Henrik Lantz

I just learned that the Spanish title for the film “I, Robot” is “Yo, Robot". I wonder if that’s got anything to do with the fact that Will Smith plays the lead role?

According to today’s issue of the Dutch version of Metro (no relevant link available) there is an article about a change of heart in the Spanish branch of the Roman Catholic church. In a meeting with the Spanish health minister, a spokesperson for the Bishop’s Conference has said that the church now officially support the use of condoms to fight the spreading of AIDS. The same person was quoted in November to have disputed that there is any evidence that using a condom reduces the risk for contracting the HIV virus, but now they have changed their opinion; possibly as a sign that the church now also seeks to redefine its views on society.

Famed medical journal The Lancet recently published a report supporting the so-called ABC method for combatting HIV. It is amongst other things this report that has caused the Spanish Roman Catholic church to reconsider their standpoint, and I think it’s refreshing to see that you can teach an old dog new tricks. (People who hide behind old sayings, using them as excuses, piss me off.)

It’s worth spending a few minutes at Smalltime’s really innate game “Guess the Dictator or Sit-Com Character“; you think of a character in the categories above (roughly) and the system asks you questions to determine who it is, and it’s scaringly accurate. For me, the effect was a bit lost since the first one I thought of wasn’t in the database - yet. Now, the books have filled up a little, and it’s almost impossible to stump it.

Once you’ve realized the futility of the task, answer the questions as yourself and see which dictator or sitcom character you are most like. Personally, I’m apparently Alex Keaton from Family Ties (played by Michael J. Fox).

I decided to spice this page up a bit - the way too generic WordPress template was getting on my nerves. Now, at least, there’s some colour going on here, which livens things up, at least a small amount.

Some mixed notes from today:

A 43-year-old woman was robbed last night in Amsterdam. She was in her car when two youngsters pulled up next to her on a scooter, opened the back door, grabbed her purse and drove off. She was so upset she followed them and rammed them with her car, killing one of them. Bizarre view on justice, that.

My ex-colleague Kim is becoming a father - CONGRATULATIONS!

CSSes are extremely powerful, but can also be very confusing and daunting. I need a clear head before I do anything more.

On Tuesday and Friday, the council people pick up the trash in the neighbourhood. We basically put everything in bags or sacks and dump them on the street outside and it’s gone early morning. Sometimes they arrive a bit later in the day (today must have been such a day) because someone has dumped a ton of building material on the neat pile that was there when I left this morning; old flooring, bits of wood - all sorts. Two fears are in my mind right now; 1) that some of the debris is going to blow into and break a window (it’s quite windy tonight) and 2) that we’re going to get another bollocking from the Garbage Constables (yes, they have police officers for trash - it’s true) for leaving stuff out. We’ve been fined once before when the council skipped one day, I’d rather not have to go through all that again.

I’m halfway through season 2 of Sopranos on DVD now. It’s a strangely addictive series, not really much better than any other series, but it’s compulsive viewing. Tony Soprano is a full-scale, no holds barred, absolute bastard; he’s a liar, a mobster, a killer, an adulterer - yet somehow he is likeable at the same time. It doesn’t compute, but as long as my colleagues keep lending me the DVDs, I’ll watch it.

I’m off to Brussels for a training course next week, then I’m back in Amsterdam the week after, and the week after that I’ll be in Stockholm. I do get around these days.

I’ve lost my scarf. Dang.

This weekend, I replaced the bedroom curtains for opaque plastic foil. It made the room a bit bigger (or so it feels because it lets in more light) and took some of the yellowishness away. It wasn’t too complicated either; first you cut the foil roughly to size (having square windows would have made it easier - ours are domed), then clean the window and moisten it with water. Peel off the protective foil on the plastic and place it on the window, using some masking tape to prevent it from falling off from its own weight. Thoroughly moisten the outside of the plastic and use a squeegee to smooth it out and remove any air bubbles. Use a sharp knife at this moment to trim off the excess edges until it fits perfectly. No glue, no sticky stuff; just water and some friction. (It reminded me of these Christmas stickers I used to have as a kid, the ones you stuck on fridges and windows.)

Well, I think that’s about it for today. Oh, wait, it’s David’s birthday today (for another 45 minutes) - Happy Birthday, David!