Billion

Een miljard euro

Hoeveel is nu eigenlijk een miljard euro? Tien tot de macht negen. Een politicus aarzelt niet om te spreken over miljarden, terwijl de gemiddelde burger geen flauw benul van dit concept heeft. Laten we het even in perspectief brengen:

Een miljard seconden geleden was het 1977.

Een miljard minuten geleden was het Romeinse Rijk op zijn grootst.

Een miljard uur geleden leefden onze voorvaders in het stenen tijdperk.

Een miljard euro geleden was slechts 51 uur en 54 minuten met de snelheid waarmee Den Haag het uitgeeft.

A billion dollars

How much is a billion dollars? Ten to the power of nine. A politician will casually use the word, whereas the common man has absolute no grasp of the concept. So let's visualize the billion dollars.

A billion seconds ago it was 1977.

A billion minutes ago the Roman Empire was at its largest expansion.

A billion hours ago our acenstors were living in the stone age.

A billion dollars ago was only 37 hours and 32 minutes ago at the rate Ottawa spends it.

Epiloog

Voor de oplettende lezer: Canada en Nederland geven ongeveer even veel uit. Met Canada's geld worden echter twee keer zoveel mensen en 100 keer zoveel landmassa bestuurd. Zelfs als je de begroting van British Columbia meerekent blijft de discrepantie. Dwaas als je het mij vraagt. De publieke voorzieningen zijn het zelfde. De medische zelfs beter. In Canada loop je gewoon gratis bij de doktor naar binnen wanneer dat jou uit komt, en niet wanneer de huisarts je eindelijk wenst te ontvangen. Tja, in Canada hebben ze het voordeel dat ze niet elke maand het parlement verhuizen naar Brussel of Strasbroug. Maar daar is iets aan te doen.

Debugging

My colleague Cedric sent me this funny wisdom on debugging computer code:

The Six Stages of Debugging:

1. That can’t happen.
2. That doesn’t happen on my machine.
3. That shouldn’t happen.
4. Why in the hell does that happen?
5. Oh, I see.
   
6. How in the hell did that ever work?

De sneeuw schoen

Eindelijk, mijn eerste dag wintersport in Vancouver. Ik ben met Amy naar Cypress moutain geweest. Daar hebben we door de sneeuw gelopen. Snow-shoeing noemen ze dat hier. Vroeger had je dan van die rieten plateaus onder je voeten. Tegenwoordig is het allemaal aluminium en koolstof vezel. Het was een flinke work-out, en het weer was perfect. De lucht was helder genoeg om niet alleen Vancouver te kunnen zien, maar zelfs Vancouver Island. De vogeltjes op de berg waren tam.

Computers kill democracy

It's interesting to see what is happening now in the US with Obama and Clinton. However, a dangerous trend has emerged. More and more elections are conducted using electronic means. This is a dangerous development. I studied Computer Science, and I know that computers and voting do not mix. Votes should be put down in paper. Changing a few bytes in a computer memory is a lot easier than forging thousands of ballots. What has happened now in New Hampshire is an outrage. If democracy is to be saved, we need to do away with electronic elections. Diebold voting machines: Ron Paul got 0 votes. Complaints by people who actually voted Ron Paul were followed by a "correction". Ron Paul did get votes after all. Stop e-voting now, I say.

Kwak Kwak Kwak Kwak

On new year's eve I will be hosting a party with Amy. Yesterday we stocked up on drinks and food. Today we did the decorations. The yellow Ford GT model was a xmas gift by Goran. To have a little break, we visited UBC's museum for Anthropology. Man, oh man, the European colonists really gave the natives a hard time. In the Canadian-Indian Act, they even outlawed congregations of natives. This ban was finally revoked in 1951. In that year, they could finally have a traditional fest again. We had a tourguide telling us about the coastal tribes. Erroneously, she referred to them as the Kwak Kwak Kwak. However, they were actually called the Kwak Kwak Kwak Kwak. They were pretty primitive, as they had to learn the concept of a wheel from the Europeans.



Voor oudjaar host ik met Amy een feestje. Gisteren hebben we drank en voedsel ingeslagen. Vandaag hebben we de decoraties gedaan. De gele Ford GT was een kerst cadeautje van Goran. Als intermezzo hebben we het Anthropologie museam van UBC bezocht. Man, oh man, wat hebben de Europeanen veel leed bezorgd. In de Canadian-Indian act werd het de natives zelfs verboden om hun traditionele bijeenkomsten te houden. Pas in 1951 konden ze weer hun feesten houden. We hadden een gids voor de rondleiding. Ze vertelde over de kust-volkeren, die ze foutief als de Kwak Kwak Kwak benoemde. Volgens mij heten ze namelijk Kwak Kwak Kwak Kwak. Ze waren erg primitief, daar ze het concept van het wiel van de Europeanen moesten leren.

Bald Eagle

We're visiting Amy's mother on Vancouver Island. Her house is close to the ocean, and there is abundance of wildlife here. I saw my first bald eagle. Perched in the top of a tree. When it took off, it flew right over the house. It was an impressive spectacle. After the hibernation period, I hope to see some grizzly bears as well. Today we visited Tofino. This is a hippie town on the far west of the island. It was popular with American draft-dodgers who did not want to go to Vietnam. Now it is a mixture of hippies and surfers. It has a laid back atmosphere. The pacific here is pretty ferocious. The waves much more violent than what I saw in La Jolla California. Here, swimming is out of the question. Signs here explain it all: Q: can you swim here? A: NO! People die every year, do not let it be you. Well, I did not.

SOCOM in Afghanistan

Hmm... that was an interesting news article that Jacco has sent me. The subscript reads: Corporal 1^st class Stefan(22) plays on board of a Hercules-plane fully engaged in the war-game ‘Socom’ against his comrades. Right below him, where he will land a few minutes later, battle is waged against the Taliban.

Holiday Release

My Open Sourced hobby project, Stormbaan Coureur, is getting more and more polished. I've added high tech suspension and real time shadow mapping. To promote the upcoming release, which I dubbed the holiday release, I have created a rock video. The rock was composed and performed by my good friend Johan Stolk. So turn up the volume of your speakers, and play the video. Pay attention to the detailed independent double wishbone suspension and the leaf springs. And Johan... you rock! UPDATE: Version 2.0.0 has been released.

Title Defended

Today was race day. Slantsix boss Dan had organized a GO KART endurance event. As I had been boasting about my racing prowess, the pressure was on. Well, I am quite satisfied. Although Dan was slightly faster in qualifying, I managed to get the fastest lap overall. In the endurance race my team took second place. As I have now beat 21 colleagues on the track, my claim to resident Slantsix champion holds more weight now.

Vandaag was race-dag. Slantsix baas Dan organiseerde een GO KART endurance event. Alhoewel Dan sneller in de kwalificatie was, heb ik de snelste ronde tijd van de avond neergezet. In de endurance race werd mijn team tweede. Omdat ik nu 21 collega's op de baan heb verslagen, heeft mijn claim op de Slantsix kampioen status nu meer gewicht.

winter time

Winter has arrived in downtown Vancouver. This old tree is right next to my apt building. I have not yet been to the ski slopes, but the company has passes for Cypress mountain, so I should see some winter sport action this season. The local mountains for skiing are Grouse, Cypress and Seymour. And a little further in-land there is Whistler and Blackcomb. We're about to attend Amy's office X-mass party which is held right around the corner on Beach Avenue. I hope my new pants will not get wet. I had to buy some today, as my wardrobe here only contained jeans.

Mounted

A quick update, as it has been a while since I wrote an entry in this web log. Ok, last weekend, Santa Claus paraded into town. And with him, practically all the organizations in the Vancouver community. It was fun to watch. On the photo you see me with some Mounted Police without their mounts. The red uniform is one f the most recognizable international symbols. It was chosen as a contrast against the American Army's blue one, so that Indians could tell bad (US army) from good (Canadian police) guys. Talking about Canadians and Americans: they both like to line up at restaurants and bars. The longer the line, the more they want to eat there. In the other news: I received my copy of the OpenGL Orange Book from Amazon. I am using it to improve Stormbaan Coureur.

Parking Regulations Vancouver Style

The city council here loves parking signs. They love them so much that they prefer to bundle them together. Take this sign at Beach Avenue for example. You are supposed to read them in a flash as you drive by looking for a spot. Interpret four pictograms, three arrows, two time ranges, a duration, and two day ranges in one second. You get here at Saturday 17:00h and see this sign. What do you do? Park or do not park? That's the question. BUZZZZZ! Wrong answer.

De stadsraad heeft een voorliefde voor parkeer verkeersborden. Het liefst gebruiken ze deze bij bosjes. Neem bijvoorbeeld deze collectie op Beach Avenue. Je wordt verondesteld om het even snel in het voorbijgaan te lezen, terwijl je op zoek bent naar een plekje. Ontcijfer vier pictogrammen, drie pijltjes, twee tijd slots, een tijdsduur en twee dag specificaties in een seconde. Je komt hier op Zaterdag, 17:00 uur, wat doe je? Parkeren of niet parkeren? BZZZZ! fout antwoord.

Canuck Impotence

I just witnessed my first NHL hockey game. The local team here had adopted the US slang word Canuck. It's a good thing that I saw some proper hockey by the Giants, because the Canucks failed to score tonight. Well, normally a 0-0 does not have to be bad, as long as it is Soccer. In Hockey, I expect at least some goals, or if not, some dog fighting. Both were not present at this game. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd periods were goal-less, and so was the extra time. Even when they did the shoot-out (much like Penalties in Soccer) Vancouver failed to score. The Edmonton Oilers put in 1 goal during the shoot-out though. At work I had printed out the anthem lyrics, but darn it, I left it at the office. So I sang along half the lines of the anthem. Oh well, better luck next time. The pictures show the line up for the anthem, and the first Oiler shoot-out (a miss).

Remembrance

November the 11th has a different meaning in Canada than it has in North Holland. Here, we remember the fallen soldiers. Amy and I went to a performance by the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra. I had never been to a symphony orchestra before, and must say I was blown away... Wow. They played one of my favourive pieces: Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber (1910-1981). It started with the Canadian anthem, which was very impressive. I meant to learn the lyrics, but I had not yet taken the time. I regretted this, as I would have liked to sing along. The adagio was chilling. Goosebumps all over. Brahms, Elgar and Dvorak were wonderful also. I definately want to go more often. It seems to be a well kept secret here. Fantastic music, which is easily accessible. The audience was mostly family of the more than 80 orchestra members, but they are exceptionally good.


11 November heeft hier een andere betekenis dan in Noord Holland. Hier herdenken we de gevallen Canadase soldaten. Amy en ik hebben een optreden van het Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra bijgewoond. Het was mijn eerste symphonie concert ooit, en wow, was ik even onder de indruk. Ze speelden zelfs een van mijn favoriete stukken: Adagio for Strings door Samuel Barber (1910-1981). Het begon met het Canadese volkslied, en dat was zeer indrukwekkend. I was van plan de tekst te leren, maar daar was het nog niet van gekomen. Graag had ik het meegezongen. The Adagio was een enorme ervaring waar ik kippevel van kreeg. Ook Brahms, Elgar en Dvorak waren prachtig. Het lijkt een goedbewaard geheim. De bezoekers waren voornamelijk familieleden van de meer dan 80 orkest leden, maar het niveau was bijzonder hoog.

My first Hockey game

Courtesy of Shawna, I attended my first hockey game. It was between the Vancouver Giants and the Prince George Cougars. It's not the big NHL, but a lower league game. Yet, over 6000 people attended it. I was rooting for the cougars, but the Giants fans you see in the picture had more to cheer for. They won with 7 to 4 goals. I blame the ref who was favouring the home team. See in the photo how shameless commercialism is taking over the noble game. During recess, little kids battled it out on the ice.

Fare Thee Well

Amy's zus had ons uitgenodigd voor een bezoek aan een concert van Great Big Sea, een band uit New Found Land. De band heeft een trouwe schare fans, die het repetoire uit volle borst meezingt. De muziek klinkt af en toe alsof het uit een Iers vissersdorp komt. Best wel tof, zeker met een biertje op. Het podium was van een Casino. Mijn vader zal trots op me zijn, ik heb welgeteld nul dollar, en nul pennies aan het gokken besteed. Verder heb ik nog te melden dat nu eindelijk mijn naam op de gevel van het gebouw prijkt. Na er 5 keer omgevraagd te hebben, heb ik het uiteindelijk zelf moeten doen.


English translation is left as an excercise for the reader.