Yesterday I watched the movie ‘Khodorkovsky’. I got a very ‘sad’ (a very poor description) feeling after watching it. Apart from that a set of various events (murders, the ex-KGB officer Litvinenko who I never heard about before he died in London, etc.) I heard on the news at different times joined together and were not weird anymore.
Alkmaar = Maastricht * Utrecht
Today I was doing some shopping in Alkmaar. I must say I have never been to Alkmaar before… But it has become my target for an extensive photo shooting :) I will organise there. It was a feeling I was both in Utrecht and Maastricht at once. It is that beautiful!
Quark mixed with raisin is now a part of my daily breakfast. Photography is an addiction: I could not force myself to start having breakfast until I got the photo which suited me. :)
Absolutely stunning landscape videography.
I hate Dutch transport system
One of the things I hate in NL is transport system. Absolutely no care about customers. Ok, not all the time but majority of time. It concerns both railways and non-rail transport. If you running to the bus or tram and knock the door opposite to the driver, 95% he will not open the door. If you cross the road in front of the tram, 95% the tram which was just standing at the stop will start the movement even if you are 2m away. Right now I’m going to Rotterdam from The Hague. According to the Dutch information system the road between these two cities is blocked, so no trains. The only possible way is via Gouda. I would assume “they” would add additional carriages but no, there are only 3 (2 for the 2nd class completely overloaded by people as if you were on a Vietnamese bus and 1 for the 1st class completely empty :).
Anyway, I wonder how well they are prepared for the snow. 2 years ago the Dutch railway system was frozen with no trains going to anywhere. The few months later, in Spring, the Dutch transport ministry promised to prepare the railways for winter much better. You know what?! The story repeated the next winter. :)
Tomorrow in The Hague there going to be a transport strike resulting in absence of trams and busses. You know what I wish? I feel like an asshole right now but I don’t only want drivers’ salaries to be raised but I also want their salaries to be reduced. At the same time I really wish the Dutch transport ministry to introduce professional courses for their employees to improve their customer care skillz.
Cheers. I hope to be in Rotterdam for my photo shoot assignment on time. :)
MY Photo Debut at The Hague Expats Halloween Party 2011
After a big break with shooting the city events I debuted last Friday shooting The Hague Expats Halloween Party 2011. The indoor events I was mostly working at before were the concerts where the flash usage was prohibited. I should say it was my first experience of shooting a 6-hour party mostly with flash. The latter was not my favorite tool in my photo luggage. However, after reading a ton of literature prior to the party, 6-hour practice and not bad results I should admit this nice “toy” will appear attached to my camera more often.
Pilates ball as computer chair
I have just replaced my computer chair with a Pilates ball. It is 75cm against mine 203cm, so not ideal but still OK. The rule, correct me if I am wrong, is that the ball size should be near your height-110cm. I could not find the ball of 90cm in size, so I bought 75cm one. Besides, your hips should be parallel to the floor. That was impossible with all of my computer chairs and it seems to be OK with this ball. Another plus I have found is that you can do some exercises while sitting on the ball and still working. Certainly, the best would be to remove your focus from PC to focus on exercises only. Then just roll back… :)
OMG, It’s Different!
OMG, It’s Different! That was the first phrase my new customer expressed after I finished explanation of the new concept for information architecture of the new website for the Dutch handball association. In fact this “difference” is something he was really afraid I would present to him. Then he laid back on his chair and started to slowly analyze the new concept. He ended up with “That is exactly what we need!”. Now, one more important event should happen. The board of the association, his customer, should also be convinced that this new concept is something they truly need “to make the change”. :)
450km away from Moscow
450km away from Moscow. If you want to know Russia and enjoy every bit of it, leave the city, get on a train or a car and explore the “surroundings”, places located at least 300km away. I have started to publish the photos from my trip to Rostov, Yaroslavl’, Karabikha, Kostroma and Domnino. Some photos contain the links to the video I recorded on the way. Enjoy!
Gemeente Den Haag support to starting businesses
Today I gave an interview to a student of the high-school of The Hague doing a research on how to improve the services of The Hague Town Hall in regards of supporting the starting businesses. I hope they will really use his research and will use it on a proper way. :)
IT & Internet Consultant / Internet Producer / Web Developer / Photography, Aviation and Latin Dance Addict
