Usquert

Today I was in Usquert -one of the most northern villages in east of The Netherlands to visit my friend and colleague Ben and his parent. It was a very nice visit in their beautiful home stacked with art and antiques. Ben is a smart guy and am always impressed of his enthusiasm and his plans.

Photoshop CS3 and the lost serial numbers

I am trying to buy the upgrade for PS CS3. Unfortunately I switch platforms and according to the customer service upgrading to CS3 is then only possible with their help. The consequence is that I have to produce to original Photoshop 7.0 disks or serial numbers... I started working with PS about 5 years ago and 3 PC's ago. So the disks and the numbers are all gone and forgotten. Fleur from customers services has only one option left: buy a new full license at the extra costs of a whopping 1000 euro.... :-( 


The end of magazines as we know it


Got an email of my favorite The NewYorker today: would I be interested in receiving the magazine digitally from now on? After Mac World and Photoshopuser, this would be my third digital publication.
Is this a new rage among US publishers? Saving distribution costs? Anyway I like the computermags to be digital, because I can use the links straight of the pages and it is something I would read in my office anyhow. But my The NewYorker is consumed in bed, just before going to sleep. How am I suppossed to read it then: on my macbook? I guess we have to wait for the next e-reader generation and
hope we still are able to receive old fashioned paper for now.

New Scooter

Because of the limited range of my electric scooter I need a (normal) petrol one. These two made the short list...

I am Gay!


I am not Gay!

Thank you for coming out, (ex?) Senator Larry told reporters when he tried to explain why he admitted he tried t have sex with an undercover FBI agent at Miami airport. He said: I am not gay - which doesn't really matter because straight guys to can have gay sex now and a while.
In the mean time I have applied to become an undercover agent - it must be the best job in the world. But I guess I am to late because even those who invented such a thing must by now understand that they might have better things to do...


Are your jeans sagging? Go directly to jail!

Sagging pants are becoming a criminal offense in a growing number of communities in the USA. Starting in Louisiana, an intensifying push by lawmakers has determined pants worn low enough to expose underwear poses a threat to the public.It subject offenders to a fine (as much as $150 plus court costs) or jail time (up to 15 days).

Next: Death penalty for women who wear leggings? :-)

Sorry Jaap...


Banner Blindness

Jacob Nielsen did a nice eye-tracking research on how people -don't- see (text) banners. As I already thought people don't (want) see any simple display/text advertising!

It couldn't happen anywhere else then in Belgium...

Yesterday a top adviser of the Belgium King, Jean_Luc Dehaene came by to give his opinion about the political crisis the country is in. In his hand he had a secret document with the highlights of his strategy. Naturally a photographer made a quick shot of this and now we all know what he told the king... :-) (which is by the way completely boring and not important...)


See all your favorite movies before they premiere for free...

VideoHybrid is a sort of search engine for video's but with a little twist. Here you can find the new Jason Bourne, Rush Hour 3 etc before they appear in the cinema, The quality isn't always that great, but hey: it is for free!

Late entries from the TCM BBQ

Francois Rousseau




Every day Eddie and I are in the middle of a fight...




With new latest volume of the Hans Warrens' secret diary Eddie and I both can read at the same time in a Warren diary. Unfortunately in the beginning 90's he and his lover Mario had fight after fight about...nothing!
Luckily Eddie and I are reading about something we have no first hand experience of what so ever... -)
New: now you can search in a couple of Warrens' books.

Abdellah Taia

Finally the last novel of Abdellah Taia is translated in Dutch so that normal mortal souls like me are able to read it. My French is such that I lose all subtle details. Brotherly Love is a great book withi ntense storytelling about how it is to grow up as gay boy in a huge Moroccan family.

Telegraaf BBQ

Today we had our first traditional Telegraaf BBQ at Strand Zuid. It was a wonderwfull evening: great weather, good food , lots of entertainment, very big prizes and FUN! I guess there are still treasure chests on the beach - we couldn't find them all back - so if you are there one f these days, start digging!


Macho Putin

Where can you find a country now-a-days where the president is really a strong man? This pictures from his official blog shows Putin at his very best - not bad for a guys of 55... :-)


Amazing resizing of photo's

Technology by Ariel Shamir of the Efi Arazi School of Computer Science in Israel.

Wow: have a look. And I thought that photoshop CS3 and Photosynth were the latest on photo manipulation. This really takes us a big step further. Cannot wait for the commercial version of this software.

Xmas in Bangkok

Just made our reservation for our flights to Bangkok this Xmas. It's now time to try to find out where to stay and what to do. We will be there for a whole month! So time isn't the issue (well maybe it is: we have to much...)
One thing we will certainly go and see is a Thai Boxing match.

Xmas in Bangkok

Just made our reservation for our flights to Bangkok this Xmas. It's now time to try to find out where to stay and what to do. We will be there for a whole month! So time isn't the issue (well maybe it is: we have to much...)
One thing we will certainly go and see is a Thai Boxing match.