citing moral and economic prejudice, the leaders of the organisations bring Debels in front of the courts on May 22 2008 calling it "already proven" that Debels has damaged 11.11.11's reputation.

questions from our side:
- please please please let the courts decide...
- and then... let's have a DEMOCRATIC debate in Parliament, and not through the media
- while there is nothing against devcorp in general and 11.11.11 practices in particular, let's have an open discussion on how we want to fund development activities? and please, do not proclaim that NGO's are democratic and representative...
- as citizens we must call our governments to responsibility: there is a long-taken commitment to spend 0,7 % of GDP (dates from the seventies...): let us spend that money wisely through democratic and transparent channels that deliver results, for the poorest of the poor, and in areas where real differences can be made

Serentiy in the debate can only start by full disclosure and transparency: the cases cited by Debels in his book should be brought into the open, through parliamentary inquiries. Until further notice, free speech stands.

Climate Change: Expert-Lord Stern admits he was underestimating...

Lord Stern, author of the landmark 2007 Report for the UK Gov't admitted earlier this month that he underestimated the
- risk
- damages
-.... and probabilities of
increasing temperature beyond +3°C over the next 100 years.

In the report, he estimated the costs of climate change at between 5 per cent and 20 per cent of global gross domestic product. But Lord Stern said data published since the report came out had led him to change his mind.

Victim of ferocious attacks, calling Stern a "scarmonger", his Lordship traveled the world trying to convince public opinion and world leaders that immediate, thorough and desperate actions are needed... which led to the December 2007 UN Agreement in Bali that we'd negotiate for another 2 years to find some way of following-up on Kyoto.

You'd become a sceptic reading this stuff... or you could go about changing your own habits?

Wanted: Special Forces for the Belgian Army: Civilians may apply

This is simply unbelievable:

the Belgian Special Forces cannot find enough recrutable candidates within its own ranks: this has today with lack of motivation, according to De Standaard...

Out of 60 (! WOW!) operator positions, 23 cannot be filled with current "specialists"...

Applicants send CV to http://www.specialforcesgroup.be/

Schoolboeken bevestigen oude clichés...

Ondanks alle goede bedoelingen bevestigen schoolboeken nog heel vaak de bestaande stereotypen. Leerlingen die 'anders zijn' krijgen daardoor nog meer het gevoel dat ze afwijken van de norm.

Wanneer leerlingen op school over het gezin leren, krijgen ze als voorbeeld meestal een vader en moeder met een of twee kinderen. Wanneer ze over het Zuiden leren, gaat het meestal om arme mensen in hutjes.

(bron: De Standaard)

Commentaar: ja maar ja maar: we moeten toch oppassen dat we al die boeken niet volstouwen met zaken die niet in de meerderheid der gezinnen voorkomen.... Het is niet omdat het sociaal geaccepteerd is dat er nieuw-samengestelde gezinnen zijn etc... of dat er in het Zuiden ook Paleizen zijn dat je nu plotseling die kinderen moet gaan overtuigen van dat "anders-zijn" dat dat normaal is. Wanneer krijgen de "normale" kinderen ook eens de aandacht die ze verdienen....

Zie ook G.Paltrow die een depressie overhield aan haar bevalling van 2-jarig zoontje, notabene zegt ze zelf door al die "new-age" behandelingen...

Mogen we dit eigenlijk nog zeggen, laat staan schrijven?

Find a bunker (now!)

Blogging from UFA, Bashkortostan, Russian Federation:


German schoolboy, 13, corrects NASA's asteroid figures

Nico Marquardt used telescopic findings from the Institute of Astrophysics in Potsdam (AIP) to calculate that there was a 1 in 450 chance that the Apophis asteroid will collide with Earth, the Potsdamer Neuerster Nachrichten reported.

NASA had previously estimated the chances at only 1 in 45,000 but told its sister organisation, the European Space Agency (ESA), that the young whizzkid had got it right.

Both NASA and Marquardt agree that if the asteroid does collide with earth, it will create a ball of iron and iridium 320 metres (1049 feet) wide and weighing 200 billion tonnes, which will crash into the Atlantic Ocean.

The shockwaves from that would create huge tsunami waves, destroying both coastlines and inland areas, whilst creating a thick cloud of dust that would darken the skies indefinitely.

The 13-year old made his discovery as part of a regional science competition for which he submitted a project entitled: "Apophis -- The Killer Astroid."

Cats - as explained by engineers

When the FT encourages you to read up on chicken behaviour

Roosters & Hens: we're in for some serious societal changes:

A roosters' job is to watch over the hens. Even if he has only one female, a rooster will stand near her through the day as she scratches in the dirt for morsels, and takes dirt baths. He will crow throughout the day, letting the world know, "I'm the man!"

Build your own coop! Give more freedom to your chickens (and design...)
More information: "Backyard Chickens"

Dude!

Gaasbeek - prettiest town of Flanders

Starting April 26, please go vote for Gaasbeek: since we're probably the lowest populated village among the 15 nominees in Flanders, we rely on your votes!

More information and campaign details:
http://mooistedorpgaasbeek.blogspot.com/
http://www.lennik.be/h111bepc161gg.aspx

Arsenal: new album "LOTUK" (*****)

Avant-garde Flemish humor: de Kennedys

De Kennedy’s zijn terug. Maar ze komen niet uit Amerika! En ze zijn nooit dood geweest! Nee, ze wonen bij u om de hoek en ze hebben een mening over alles en iedereen. Wie weet herkent u uw buurman wel als een lid van de Kennedy’s

Het gaat namelijk over u!

Funny Games

Funny Games (EU 1997)



10 years later, Michael Haeneke delivers a powerful blow to what he calls "the american way of life". Some repeat this mantra over and over again that the US way of life is "negotiable".

from Lebombo Bone -- oldest mathematical artefact to Tesseract: math rules!

The Lebombo bone is the oldest known mathematical artifact. It dates from 35000 BC and consists of 29 distinct notches that were deliberately cut into a baboon's fibula. It was discovered within a cave in the Lebombo mountains of Swaziland.


Just when you think you're freed of Maths forever, here it springs back to life! Including 3-d representation of fantastic objects with a real sci-fi feeling (hypercube anyone, or do you view it as a tesseract...)

The fastest blogger on the planet - thalysnet @ 300k/h

A through masterpiece of contemporary engineering, and a classic example of prime and luxurious European-style travelling, the Thalys connection between Paris and Brussels now offers high-speed internet! Blogging at 300km/h! Welcome to the future...

... and now: the news!

Gehoord op Radio1 vanochtend: uitspraak van Karel De Gucht, overal gelauwerd minister van Buitenlandse Affaires étrangers/étrangères:

de Quintessens van Europa is de communautaire methode

...als reactie op de creatie binnenkort van de nieuwe post van Europeens "Voorzitter van de Raad" (om het vuile woord "Europees President" niet in de mond te moeten nemen).

Zegt De Gucht nog: Volgens 'België' (ik dus ook), moet het standpunt blijven verdedigd worden dat diegene die "Voorzitter" wordt, uit een land moet komen dat écht alle Europese mechanismen volgt; inclusief Schengen, EUROzone, etc... zodanig dat het VK en meer bepaald T.Blair uitgesloten zijn van deze post. Enne... die persoon mag zich zeker niet te veel voorstellen van diene post, want er is ook nog de speciale Europese vertegenwoordiger voor buitenlandse zaken, en de Voorzitter van de Commissie...

... "wie gelooft die diplomaten en ambtenaren nog"? Postjes creëren, mandaten en generale staven...

... Als dus Bush of Medvedev binnenkort zeggen: get met the President of Europe: wie gaan ze dan bellen? Drie man tegelijk?

QED: dat was dus de communautaire methode

Aesop's Fables and Hundreds of Children's Stories

The Bear and the Two Travelers

TWO MEN were traveling together, when a Bear suddenly met them on their path. One of them climbed up quickly into a tree and concealed himself in the branches. The other, seeing that he must be attacked, fell flat on the ground, and when the Bear came up and felt him with his snout, and smelt him all over, he held his breath, and feigned the appearance of death as much as he could. The Bear soon left him, for it is said he will not touch a dead body. When he was quite gone, the other Traveler descended from the tree, and jocularly inquired of his friend what it was the Bear had whispered in his ear. "He gave me this advice," his companion replied. "Never travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of danger."

Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.

National Geographic Desktop Wallpapers - Nice Rat!

RAT: Don't be too quick to squeal in revulsion: Rats are surprisingly intelligent and, actually, quite a bit like us. They giggle when tickled, they're sociable, they appreciate, even anticipate, sex. They also know their own intellectual limits, called metacognition, a trait thought limited to apes. In audio tests in which rats were rewarded for correct answers, given nothing for incorrect answers, and given a small reward for admitting "I don't know," they opted for reliable (albeit meager) "I don't know" treats when they lacked confidence in judgment. Not too shabby for filthy alley vermin.

National Geographic: Desktop pictures per monthly issue

Fonts (for Kids & adults..)

Listed on the Telegraph's 101 Useful websites, DAFONT.com enables you to download any font you might think off... Try the "Kids" category for hours of fun printing invitations, cartoons & drawings...

50 Movies That All Guys Should See Before They Die

50 Movies That All Guys Should See Before They Die - A Modern Guide

Reading: The Ruins (soon to be a major blockbuster movie?)
Viewing: Star Wars (but fell asleep halfway through, chronic fatigue)
Listening to: Daft Punk
Thinking: Damn, I've still got to run 15k before Sunday...
Travelling: soon to UFA, capital of the Bashkortostan Republic

Techno for Kids

Vandaag speciaal voor die jonge ouders die begot nie weten wat aangevangen op een druilerige vakantiedag!

- http://techno.wikispaces.com/
- www.technotkeek.be
- www.klasse.be/ouders

Water - Viral Video

Wie gelooft die mensen nog?

Heden op de radio: Bart Somers becommentarieert de "regeringsverklaring", die in de maak is en dringend af moet, daar Leterme binnenkort het roer over neemt:

B. Somers - "het zal geen écht regeringsakkoord zijn, want op 10 dagen was er niet genoeg tijd om in de details te treden"

Hoe zoe? geen tijd, en wat zijn die mannen al 9 maanden aan het doen? de anti-politiek aan 't voeden, me dunkt...
Geen tijd: if they'd be working in the private sector...

Global Sanitation Fund launched

Press Release


Forty percent of the world’s population - 2.6 billion people - do not have access to basic sanitation. The Millennium Development Goal target of halving the number of people without access to sanitation is the furthest from being achieved. However, the estimated annual cost for attaining this goal is only $9.5 billion. If sustained, the same investment could ensure basic sanitation for the whole world in one or two decades. To help reach this target, the WSSCC is launching the Global Sanitation Fund, one of the major initiatives of the International Year of Sanitation 2008.

7(+) List of Deadly sins

The Vatican has (unilaterally) and (without consultation with the constituency) updated the list of 7 DEADLY SINS (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride) as follows:

The New Mortal Sins

1.) genetic modification

2.) carrying out experiments on humans

3.) polluting the environment

4.) causing social injustice

5.) causing poverty

6.) becoming obscenely wealthy

7.) taking drugs


and... as a sidenote, released the Automobile Driver's 10 Commandments (!)
The "Drivers' Ten Commandments"

1.) You shall not kill.

2.) The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of mortal harm.

3.) Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen events.

4.) Be charitable and help your neighbor in need, especially victims of accidents.

5.) Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.

6.) Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are not in a fitting condition to do so.

7.) Support the families of accident victims.

8.) Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time, so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.

9.) On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.

10.) Feel responsible toward others.

Only in Belgium

1 of the 6 reasons to invest in Belgium: "the intelligent tax system"

9/11 - the truth is out there

Deux terroristes aux commandes d'un avion (Postal) - Vidéo

Jacht versus Vogelbescherming: JEP veroordeelt Rodts & Co

De Vogelbescherming Vlaanderen probeert op een "vernederende" manier leden te ronselen. Als weidelijk jager en natuurliefhebber voel ik me dan ook persoonlijk aangesproken door de onderstaande clip. De JEP - Raad voor ethische praktijken in de reclame - heeft beslist om de spot uit de ether te halen (zie besluit op deze link). Toch blijft Youtube meedraaien in propaganda: oordeel zelf:

uittreksel uit de argumentatie:

De Jury is dan ook van oordeel dat deze spots:
kleinerend overkomen door de jagers in diskrediet te brengen ( vermaak jagers wordt op overdreven wijze uitvergroot waardoor de jagers in het belachelijke worden getrokken);
stereotypes en vooroordelen tav jagers bestendigen die indruisen tegen de maatschappelijke evolutie mbt wildbeheer en aanvaard gedrag van jagers, en derhalve stigmatiserend overkomen;

2008 - International Year of Sanitation / World Water & Sanitation Day 2008

Reading: Ten things you should know about Sanitation
Viewing: http://esa.un.org/iys/
Listening to: DAFT PUNK - Alive 2007: "Around the world, Harder Better"
Thinking: 20k in May - how the hell am I going to run 15k every 3 days...
Travelling: from Cotonou,Benin to London, UK

SANITATION Blog by Prof. Duncan MARA

S a n i t a t i o n: "S a n i t a t i o n
Personal and fairly maverick views on how international sanitation targets can be achieved"