Month: July 2008

We've worked long and hard on the project, the many complex pieces of the puzzle are now falling nicely in place, and now the first fruits are being plucked from the tree of success.

Today Startpagina verkeer went live using the advanced HD Traffic technology. One has a good feeling that it has been a worthwhile endeavor, and to think that there is more to come makes it all even more exciting. Just wait and see what we have in store!

I'm proud to be a part of the team, that's for sure.

You can't just go out there thinking you'll simply whack the ball around and expect to play a half decent round of golf.

You need to have a game plan organized well in advance, before you even tee off on the very first hole.

This can best be done during your early morning cup of coffee and then during the ride to the golf course. No need to rush things, just relax and prepare yourself mentally.

Start on the first hole and in your mind put yourself through a number of scenarios. What happens if I pull the ball to the left? What if I fade into into the trees? Suppose I'm right in front of the bunker and the flag is tucked tightly right in front?

Now proceed to the following hole. Should I chip the ball low and let it bounce up to the green or can I better hit the ball high and hard so that it lands right next to the pin? What happens if I misjudge the distance and fly over the green

Before you realize it you've visualized all eighteen holes and you are feeling more confident. Hopefully it won't be raining when you get there.

Hurrah, the book I ordered last week from amazon.co.uk has arrived and it's called "Building a Server With FreeBSD 7" by Bryan J. Hong, and I can't wait to read it

Sub-titles "A Modular Approach" it's full of valuable hints on how to install and configure your very own dream machine.

I'm a little bit weary about upgrading FreeBSD, but the new version has so many new features and improvements that I'd be foolish to wait much longer.

Appendix D gives a nice, succinct overview of the protocols.

It had been a pretty busy day at work, so sitting in the train I gave a quick yawned and stretched my arms in the air and back of me.

That's when I felt something unusual, something scratchy and furry at the same time. Confused, I felt it with my fingers and rubbed the scratchy mass between my thumb and forefinger.

What is that?!

When I turned my head to the left and craned my neck backwards to see what this eerie object might be, my two eyes met the two eyes of the passenger sitting behind me.

We were sitting back to back and that furry object happened to be his bushy hair at the back of his head.

An uncomfortable grin and a quick nod were my non-verbal apologies, and when he nodded back at me with an equally slight grin I felt better.

What an idiot I'd been.

Nothing exists inherently, or is its own cause.

An object can be defined only in terms of other objects. Interdependence is essential to the manifestation of phenomena.

The world would not be able to function without it.

So a given phenomenon can come about only if it is linked to others.

Reality cannot be localized and fragmented, but should be considered as holistic and global.

(Borrowed from the book "The Quantum and the Lotus" by Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan, which I just finished reading last week)

As you can see I finally found time in the weekend to upgrade my blog to the latest version of Movable Type. I also decided to enable comments again, so feel free to click on the link and leave a message.

I also now automatically redirect the visitor from the old-fashioned blog to this one, so if you try and go to www.kiffinsblog.com you will end up here at www.kiffingish.com/blog. In the meantime I'll gradually migrate the fancy design stuff from the old site over to here in order to make it more personal and Kiffin-like.

Now I have to do my other more important chores for the day: repair the patio sliding door, oil the kitchen faucet, and fix the shower (after two minutes there is no more hot water).

I've got a really bad case of the shanks lately, and for the life of me I cannot seem to shake them off. Messes up my golf score big city.

Here's a typical scenario. I hit a beautiful shot from the tee which splits the fairway in half and flies way down towards the green. My second approach shot shanks right and disappears into the thick foliage. I lose the ball and have to take a one stroke penalty. As I address the ball for the next shot I'm nervous I will shank it yet again.

Once you get an acute case of the shakes, you approach every new shot with the inner fear that this is going to happen again. The more you think about it the higher the chances it will indeed happen again.

And again, and again, and again.

So in that regard it's mostly a psychological thing. Now I have to straighten out that mental kink and get my act back together.

Either that or give up golf altogether. I'd much rather keep playing golf though.

Shanks Tip Sheet.

For the first time in decades I had had a cavity. When I sat down in the dentist's chair, I leaned back, opened my mouth and stared at the bright light above me, wondering what would happen next.

"So do you want a shot of Novocaine or not?" she asked me politely, with a subtle hint in her tone of voice as if she were challenging my manhood, daring me to say no. Don't be a loser and prove you are really a man.

Without a second of hesitation, I shook my head and said calmly "No, there was no need for it." Pretending to be brave, I grabbed my left and right hands tightly together, hooking them across my belly in anticipation of this early morning torture treatment.

To be honest, I had always wondered what it would be like, so I was a little bit prepared. I'd heard from others that it could hurt slightly, but the slight inconvenience of jabbing needle-like pain would more than compensate the half day of numbed lips and cheek, talking like a retard while coffee dribbled down the side of your face.

I survived the ordeal just fine. At one point I was tensing up so badly, arching my back in anticipation of the next intense bee-sting, that the dentist advised me just to relax by unhooking my hands and lying them loosely to my sides. "Just think about something else," she advised me.

When it was all over, I proudly shook her hand and left. My legs were slightly wobbly and my hands were trembling ever so slightly but discretely.

In the end, I felt that I had challenged fate head on and overcome yet another obstacle in the never-ending pursuit of happiness. Don't let a boring visit to the dentist distract you from your noble pursuit.

With those thoughts dancing around in my head, I cycled to the central station and caught the train to my work in Amsterdam.

During the one hour commute, I quickly forgot about that ordeal altogether. It faded away like some long lost memory. By the time I would get out of the train and would embark on the five minute walk to the office, it would indeed turn out to be yet another normal day.