No offense but ...

... this is not my idea of August!  Heavy rain all morning.

*update -- and all afternoon too.  I could live in Forks for this!

Sunday shopping

Went down to the shopping area near the museums to look for a computer bag at the TUMI store ... heard loud music from blocks away, thought there must be some kind of live music going on ... newp, the luxury stores on the street (Armani, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, etc.) had converted 2 blocks into a runway and had a fashion show in progress.

Well ... it's different.

My next Amsterdam house?

Location location location ....

Sail 2010

There were juuuust a few people at the waterfront to see the tall ships ...

Sail 2010

Plenty of very cool boats on the canals this weekend, from the luxurious to the 'how much longer will it float ...'

This little steamer was great, sounded just like the African Queen:

All day ...

Pretty much ... this:

SAIL 2010

Every 5 years Amsterdam puts on a tall ships festival ... a few boats are in town:

Trying to imagine the McCain/Palin take on this

I'm just glad it's not them:

"As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable."

Barack Obama, White House ceremony celebrating Ramadan, 8-13-2010

Shmart

Great, I can look forward to catching some grief from Europeans that see this one!  From North Carolina ...

Is it Monday?

You really can't tell in this town ... I wake up, make the coffee, read the morning e-mail, answer some questions, then head outside to get some breakfast around 10:30 and ...

BAM!  Sure looks like Saturday out there to me!  In Amsterdam, in summertime, every day is Saturday.  The sounds, the sights, the smells (especially the smells) ... and one trainload of college kids after another getting off at Central Station and looking for the party.

I'm looking forward to winter already!  Well ... okay, not the persistent rain & cold part ....

Gay Pride Day in Amsterdam

Hm, what was my first clue .... ?

Vondelpark, lunchtime

Can security be too good?

For governments, the answer is always "Yes" ...

Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry services will be suspended in the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East’s business hub, from October because of security concerns as the company faces similar restrictions in India.

BlackBerry’s Messenger, e-mail and Web browsing services will be halted from Oct. 11, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said in a statement on state-run Emirates News Agency. “In their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the U.A.E.,” it said.

In other words, "your encryption is too good for us to eavesdrop on, so you can't use it."

Hey why don't we just have our business conversations by yelling really loudly at each other with megaphones, that'll be really easy for you ... and so secure for us!

Dutch Out of Afghanistan

The final Dutch troops leave Afghanistan today.  The withdrawal became inevitable when the coalition government of the Netherlands fell apart over the Afghanistan issue, with the Labour party unwilling to agree to NATO's request that Netherlands forces remain until 2011.

Minimise Cafe

Excellent food & service, would patronize again!