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# Random Walks in the Low Countries

Reflections and observations on the expatriate experience from an American scientist living and working in the Netherlands.

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## Posts

- [Reflecting on my hospital stay](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2025/03/reflecting-on-my-hospital-stay.html) - However healthy you are when you decide to relocate, you'll eventually need medical care. And whether at home or abroad, you’ll probably need more as the years go by — so learn all you can about a country’s healthcare delivery and requirements before you make the move.... Janice MacDonald, Ex-Pat Life Isn’t Always Easy I did do
- [The past month's interruption](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2025/02/interruption-i.html) - #I want to get back to where I started. The hip pain got worse by the day, one year ago. I firth thought that the hernia repair from te prior year was failing, but the surgeon in Colorado said 'no. My Dutch husiarts ordered an ultrasound and x-ray, result shown right. At the top of
- [Starting fresh](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2025/02/starting-fresh.html) - Where to start in reconnecting here with an audience that I haven't talked to in years? Each October, when our new MPhil cohort arrives, we bring folks together to share each person's life stories. We adopted the Pecha Kucha, a presentation of 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds, to balance brevity and creativity. Everyone
- ['Back to my writings](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2025/02/back-to-my-writings.html) - The painting is Alors on ne sait pas ("Well, we just don't know") by Franciszka Temerson. It was created in 1954, the same year I was born. Temerson describes her style as bi-abstract, merging the internal and external to evoke the deep uncertainty that follows life's turning points. For me, her painting, carries a quiet,
- [Making a list, checking it twice…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/making-list-checking-it-twice.html) - April and September always seem to turn into busy road months, and this year is no exception. A week’s vacation, a week in the US, a week in England, a swing through the Netherlands…the month is gone. It takes some planning to get ready for that without totally losing touch with the business and friends
- [Making a list; checking it twice](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/making-list-checking-it-twice-2.html) - Touch of Dutch has pointed to shops that offer American grocery products for expatriates: the corresponding shop for Dutch expatriates to find a touch of home is The Dutch Shop. I always enjoy these sites: they catalog the nation's comfort foods, along with things that nobody would eat if they hadn't been raised to love
- [Back across the Channel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2014/03/back-across-channel-3.html) - It was midwinter when I last crossed to the Netherlands, it feels like a very long time indeed. The Crossing was smooth and uneventful, ‘warm enough to go on-deck to enjoy the sunset. Traffic across Belgium was miserable and it took an hour longer than normal to reach Brussels. I reflected, listened to podcasts, transcribed
- [Back across the Channel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2011/01/back-across-channel-6.html) - ‘Packed things up last night for the trip back to Britain. This is the week that all of the deals start to close, setting the path for the future: there are meetings with investors and huddles over legal documents in London and Cambridge for the rest of the week. It remains a slow, adversarial process,
- [Back across the Channel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2014/07/back-across-channel-2.html) - The British Heart Foundation sponsored this year’s Pier to Pier Swim in Bournemouth, 1900 swimmers braving the chilly water for 1.4 miles between Bournemouth and Boscombe Piers. The fastest swimmers progressed at a walking pace, the slowest bobbed along with the tides and winds, but it was an impressive splash for a Sunday morning.
- [Back across the Channel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/back-across-channel-7.html) - I drove back to the UK at mid-week, facing a solid round of meetings and palm-pressing for organizing the businesses and raising funds. I have a good mental picture now of how all of the moving parts of this operation should mesh together, but it’s tricky getting everyone lined up (and paying up). I need
- [Back across the Channel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2013/11/back-across-channel-4.html) - I would have hit the floor rolling out of bed at 5:30, had the room been larger than the bed. ‘sometimes I do miss the corporate perks… And this was a $100 per night room, the cheapest 4-star Hotwire room in London (with parking for $80 overnight nearby). I’m actually feeling good today, though, despite
- [Back across the Channel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2011/07/back-across-channel-5.html) - I wrapped up meetings in Cambridge and headed to the trains yesterday afternoon – it should have been a quick trip across, but I took a later Eurostar than normal and ended up in Brussels at 10:30. So far, so good (there was a wonderful street fair surging around the station), but only slow trains
- [Catching up](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2014/03/catching-up-2.html) - I’ve been scarce the past week, a combination of travel, work, and reflection that filled the days. The photos below illustrate the range of the week’s activity. ‘And most of the news is good: with strong results in-hand the business is rushing ahead with operations and fundraising. This put me in Maastricht, Dorset, London, and
- [Naar Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2013/03/naar-maastricht-2.html) - Finally time to head back to the Netherlands: a cascade of business meetings and a flood of travel have kept me away for longer than usual. I grabbed an early flight the day after the Board meeting armed with tax records receipts and Dutch lessons. Stansted airport, outside London, is rapidly becoming the least passenger-friendly
- [Back on the air](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/back-on-air-2.html) - or, at least, no longer in the air… I’ve been moving between the US and Netherlands for the past week, a mix of business, family, and friends. It’s usually difficult to get time to write while I’m on the road, but the issues compounded this week with both computer- and connection- issues. My Sony Vaio
- [By the numbers](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/01/by-numbers.html) - It’s a working week from the road, ranging from Braintree to Poole, London to Reading. I need to moderate work and travel, getting back into healthier habits by February. So I’m making an effort to stay off email before 9, on the bike after 5, and to cook regular meals in the evenings. I’m reading
- [Magisch Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/12/magisch-maastricht-3.html) - Taking a page from Koln and Brussels, Maastricht has dispersed its Christmas Markets this year. Under the banner “Magic Maastricht”, the venues have spread out from the Vrijthof to a half-dozen locations, including the “Keerst aan de Maas” location outside my apartment. Reality Check: I’m tickled by the depiction of Kesselskade, above, with my apartment
- [Magisch Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2013/12/magisch-maastricht.html) - Kerstmis arrived at the Vrijthof, lights aglow and people shopping the gift stalls ahead of Pakjesavond. The December 5 celebration, St. Nicholas Eve, is for gift-giving, accompanied by clever poems, and separates the commercial celebration from the religious holidays. Magical Maastricht 2013 definitely leans to the commercial end of things. The festival expands and shrinks
- [I don’t like Mondays…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2012/03/i-dont-like-mondays.html) - I was discouraged before I arrived at the empty tracks at King’s Cross station. I’d been going flat out for a week since returning from the US: two teaching days to finish, investor meetings in London, calls on several projects backed up, the end-of-month bookkeeping waiting for attention. I put my lists together and pounded
- [About me…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/about-me_07.html) - (Updated January 2010) Background I grew up in the Midwestern US, developing early interests in science and computers, reading lots, spending summers canoeing in northern Minnesota and, later, living on a farm as an exchange student in Switzerland. Undergraduate work in mathematical physics at Vanderbilt University led to graduate work in biomedical signal processing, where
- [Saturday miscellany](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2011/04/saturday-miscellany-2.html) - A hot and sunny day in Cambridge, UK, a good one to go into town and do some wandering among the monuments and the tourists. It’s a graduation day, flags flying above all the Colleges and robed scholars laughing in the courtyards. Wisteria are in bloom, and punts are jostling for space along the Cam)
- [Back in Europe](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2013/04/back-in-europe.html) - It’s been a (too) busy week. Seattle, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Cambridge. Long looping talks with business partners to find a way through our current impasses; long loopy meetings with investors (in offices filled with enviable golf, car, and skiing pictures) spinning an aspirational future. “Should we take the 1.2 million route, or the 2.6 million route?”
- [On the road again](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2013/01/on-road-again-2.html) - I took my new visa out for a spin this week: despite a lot of bad weather and a few bobbles along the way, it as nice to be traveling again. The route was a broad triangle across the UK and Germany; snow was threatening on Sunday evening, but I set up a combination of
- [On the road (again)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/on-road-again-4.html) - The postings this week will be a bit sparse, I’m sorry. I’m attending a four-day conference in the US that is notable both for quality and intensity. A typical 8 am to 10 pm day has only a single 2-hour break mid-afternoon, not enough to keep up with the stream of thoughts that I want
- [On the road again](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/on-road-again-3.html) - Flights were leaving from Schiphol yesterday; I took the train north to catch my mid-afternoon flight and made it over without incident. There were more police around the check-in areas and they had walled off the ticket counters, passengers had to go outside then back in through a single entrance. Crowd control I suppose. But
- [On the road again…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/on-road-again-5.html) - The list of tasks is pretty well whittled down now: a couple of manuscripts to review and two business plans that need drafts rewritten, but otherwise everything seems knocked down to size. The apartment is cleaned and things are packed for a trip to France and onward to the US for the next week. Internet
- [Winding down the week](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2014/07/winding-down-week-2.html) - I’ll be pitching in London on Monday, clinical and business meetings scattered at various locations through the rest of the week, so its shaping up as a busy period again. But a series of late afternoon storms rumbled through Parkstone, breaking the heat along with my concentration. ‘time to gather my notes and move down
- [Winding down the week](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2014/06/winding-down-week-3.html) - I hit the road early, headed south into London for three sets of investor meetings. I took the bus / train / tube combination so that I’d have some time to work along the way, consolidating notes and slides, preparing for questions. I also enjoyed an essay in the Times describing the arrival of American
- [The Koln Christmas Market](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/koln-christmas-market-2.html) - It was an hour and a half drive to Cologne this weekend, on a mission to visit the famous Christmas Markets. I'd heard a lot about the German holiday markets, and had visions of softly lit kiosks, traditional Christmas crafts, regional holiday food, seasonal music. It turns out to have been none of those, but
- [Building the business](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/01/building-business-2.html) - I’m in our Sheffield Incubator site today, hosting an investor visit to review our product and facilities. A grey, rainy January outdoors contrasts with the tidy, warm lab space that our chemists have built in the past few months. The plasma rig glows in the corner, vacuum pumps and fans rumble across the room. Magnified
- [Winding down Friday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2014/06/winding-down-friday.html) - A stretch and disconnect, brew a little water, ‘take a break in the garden with a cup of milky tea. A cool breeze is coming in off the sea; a solitary snail slowly makes its way past me, drawn towards my herb beds. My coriander is glowering; I’ve got plans to add some fennel this
- [What makes us happy?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2011/05/what-makes-us-happy-2.html) - The Social Network (besides being a clever and well scripted film about many unhappy people) really captures many elements of entrepreneurship – I regularly tell my lawyers now that I want to avoid having an “Eduardo moment”, finding I’ve been diluted down to 0.03%. ‘especially after finding that a clause had been inserted into the
- [Midweek miscellany](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2013/04/midweek-miscellany.html) - Hi, Dave, You wouldn’t happen to be sat in a blue Ford waiting for the boat in Dunkirk? Ken We hadn’t seen one another in eight years, and the only reason I was on that ferry was because I missed the 2pm by 2 minutes (mis-underestimated the queues at Auchen and the ferry terminal). We
- [Views from the windows](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/views-from-windows-3.html) - Someone asked today what little things make me happy each day. Sometimes it’s as simple as views from the windows, isn’t it? Or from the art shop…
- [Views from the Windows](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2012/12/views-from-windows.html) - Morning in Maastricht and in Cambridge – snow / rain: Winter. I furiously catching up with the business and administrative backlog, humming away in my garret and firing off calls and emails (and the occasional Andre Rieu eCard when I need a break: he’s like Martha Stewart on steroids). I’m still getting Win8 set
- [Winding down Sunday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/winding-down-sunday.html) - The day dawned warm dark and rainy today, so there wasn’t a good reason to get up at 7 am. Instead, there was a simple, leisurely breakfast, then catching up with some reading, writing a couple of notes to friends. A close Dutch friend celebrated her birthday yesterday, so we shared lunch today to wish
- [Back from my travels](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/back-from-my-travels.html) - Yes, it has been a while… September shaped up as the busiest travel month of the year for me. After returning from Maastricht, I made a wide circle through Birmingham (UK), Vence (France), and Tokyo (Japan). The visits were all good and I’m turning optimistic about our prospects again. For most of the year, my
- [Tuesday’s links](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2014/03/tuesdays-links.html) - ‘back at Woodside 5 after a nice weekend in Cambridge. LastMinute.com produced a deep discount at the University Arms on Parker’s Piece, a lovely old hotel with wood accents and Tiffany lighting, soft bed tucked at the top of a few steps up into the room, 20 year-old scotch in the evening and expansive breakfasts
- [Back among the Dutch](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/back-among-dutch-4.html) - Okay, the weather was sort of typical: low sky over flat lands, Dutch light on open water. But the café’s were open, the wafels were warm, and (most) of the plants survived the month’s absence. No disrespect to Cambridge, but it feels nice to be back.
- [Back among the Dutch](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/back-among-dutch-5.html) - I’ve landed back in the Low Countries after a couple of weeks abroad…’finding that I’ve forgotten how to look both ways for bicycles before crossing the road. Part of it might be simple jet lag: I had a lovely 12-year-old in the seat next to me who was doing her Dutch lessons for much of
- [Back among the Dutch](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/back-among-dutch-3.html) - Drifted back across the Channel late Sunday night: a quiet ferry crossing with little evidence of ghouls or zombies on the boat. I miss the traditional Halloween: I have lots of good memories of going door to door as a child and of hanging out with the other Dad’ when my kids made the rounds.
- [Back among the Dutch](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2011/10/back-among-dutch-2.html) - Its always a challenge coming back after a long stint traveling. The mail is piled high, the ‘fridge is empty, The bicycle could be anywhere: I’ve taken to writing the location on a slip of paper – fortunate this time around since the bike-park folks moved mine. The leaves are starting to turn and the
- [Back among the Dutch](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/04/back-among-dutch.html) - ‘nice to be back in Maastricht. Back along the river, back among my things, and back with friends. The river is sparkling blue, cafe’s and parks comfortably filling with folks enjoying the sun, chatting over coffee, and watching the joggers and strollers roll past. I plan to get a prime seat later on, order biertjes
- [Back online](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/08/back-online.html) - ‘sorry to have been missing the past few weeks: it’s been a busy travel interval mingled with a couple of technical failures and a brief illness. Things are progressing with the products, though, and life has generally been good. My sincere thanks to the folks who have asked how things are going, I apologize for
- [Work-Life Balance](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2011/12/work-life-balance.html) - Wrapping things up in London prior to heading to the US – the Board has set a price for our next offering (£25/share, up from £15/share last spring, pegging our valuation at just shy of £2 million), our experimental plan is in place with the Universities, my syllabus for the new term is almost ready,
- [Still on the road....](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/09/still-on-road-2.html) - A week of scientific conferences in Italy have finally ended: the last few days have been on a hilltop in Bertinoro for the annual STAFF Symposium. The setting is spectacular; it's a university conference center in a walled fortress above the town of Bertinoro. There was a side trip to see the mosaics in Ravenna,
- [Back in the Netherlands](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/back-in-netherlands-2.html) - I’ve returned from a quick road trip to England, where I was doing an assessment of students in the Medical Devices course back in Cambridge. Weather was very cold across the channel, scarcely rising above freezing most days and coating walkways with frozen sleet overnight. Still, it was fun seeing how the students developed business
- [Essential Travel Only](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2020/11/essential-travel-only.html) - Well, the relaunch went (not) well... It's been a couple of months since I committed to getting back in touch with this blog and my readers, striving for a thrice-weekly update. I didn't get there: life is (always) busy, there's a FOSO (Fear of Starting Over) factor, recreational writing has become an unfamiliar habit. But
- [Hello, its been a while....](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2020/08/hello-its-been-a-while.html) - ...almost three years, I'm afraid. Back then, my blog editor had been discontinued, Google was abandoning the Blogger platform, and life was getting too busy to keep up my regular blogging. It wasn't a bad thing: I was ready for a break and refresh, and to participate in expat life more than documenting it. More
- [Carnival 2015](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/02/carnival-2015.html) - Carnival is the annual pre-Lent party and the biggest thing going in Maastricht, late winter. Sometimes it snows, other times rain, but all times it’s a feast of bright colour, boundless creativity, diluted beer, and questionable taste. This year dawned cold and clear: when I went out early to ick up milk and croissant, there
- [Soft skills, hard work](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/04/soft-skills-hard-work.html) - Crossing international boundaries, I always list my occupation as Scientist on entry cards. It spurs good conversation with the border agents and reminds me of my roots bridging ideas and technology into products and services. As an expat entrepreneur, though, days fill with many tasks outside of that mandate, and it always seems that there
- [Sunrise / Sunset: Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/04/sunrise-sunset-maastricht.html)
- [Time well spent](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/04/time-well-spent.html) - …loving Bossche Bols; living remarkably in the Netherlands has been the tag line of this chronicle since its inception. The Bol defined Dutchness for me in the beginning, as I moved to Arnhem and took up work in 2007. A most delightful bakery lay just around the corner from my apartment and, once each week,
- [Modernity at the ‘Modern](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/04/modernity-at-tate-modern.html) - Challenging artworks by two women are exhibited along Southbank this month; a frigid day along the Thames made good excuse to study their perspectives. Both artists deal with the modernity: what does it mean to be a person living in modern times? The Sinca podcast explored the theme from the standpoint of non-western culture, and
- [Showing our age](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/04/showing-our-age.html) - A nifty bit of Dutch data visualization has been posted by the Waag Society: an interactive map with the age of every building in the Netherlands. Almost 10 million of them, color coded from oldest (dark red) to newest (bright blue). Amsterdam is depicted to the left, the oldest structures seen as glowing embers along
- [Outward migration](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/04/outward-migration.html) - ‘Back in Dorset for the week: the cardiologist has departed to finish her dissertation prep and the Kids are moving to cook for a ‘gastropub nearby in Ashley Cross. Their mother arrives for an extended visit on Friday, which should change the dynamic of the house in interesting ways. Everyone took good care of my
- [The World’s ‘State of Happiness’](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/04/the-worlds-state-of-happiness.html) - Gorse and heather are blooming along East Cliffs, luminous against the sea. Beyond, the Isle of Wight shines at the mouth of the Solent. It’s a warm, windy evening near Bournemouth, perfect for a walk, a coffee, and a bit of scribbling. The UN ranking of the world’s happiest countries is out – the Dutch
- [Stubbings House gardens](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/04/stubbings-house-gardens.html) - In 1940, Dutch Queen Wilhelmina fled the Netherlands ahead of the advancing German army, landing in the United Kingdom to maintain an independent Dutch government. She broadcast messages back to the Netherlands as Radio Oranje, actually air time granted on BBC transmitters. Loyal, outspoken and sometimes controversial in her criticism of the Dutch political leadership,
- [Houses and homes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/04/house-and-home.html) - It’s a Swedish Morning in Dorset. The air is still, low light highlighting the leaves. The sky’s a smooth blue wash, the air cold and the sun warm. It evokes feelings of the Archipelago, reflections on lapping water, rounded rocks bordering dappled forests, the boats tied at rest. It’s a Seattle Morning in Dorset. Upstairs,
- [Tech failure Thursday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/04/tech-failure-thursday.html) - I noticed that my blog posts have not been auto-magically updating on my Facebook page recently, so I dove into the maze of settings for RSS-Graffiti to fix the problem. Or, rather, I tried to. Instead, I found this: We currently power over 300,000 Facebook pages; only about 500, or less than 0.25% of clients,
- [Something Dark and Rich](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/something-dark-and-rich.html) - It began with Broken Dreams. The long tents gleamed against a black ragged storm line moving to the south. Children’s laughter mingled with Scottish pipes and drums; the smoke and smell of hog roast and curry kebabs drifted across the fields. A three-day weekend, Reading UK: the annual Beer and Cider Festival was underway. I
- [May Fair: Small is beautiful](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/small-is-beautiful.html) - Monday is May Day, a bank holiday in a month (mid April to mid-May) that seems crowded with days off. British friends assure me that it’s not the case, but the calendar from Easter to Half Term always seems full. No matter: my (recent) philosophy is to take time away from work when nobody else
- [Learning the local rules](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/learning-rules.html) - It’s been six years since I left the corporate umbrella to live independently as an expat entrepreneur in the Netherlands. I thought, at the time, that I knew 90% of what I needed to know. The actual figure was probably 10%. It’s been a long learning curve (in the UK as well), and I still
- [Beach walks](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/beach-walks.html) - Two days of windy sou’westers have sculpted the clouds, water and sand across Poole – it feels more like March than May. ‘makes for lively strolls along the shore each evening.
- [Habits and rituals](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/habits-and-rituals.html) - I’ve decided to change how I approach mornings. Too often I wake with the sunrise, my head full of ruminations and worries. Invariably I toss a bit, then read a little, finally make a pot of strong coffee and check the overnight email. Those urgent messages become my emotional focus, coloring the start and driving
- [Tall timber along Poole Quay](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/tall-timber-in-poole-quay.html) - The house residents were up early this morning. I’d like to think that it was sunshine, breezes, yoghurt and blueberries at the beach that motivated everyone. But Greek-mom was working on her English, I was finishing pitch-prep, and the kids had an early shift cooking. Only the cardiologist was sleeping in after late duty in
- [Along the line–Burghfield](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/along-lineburghfield.html) - Some events need no explanation. The Tug-of-War at the Burghfield May Fayre today (and the egg toss) speaks for itself.
- [Good news, bad news and the novel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/good-news-bad-news-and-novel.html) - How many ways can you tell a fictional story? British newspaper columnist Christopher Booker suggested in 2004 that the answer was “7”: 1. Overcoming the Monster, 2. Rags to Riches, 3. The Quest, 4. Voyage and Return, 5. Rebirth, 6. Comedy and 7. Tragedy. All but the seventh have happy endings, either the restoration of
- [London to Studland Bay](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/london-to-studland-bay.html) - It’s been a road week, headed north out of the weekend, a big pitch in London on Tuesday then back to Poole this morning. We are on a two-pronged strategy for fundraising, one aimed at a couple of healthcare groups who could invest larger amounts, the other to secure a flock of angel investors who
- [Parkstone morning](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/parkstone-morning.html) - ‘starting to think ahead to the weekend, and the possibilities for some walks, pictures, and cooking. It’s not summer enough yet to plan more ambitions sailing, art, and travel, but some great possibilities are starting to bubble up. Armed with shopping lists I made the trek down to Parkstone, the butcher, baker, coffee maker, before
- [Going Greek for Friday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/going-greek-for-friday.html) - I thought we were making hummus. I’d bought a batch of chickpeas and tahini, lemon juice and garlic, and picked a couple of authentic recipes. The package suggested at least 12 hours soaking for the lentils, so I put them in a pot on Wednesday morning. Greek-mom was waiting, hands on hips, by Wednesday-noon. First,
- [My ‘Man on a Hill’ arc](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/my-man-on-hill-arc.html) - Last Tuesday, I described insightful work by Kurt Vonnegut and computer analysis by Matthew Jockers outlining the Sentiment Arcs common to many novels. But stories are also the way that way organize and narrate events in our lives, so it’s tempting to ask which model best fits my style. I suspect I’m a classical “Man
- [Duck, Haunch - Head, Heart](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/head-heartduck-haunch.html) - As a good INTJ, I value logic, honesty, and confidence as a basis for sound decision-making. Yet a second voice has surfaced, feelings about the opportunities and problems being considered. I find that over the past couple of years, I’ve developed more passion for choices, more emotion about alternatives, more intuition about people. ‘talking with
- [#100 happy days](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/100-happy-days.html) - I’ve been gradually building out my community on Instagram, trying to connect with people who are doing good work, and to post better photos myself. The site requires different aspect ratios than my camera frame and limited photo editing, so it’s tricky to load raw pictures. But if I load my A5100’s raw files to
- [Touring Dorset’s art studios](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/touring-dorsets-art-studios.html) - Purbeck Art Weeks starts today, stretching from Swanage to Wareham with the theme ‘Out of the Depths’. Similar Open Studio events are held across England over the summer, a chance to visit working artists in their ateliers' and discuss their works and ideas. I like the intimacy and authenticity of driving from house to house,
- [Abandoned Tyneham](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/05/abandoned-tyneham.html) - If you can find it, you should visit the old village out past Wareham… The fellow across the table waved his fork sort of westerly as I dipped into another portion of fish pie. The dinner party was approaching 11 pm, and my host passed the wine bottle again, asking “Tyneham Village?” Right, the one
- [One summers’ evening](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/one-summers-evening.html) - Shakespeare's comedy Midsummer Night’s Dream was presented in the Savill Gardens over the weekend: it was a lovely show on a perfect summer evening. We walked through the gardens from one setting to another as 12 players surrounded us with the story of the games of the Gods, of loves lost and found. The encircling
- [A month of travel and change](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/a-month-of-travel-and-change.html) - I am always surprised at how quickly circumstances can change. At the end of May, the immediate environment seemed stable and future prospects were good. The businesses were reaching long-established goals and I was looking forward to having a week back in Maastricht to sort the car and the mail, visit a couple of mooie
- [Bournemouth F&D Redux](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/bournemouth-f-redux.html) - Last year, our challenge was to get into the Facebook Album. This year, it was more about enjoying music, food and conversation. The Food and Drink Festival was back in town. Summer gets into gear in England in July and August. The roads clog with cars (queues), the beaches fill to overflowing (heaving), and I
- [Sunset along Sandbanks](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/sunset-along-sandbanks.html) - The people were as intriguing as the landscapes this evening. Everyone was coupled up, enjoying the quiet change of colors, some quiet conversation, and the warm summer air.
- [Summer scenes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/summer-scenes.html) - Although summer is about theater, art, and festivals, its also a time that I look forward to leaving the crowds behind. There should be quieter moments spent with small boats, coastal paths, and country drives, where there’s almost always something unexpected or interesting to liven the journey. Work is almost done on a new
- [Back to the chilli fest](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/round-2-among-chillis.html) - Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the plant to overwinter… I tapped the leaves and soil. ‘Most people wouldn’t even try’, noted the gardener, noting the paltry £5.50 price for new plants. I know, but I tried to balance water, food, pruned to keep the shape… The gardener shook her head: “You keep the shape you start
- [What’s in a name?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/whats-in-name.html) - I began exchanging light conversation with the fellow in the next seat, 30,000 feet above the midwestern prairies. ‘headed home? ‘how’s business? ‘vacation plans? ‘got any kids? I hesitated. It was only a week since the funeral: I didn’t want to burden a stranger nor get emotional trying to talk about it. How many children
- [Beach ponies and live bands](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/beach-ponies-and-live-bands.html) - The wind was blowing hard Saturday evening, whipping stinging sand across my face and arms. The low sun turned the dunes orange, throwing sawgrass shadows across their tops. Sailboats and ferries crossed the blue channel of the harbour entrance, Old Harry Rocks in the distance. A group of teens tended their fire pit and drank
- [What a difference a day makes…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/what-difference-day-makes.html) - Balans en grenzen uit meer dan werk, I remind myself after 5 pm each night. And so, I take evening walks after exercise, after work, most evenings. The harbour is familiar, of course, but like any good friend it has it’s temperament. Yesterday was moody, still and humid, clouds low over Brownsea Island. The
- [Eating well in Hungerford](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/eating-well-in-hungerford.html) - This weekend formed a part of the three day celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr , which marks the end of the 30 day fast of Ramadan. This is traditionally a sweet Eid, as opposed to Eid- ul-Adha (celebrated 2 months and 10 days later) which is known as a ' meat' Eid. So, in keeping with the
- [The Internet Panopticon](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/the-internet-panopticon.html) - Can the Internet keep us informed and socially integrated? The Internet is a vast collection of information, opinion, images, and data. It informs my discussions with facts and figures, it delights me with photographs and stories from around the world, it serves data and algorithms that help me to help others. The Internet is a
- [Tools I use](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/tools-i-use.html) - Windows 10 releases this week, I have high hopes that it will make the whole PC experience easier and faster again. I’ve really struggled with Windows 8.1. The touch interface gets in the way, inconsistent and oversensitive: I prefer to command the computer when I have work to do, rather than stroke and poke at
- [‘Taking it slowly](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/taking-it-slowly.html) - I dropped into my Leisure Centre at six, e-book and MP3 player in hand as customary. I’m trying to wrap up a light, misogynistic thriller so that I can get into Hatching Twitter, the personal startup story of the one social medium I’ve never understood. A row of signs diverted towards the gym: Blood Donations
- [Saltern Point sunset](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/saltern-point-sunset.html) - Folks in the Dorset Landscapes group have been posting lovely pictures from around Poole Harbour at sunset. In some ways, it’s easy light for taking striking pictures: High key, high contrast, saturated colours, lots of reflections. At the same time, that’s the challenge: Is there a composition, an ambiguity, a moment that captures the feel
- [Expat financial news and updates](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/expat-financial-news-and-updates.html) - Of all the jobs I have to do as a small business owner, few are worse than quarterly bookkeeping. I’m good about my daily receipts and ledger, the bank balances and bill payments. But four times a year it needs to be rolled up and reconciled. I usually end up with little piles of receipts,
- [Blowing along Barton-on-Sea](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/blowing-along-barton-on-sea.html) - It’s windy enough to blow the wine glasses from their hands along the West Country beaches, obse5rved the BBC commentator on Radio Solant. We’ve had alternating days of sun and storm all week as fronts blow through from the southwest. The Netherlands got it worse than we did, with high winds and property damage through
- [The New Forest Show](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/the-new-forest-show.html) - Waiting for news is never comfortable. I’m the sort who wants to *do* something, so I stay in front of the keyboard, I’ll be tempted to *say* something, unhelpfully. ‘better to step away and give time it’s chance. I took the long loop through the New Forest, headed northeast. Little yellow signs dotted the
- [West Bay evening](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/07/west-bay-evening.html) - I worked my way over to Bridport / West Bay last night, paired communities at the mouth of the River Brit in west Dorset. Branded The Gateway to the Jurassic Coast, I love the epic orange cliffs that rise straight up off the beach, then undulate down the coast into the mists. There is a
- [Taking a new Festival view](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/taking-new-festival-view.html) - Returning readers of these pages will have gleaned that there are a lot of festivals taking place across Dorset and Southwest England this time of year. Reflective ones may be asking why I go to so many (Multiple choice: Taking advantage of my expat opportunities, FOMOtivated, Overcompensating for other failings, Escaping/avoiding work, Keeping my resolutions
- [The nature of tragedy](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/the-nature-of-tragedy.html) - What is dramatic tragedy? Where comedy makes us laugh and drama tells a story, tragedy is harder to define. I think of it as a narrative that leads to a bad outcome, despite the good intentions of everyone involved. Against the run of summer Shakespeare, I’ve been reading concordances, where classical tragedy is described as:
- [Evenings along the beaches](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/evenings-along-beaches.html) - Summer evenings, especially when the skies glow late accompanied by warm offshore breezes, draw people in toward the beaches. I know the signs, traffic backed up around the circles and into neighboring seaside communities of Bournemouth, Sandbanks, Branksome. Congestion forces many to give up, leaving them to crowd the outdoor terraces and gardens of Parkstone
- [It’s really time for a holiday…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/its-really-time-for-holiday.html) - A couple of weeks ago, I stepped out of my Saturday visit to a local fair to take a business call. It didn’t last long, but there was a problem to listen to, alternatives to discuss, a decision to make. I don’t recall anything other than concentrating on the person visualizing the issue, and negotiating
- [Health, Longevity, and Finger Pointing](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/health-longevity-and-finger-pointing.html) - The photograph is from Lyme Bay at low tide, taken by Richard Marchant for the Dorset Landscapes group. the jumble of boats is evocative of my week: Mind cluttered during travel, driving up and down England to get business matters settled ahead of a week’s vacation. Three ideas in particular stayed with me, the topic
- [Poole Quay, Saturday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/poole-quay-saturday.html) - Shopping complete, laundry done, packing finished. The mail chirps with new incoming messages, but it’s late to engage with the US. I’ve finished my exercise, my novel, and my Board planning. ‘ready for a change of scene. 5 Woodside is quiet. Our Cardiologist huddles among books in the living room, studying for a certification
- [I can smell the sea….](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/i-can-smcll-sea.html) - The plane landed only ten minutes late after a four hour flight from London; everyone stretched then wandered, sleepily, into the warm dry night of Dalaman. We’d arrived at the Turquoise Coast of Turkey. Dalaman is a jumping-off point for destinations to the southeast: Fethiye, Oludeniz, Kalkan, Kas. It sounds incredibly exotic to American ears:
- [Nutches in Kaş](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/nutches-in-kas.html) - The village of Kaş(Pronounced kosh, rhymes with gosh) has been named one of the 52 Places to Go in 2015 by the New York Times. Ranked #52, they characterize it as a gem... While the nearby town of Kalkan has fallen victim to hordes of hard-partying Brits (many a Kalkan restaurant now serves "Full English"
- [Guleting along](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/guleting-on-water.html) - This week, the New York Times asks what your vacation says about you. Their world divides into beaches, crowded with extroverts, and mountains, ghosted with introverts. They note that the pleasure of vacation is mostly in the anticipation, the planning (although people derive no pleasure from over-packed travel that just gets stressful). For myself, it’s
- [Fethiye markets and Ölüdeniz beaches](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/fethiye-markets-and-oludeniz-beaches.html) - Roads are good, cars are cheap, people drive on the correct side of the street: I can do this. The consensus was that I should, however, not do this. It is, after all, vacation: time for everyone to relax. Fethiye is built on the ancient ruins of Greek Telmessos, a city where Apollo is said
- [Efes and Mezes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/efes-and-mezes_20.html) - Several folks close to me advised that this vacation had to be different. I couldn’t take another working holiday. The legal and financial maneuvering echoing through dozens of overnight emails can’t be managed from Turkey. I can’t overplan the itinerary. A determined march through dozens of historical landmarks and notable restaurants was Stress, regardless of
- [Sculpture by the Lakes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/sculpture-by-lakes.html) - I love a sculpture garden. Barbara Hepworth’s garden in St. Ives is a particularly good one, as was a playful temporary one in the Loire Valley that I chanced on a few years ago. There are several scattered across the UK, mostly run by private foundations, operating over the summer with rotating works by various
- [Selection bias in social media](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/efes-and-mezes.html) - No one on the Internet is living the life you think they are. Freelance writer Paul Jarvis One of two basic truths about social media that we post only fun, flattering, and fabulous things about ourselves. Typical tedium and toil are seldom remarked on, rarely worth documenting. Reciprocally, we only see the high points in
- [The Notting Hill Carnival](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/the-notting-hill-carnival.html) - We decided to take a weekend swing through London, time off ahead of a crowded September travel schedule. The usual survey of theater and galleries didn’t turn up much, though. What about the Notting Hill Carnival? A fabulous idea. Carnival is a spring event in the Netherlands, preceding Lent. In London, the Carnival is a
- [Goede morgan, Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/08/goede-morgan-maastricht.html) - It’s been a very long time. Subtle things have changed in five months, A new burger restaurant is open two door up. Water fountains have been planted among the trees lining the High Street. In a city like Maastricht, though, most things never change. Bert smiles and waves from Café La Clé next door,
- [The moral hazard of startups](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/the-moral-hazard-of-startups.html) - Selling equity to venture capitalists has become a lucrative business model, headlined FT-Entrepreneurship this morning. It’s a provocative article. With seed capital abundant, anyone with a compelling idea and a silver tongue can fund a couple of year’s employment in an incubator. Entrepreneurs can enjoy the start-up lifestyle with little personal risk, Murad Ahmed writes.
- [Intuition](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/intuition.html) - An outdoor café, a September afternoon along the Maas, is an ideal venue for close conversation, but also for people-watching, guessing attachments and professions of passers-by. It’s a game I seldom win. Still, I think about people more, and differently, than I once did. And I take greater note of my intuitions about them. “Intuition”
- [Dutch light: Dawn and Twilight](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/dutch-light-dawn-and-twilight.html)
- [Winding along the Vecht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/winding-along-vecht.html) - ‘up and on my way early to Schiphol airport (AMS) for a mid-afternoon flight back to the UK. I was meeting a friend at 7:30, so ik word wakker at 5:30 and ben op weg at 7:00. My suitcase clatttered over the over the cobbles to the station, I paused for the occasional picture of
- [Once around Vence](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/once-around-vence.html) - The French hilltop town of Vence lies at the intersection of art and money. Nestled into the lightly forested hills above Nice, the climate and isolation likely drew in an artists colony. In our geek-telling, the artists drew in girls, then galleries. The curators drew in money, then summer homes. The rich folk took all
- [Tokyo: Impressions](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/tokyo-impressions.html) - Two wonderful places to eat: Inakaya: A delightful Robatayaki restaurant (literally ‘fireside cooking’, left above). The cooks sit in the middle of a semicircle of tables, a buffet of raw ingredients spread around them. Point to what you want, they cook it. The food is served by the chef on long wooden paddles, extended
- [Tokyo: Navigating the restaurants](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/tokyo-navigating-restaurants.html) - Growing up, my mother always taught that we be willing to try any dish once. The lesson has served me well throughout my travels, from chicken throats in Taiwan to ox tongue in the UK, kidney in Paris, haring in Arnhem, and snake blood in China. If the local folks enjoy it, I’m sure I
- [Tokyo: Navigating the subways](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/tokyo-navigating-subways.html) - When I last visited Tokyo in the mid-80’s, ‘finding my way out of the train station’ was the biggest challenge. The station had many labyrinthine levels, the signage was impenetrable, and there was no natural flow of people leaving towards the streets. I remember standing stock still, trying to get my bearings, while a viscous
- [Tokyo: In one day…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/tokyo-in-one-day.html) - I arranged to stay an extra day in Japan after our business ended. It is a long trip and a great opportunity, and I wanted time to immerse in more traditional culture and wander the city independently. But how much can anyone reasonably do in a city of 13 million people in twelve hours? The
- [Heading out / Coming home](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/going-out-coming-back.html) - I love to travel. It’s been years since I last saw friends and colleagues at the annual cardiology gatherings, decades since I last visited the Far East. I enjoyed the conversations with students and catching up with colleagues, mentoring and reminiscing. There was a lot of art and a lot of science to explore, and
- [Lyme Regis ArtsFest](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/lyme-regis-artsfest.html) - Along beyond Weymouth, farther past Bridport, lies the coastal community of Lyme Regis, West Dorset. I remembered it mainly for Richard Austin’s amazing storm photos taken in January 2014, when the entire town seemed endangered. The local events calendar suggested otherwise, offering the Lyme Regis ArtsFest, a combination of Open Studios and sculpture parks spread
- [This space is restlessness, madness…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/this-space-is-restlessness-madness.html) - It’s impossible to know much about a person just by looking at them. The gentleman to the right is a French artist, Gérard Garouste. He has been painting figurative, mythological, and allegorical works for 40 years, exhibiting mainly in France. Twenty years ago, he helped to found The Source, helping culturally underprivileged young people to
- [Evening light along the harbour](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/evening-light-along-harbour.html) - It’s been the usual whirl of activity that follows a week of travel. Phone calls and emails, coffee with associates and prep for chairing next week’s MedTech Investing Conference in London filed each day. Hungarian couple Robert and Christa have upgraded their pizza delivery business: a classy new motorcycle and deluxe pizza box to make
- [Under the Eclipse](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/09/under-eclipse.html) - The wind was blowing chill off the sea when I arrived along the East Cliffs above Bournemouth. The Needles glowed off the tip of the Isle of Wight as the sun set. A steady procession of swells rolled in from the southwest, attracting seabirds and surfers. Photographers started gathering along the paths, setting up tripods
- [Outward bound for home](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/outward-bound-for-home.html) - I’m starting a 10-day trip to the Netherlands and the United States, a mix of business and family stops. A lot revilves around vehicles: it’s time to trade in my lease car (3 years, 110,000 km) and time to sell my son’s jeep. Both have a lot of memories attached, it’s a bit of a
- [Winding up the estate](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/winding-up-estate.html) - The discussions with the loan agency became more pointed during the past month. When can we take possession of the vehicle, demanded a supervisor, oblivious to the fact that we didn’t yet have ownership. “Escrow is still in the courts,” I explained. “When we are appointed, I will be sure that you know.” The Letter
- [Around Chicago](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/around-chicago.html) - I grew up in Chicago, moving to the North Shore suburbs when I was 11 and my father tool a job with First National Bank. I attended Deerfield High, graduating in 1972, and returned to the area in 1976 for graduate school at Northwestern, living in Evanston and Roger’s Park. As big cities go I
- [Autumn in Potawatomi Woods](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/autumn-in-potawatomi-woods.html) - Everyone remembers their first job. Maybe it was counter work in a fast-food restaurant or a sleepy retail outlet, a small internship in a big company. It’s the first time exchanging creativity and labor for hard cash, learning to work with an organization and to please a customer. For me, it was summer as a
- [Swapping the cars](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/swapping-cars.html) - When I first took an overseas assignment with my BigCo, a lease car with a bottomless gasoline card was part of my expat package. I got a 300-series BMW, the first time that I had a really nice automobile. Up to that point, I had driven family vans, never really understanding how a car might
- [The occupational hazards of being expat](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/the-occupational-hazards-of-being-expat.html) - ‘Winding up the week’s travel here in Maastricht, a day to catch up around town and then a ferry back to the UK. The autumn leaves are beautiful this year, the rains really make the colours glow. Traveling, I’ve reading the WSJ Expat, my best source of news and commentary for working American nomads. The
- [Catching up](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/catching-up.html) - ‘apologies for my silence the past two weeks. A break in posts likely doesn’t indicate a health or economic disaster, only that I’m in transit, accumulating air miles and sleep deficits, gathering notes and pictures to post once I get back. In this case, I’ve been on a long loop from London to the Netherlands,
- [Hepworth and Auerbach](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/hepworth-and-auerbach.html) - My investor meetings in London wrapped up at early today, and the follow-ups with my group ended by 4 pm. Even with my embarrassingly snow-white Senior Railcard, I couldn’t use my discount before 7 pm. No matter, I haven’t used my Tate Pass in months and there are a couple of shows on at the
- [Simple PC repairs (not)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/simple-pc-repairs-not.html) - Four engineers are riding in a car when it suddenly sputters and stops. The electrical engineer suggests that the problem is the battery, the mechanical engineer pokes the valves, the chemical engineer sniffs the gasoline. The computer engineer insists that everything will be fine if everyone simply gets out of the car and then gets
- [The New Thames Bridge, Reading](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/the-new-thames-bridge-reading.html)
- [London and Cambridge](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/london-and-cambridge.html) - The problem is, I always travel to attend meetings at their venues. I never ask them to come to mine… 300 road miles, on the back of 10,000 by air, and I’m admitting to a friend that I’m feeling a bit grumbly at still living out of a suitcase. My next week of meetings seems
- [Middle class neighborhoods](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/middle-class-neighborhoods.html) - How do the Middle Class live? Could you distinguish a middle-class family home from those belonging to working- or rich- classes? How would you judge? And would your criteria be transferrable to other countries? I think that I could pick them out, but not based only on the type of house. The home’s upkeep and
- [Lunch in the New Forest](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/lunch-in-new-forest.html) - Sometimes, the best discoveries come from wandering while lost. May, early summer in the New Forest. I had a spare hour, so took the slow road through Brockenhurst following interesting signage. The Victorian logos indicating The Pig were naturally appealing, leading to a country house and gardens, restaurant and lodge, that I noted for a
- [Making Limburg Zuurvlees](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/making-limburg-zuurvlees.html) - Zuurvlees, literally ‘sour meat’, is a thick and tangy beef stew that the Dutch serve over friets (french fries) or in a crock alongside roast potatoes and beets. In cold weather, it’s local comfort food in Limburg (originally made with horse meat rather than beef). With the weather turning wintry in Dorset, I thought it
- [Into the northern Peak District](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/10/into-northern-peaks-district.html) - ‘plans for the weekend? The professor raised an eyebrow, gathering papers. “Going up to see the Peak District. ‘Staying in Buxton, exploring the northern loop of roads.” Ah, the peakiest bits… “Really?” Well, no, but peakier. The Peak District National Park, Britain’s oldest (dating to a surprisingly young 1951), lies between Manchester and Sheffield, a
- [Around the southern Peak District](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/11/around-southern-peak-district.html) - The lower portion of the Peak District National Park is less rugged than the dark, moor-ish north. It’s mostly farms, forests, and villages, better suited to eating and browsing. All routes from Buxton lead through Bakewell, where the ranger could recommend loops and villages. The weather had deteriorated further, cold rain and fog. No point
- [Building the business](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/11/building-business.html) - My week started with dawn coffee at Nero’s, as it so often does. An early, solitary train ride or drive, an hour’s meetings, a few calls and emails, scribbled notes, then back on the road. Our week started with two days of all-company meetings to assess progress and adjust plans. We have to hit three
- [London Lights: art and architecture](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/11/london-lights-art-and-architecture.html) - Another busy day, with planning sessions over lunch and an evening reception for the new Cambridge class. Between the two, I had a few hours to burn so I wandered over to the White Cube, ‘a project room for contemporary art’ near the Shard in London. This month, they are showcasing light sculptures by American
- [Misty morning webs](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/11/misty-morning-webs.html) - Last Sunday dawned a wintery damp Berkshire morning, thick fog and chill streets. I stepped out, bundled up in the still morning air, to forage for coffee and croissants. The last of the autumn leaves are dropping off the lowest branches, gold and scarlet leaves spread a sodden skirt across the sidewalk beneath. A couple
- [Ai WeiWei at RA](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/11/ai-weiwei-at-ra.html) - Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has a major exhibition ongoing at the Royal Academy of the Arts through mid-December. I really like his work, he has a quirky sense of humour and a creative twist of mind in his sculpture. This exhibit is more political than others I’ve seen, deliberately critical of government policies and
- [Weer op de weg](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/11/weer-op-de-weg.html) - On the road again, as Willie Nelson’s song goes, and so am I. I’ve got a one-week / five-city tour on tap, spanning two continents from the UK to the Netherlands, Germany to the US. It begins at the train station, as all good journeys do. It also begins with the DLR down for maintenance,
- [Looking at lighting](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/11/looking-at-lighting.html) - Since getting my new camera last April, I’ve focused on improving my composition. Worobiec’s Photographic Composition and Excell’s Composition, both given to me as gifts, have both been great guides. At their suggestion, I’ve been experimenting with different angles and heights, aligning different parts of the scene with the intersection of thirds in the frame.
- [A million miles, and counting](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/11/a-million-miles-and-counting.html) - Delta Airlines has awarded me Million Miler status, recognizing my loyalty and resilience. I’m awarded Silver status for life and my choice of carry-on luggage or earrings. The airline has tiers up to 7 million miles, but this feels humbling enough as one measure of my life. It’s a distance equivalent to two trips to
- [Sammamish at Sunrise](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/11/sammamish-at-sunrise.html) - Delta called late last night to ask if I was aware that I’d left my passport on the plane. It seems that the case slipped from my bag sometime during the overnight flight, and my usual survey of the seat and floor hadn’t noted the absence. ‘second time in two months (the first was when
- [The Winchester Christmas Market](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/11/the-winchester-christmas-market.html) - We’re entering the season where Christmas Markets pop up across Europe, filling town squares with stalls that spill golden light, rich scents, and spiced breads. Britain improves it’s offerings year by year, and one of the best venues (with ice rink) lies in the shadow of historic Winchester Cathedral. The setting is reminiscent of
- [Morning along the River Cam](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/morning-along-river-cam.html) - We’re wrapping up revenue and budget forecasts, following on strong investor interest at last week’s pitch event. I did a rough spreadsheet to show how a strong product pipeline, flat operating costs, a modest assumptions about market share could spin millions in annual revenue within three years. It’s a strong investment case, but only credible
- [Too long away](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/too-long-away.html) - Back in Bournemouth, I’m getting back into ‘normalcy’ after three weeks of living out of a suitcase. My wash is tumbling, my to-do lists are getting sorted, and I’m mourning my chili plant (two winters in a row that they’ve succumbed). The latest issue of Dorset Magazine lies, unopened, on my desk; the Hungarians have
- [It’s a Bournemouth Christmas](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/its-bournemouth-christmas.html) - The British distinguish Christmas Markets, which try to capture the old-world feel of Victorian or Continental celebrations, from Christmas Fairs, which simply sell seasonal crafts and foods. Bournemouth aspires to the former, setting up a two-part festival across the center of town. The park linking the town center to the seashore features the Gardens
- [Blustry days in Bournemouth](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/blustry-days-in-bournemouth.html) - The southern edge of Storm Desmond grazed Dorset yesterday, drawing in strong southwesterlies that raised tides and waves all along the coast. It also stayed unseasonably warm, additionally drawing surfers and stormwatchers together along the piers. I think the waves were running about a meter, with spray and foam running higher. Paddling into position
- [Sunrise at Sandbanks](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/sunrise-at-sandbanks.html) - Storm Desmond blew itself out overnight, although the North of England and Scotland were hit with terrible rains and flooding. The wind rattled my windows and whistled in the eaves until early morning, when the sky turned pearly white, then shreds of blue and pink. I couldn’t sleep anyway, ‘better to go down to the
- [Colworth to Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/colworth-to-maastricht.html) - Seven am. The rising sun started to colour my right-hand sky red, then yellow, as I twisted through the countryside. Traffic was light, I was making good time, but there were two driving hours behind me and likely another ahead. I pulled in at 7 am to get a coffee and to jot a few
- [Scenes along the River Maas](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/scenes-along-river-maas.html)
- [The Maastricht Market](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/the-maastricht-market.html) - It took a couple of days before work let up enough for me to visit the annual Christmas festival at the Vrijthof Square. ‘Magisch Maastricht, indeed: this is the best Christmas Fair that the city has organized in the past few years. The layout seems better, the lighting and arrangement sparkling and open, winding through
- [It’s a bit wet in the Wyck](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/its-bit-wet-in-wyck.html) - It’s been a wet week in Maastricht, warmer than usual but punctuated by rolling clouds and driving rain. I have been regularly soaked pedaling around to meetings and appointments. Still, the reflecting pavements and wet colours make the city look clean and alive, ‘never a bad time to go out and loo for photo opps.
- [Bracknell, reconsidered](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/bracknell-reconsidered.html) - I’m sure we’re missing something… We were standing at the location of Bracknell’s Christmas Market, empty and dark. Walkways led away in four directions, darkened red-brick High-Street shops lining the ways out to the encircling ring road. Cranes disappeared overhead into the fog overhead. Maybe a park, or a church grounds nearby? My Coogle Maps
- [Solving a few problems](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/solving-few-problems.html) - We were two hours into the flight when something shot beneath my seat. I glimpsed a slim white body, a long tail with a puff-ball of fur at the tip. A cat? A short spectacled woman rushed past, trailed by a grim stewardess grumbling about keeping track of comfort animals. There was a yelp across
- [Mood lighting](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/mood-lighting.html) - The sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial, Daniel Chester French, was not happy. His bust of the 16th president looked startled, afraid, wholly different from what was intended. The effect was caused by the lighting. When lit from above, the brows lowered, the expression hardened, the figure looked resolute. French decreed that the bust should never
- [Doing the holiday baking](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/doing-holiday-baking.html) - We always do a cookie exchange among the family at Christmas time. My grandmother’s typewritten cookie instructions and crowd the table with book recipes for rugelach, traditional bourbon balls alongside shortbreads introduced a year ago. I have to lay in lots of ingredients that make nutritionists blanch: butter, whole milk, eggs, sugars (although food advice
- [The Redmond Christmas Market](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/the-redmond-christmas-market.html) - While living distantly aroud greater London, I’ve made annual visits to the Southbank Christmas Market along the Thames. It started as a faint echo of the established collections of gift stalls, food, and music across Northern Europe. It would be better, I thought, if they just embraced their own Victorian Christmas celebrations, widely mimicked in
- [Maintaining traditions](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2015/12/maintaining-traditions.html) - We planned for a trip out to the champagne brunch at the Greenbriar Inn, a lovely restaurant set in the snowy foothills just north of Boulder. Like trips to the Tetons years ago, it’s become a special tradition among us at this time of year. They set out a lavish Christmas buffet with oysters and
- [New Year’s 2016](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/new-years-2016.html) - ‘wishing all of my friends and readers a very happy and fulfilling New Year!
- [Picking up the pen, again](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/picking-up-pen-again.html) - ‘New Years greetings and best wishes for 2016! It’s been a few weeks since I last wrote here, partly because the holiday was very busy with travel, appointments, family and friends, and partly in keeping with a resolution to take the occasional complete break from work and everyday routines. New Year’s Eve was spent somewhere
- [Making resolutions](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/making-resolutions.html) - I’m not a person who makes a list of New Year’s resolutions. Still, the holiday break is a time for assessing what is going well and poorly, prioritizing the work, and seeking opportunities where things can be done better. Last year, I had my ‘Big-5’ issues to tackle during January. One got solved (gaining my
- [Making adjustments](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/making-adjustments.html) - My camera gave up on itself just before New Year’s, flashing a message that the body couldn’t recognize the lens. I went through the usual steps to try to fix the connection, gentle eraser cleaning of the contacts, cooling the components, resetting the programs. The soft blur persisted. I consulted the Internet and professionals in
- [Back in Bournemouth](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/back-in-bournemouth.html) - It’s been spitting rain and gusting wind today, a good test for the new beach jacket and top-cover that my parents gave me for beach walking. It was lovely to stand atop East Cliff again, the rolling waters spread beneath out to the Isle of Wight. I’d worked the morning before joining up for lunch
- [A blustry day on Avon Beach](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/a-blustry-day-on-avon-beach.html) - Pearly morning light found us camped in the Noisy Lobster, a local beach hut / café ideally positioned to watch the crashing waves and gliding kite-surfers over coffee, pancakes, and eggs. When the sun emerged, it was almost spring-like along the beach, and lots of folks were out for a stroll. Children tried to
- [What to make of Trump?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/what-to-make-of-trump.html) - Increasingly, conversation turns to the Donald when people find out that I’m American. Would the US seriously consider electing Trump as President? I pass it off with a smile and assurances that this will pass. It’s as though Richard Branson were to rung for Prime Minister: Surely that would attract similar raised eyebrows and transient
- [Back in the day….](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/back-in-day.html) - My best friend from back on Northland Avenue, Lakewood Ohio, posted these photos from back in the early 60’s, when I was probably around 11 years old. ‘Amazing to see it all – it seems so long ago. ‘and today (via StreetView)
- [Vriendschap is….](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/vriendschap-is.html) - It’s a challenge, sometimes, to go from translation to meaning outside one’s native language and culture. A friend posted a list of words today on Facebook: bereikrijk....binnenvoelbaar....luistergevig......oplosselijk...........verrasvast......verwenzaam........teruglustig..... I recognize a couple of root words, but not the compounds. Still, the first level of meaning comes from simply understanding the words. Range rich .... in felt
- [Harbour lights, Sunday evening](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/harbour-lights-sunday-evening.html) - A long day getting the end-of-month accounts done: receipts, exchange rates, time sheets, VAT. It’s probably the worst job of the quarter, every quarter. At the end, I just needed to set it aside and get a little bit of an airing. The Quay is always a good destination, people and a festival spirit, boats
- [Changing out my travel kit](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/changing-out-my-travel-kit.html) - I haven’t been to the Netherlands in a few weeks: I arrived at New Years, but only skipped through Schiphol in a couple of hours, missing a brief trip home. This would be a bit longer visit, and a break from setting up the QMS paperwork back in the UK. Since I have all of
- [Amsterdam](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/amsterdam.html)
- [Februari Feesten](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/01/februari-feesten.html) - Carnival comes early to Maastricht this year: Feb 7-9. My PT tells me that, since the mayor has to parade through the Wyck atop his float in early January, the Christmas garland had to come down the day after New Year’s to make way. I missed the parade, but there is an unusual amount
- [Changing the conversation](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/02/changing-conversation.html) - The call was about the future. There was now a clear, risk=-free path to getting our product into the market, and the discussion turned to what to do next. What is the best way to drive commercial growth, product line expansions, clinical adoption, and rising revenues in the first year after introduction? Would an independent
- [Along the Cam and back in class](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/02/along-cam-and-back-in-class.html) - I always look forward to teaching each spring. It puts experiences into perspective and focuses my thinking on what makes a difference in business and in life. This year I’m mentoring a GapSummit team as well, bright young things with amazing ideas for improving healthcare. Ethos, Pathos, Logos, observed Aristotle, are the three pillars of
- [Things British](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/02/things-british.html) - It’s a day for doing laundry and catching up with domestic work. With a full suite of housemates, I needed to take my laundry out to be done, seeking a launderette (nee Laundromat for the Americans). They are a bit competitive, people jostling for machines and trying to shame people who just bring their drying
- [Enjoying Storm Imogen](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/02/enjoying-storm-imogen.html) - A series of intense winter storms has swept over Britain this winter. ‘not as bad as the 2013-14 series that flooded roads along Poole Harbour and briefly cut the peninsula off from the mainland, they have still disrupted travel with heavy downpour and gale winds. The Met Office has taken to naming them in an
- [Still chugging along…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/02/still-chugging-along.html) - ‘dark along the country roads headed north, my tablet resting on my knee and calling out waypoints to the A34. It may be the shortest route, perhaps the fastest, but at 6:30 am it’s a winding challenge through sleeping forests and villages. I brushed the screen without looking down, reaching to shift: the tablet obligingly
- [A night at the opera](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/02/a-night-at-opera.html) - We all decided that we needed to get out more often for social / cultural events: Barry Manilow is in town this summer, Carole King will be fabulous, and Tosca is playing in Woking. Sung in Italian with English surtitles (translations on a reader board above the stage), Ellen Kent’s production was well reviewed and
- [Marlow, beyond Henley (-on-Thames)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/02/marlow-beyond-henley-on-thames.html) - We should have a drink in Henley. There must be more: surely the roads do not end at Henley-on-Thames? A shrug. Marlow? Well, and why not. It’s Valentines, after all… Marlow owes its existence to the fact that a road once crossed a river. In British economics, that creates an opportunity for transfer and
- [Moving Pictures](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/02/moving-pictures.html) - I love to stroll though a new city, walking the sunlit main thoroughfares, dipping into shadowed bazaars and shipping streets, walking through residential neighborhoods rich with street life, pausing to sit in a café and look at passing faces. However, it takes at least a day to meander properly. ‘limited in the number of 3-day
- [‘been a bit busy…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/02/been-bit-busy.html) - The past two weeks, as faithfully logged by my tablet. It’s a sprawl, from Poole to Nottingham, clusters in London, Sharnbrook, Reading, Cambridge, Braintree. ‘and every one a story. The push is product: innovation headed to market later this year. It’s been a long time developing, organizing, fundraising, and testing: ‘wonderful to finally see it
- [Street photography](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/02/street-photography.html) - Photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents I’ve begun to try small attempts to incorporate people into my photographs, putting life into my landscapes and cityscapes. While not yet ready (nor inclined) towards portraiture, I am trying to be more aware of the people and moments that tell
- [Among drifts of snowdrops](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/02/among-drifts-of-snowdrops.html) - LONE Flower, hemmed in with snows and white as they But hardier far, once more I see thee bend Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend, Like an unbidden guest. Though day by day, Storms, sallying from the mountain-tops, waylay The rising sun, and on the plains descend; Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a
- [Over pints in Henley-on-Thames](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/02/over-pints-in-henley-on-thames.html) - ‘taking a bit of a quiet Sunday, lying in reading, then a shared coffee toast and poached egg breakfast. The New York Times has been making the case for breakfast all week, with emails and recipes. There are lots of good ideas for new things to try, variations on eggs and spreads for muffins look
- [Navigating our S1 audit](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/navigating-our-s1-audit.html) - This starts out geeky, but leads to a happy ending. Medical Devices require regulatory approval before they can be sold to doctors and patients. In the US, this review is performed by the Food and Drug Administration, while Europe uses private companies under government oversight. In either case, the goal is to check that the
- [Calder and Schiffer at the Tate](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/calder-and-schiffer-at-tate.html) - At first glance, the image to the left could be by Matisse. It has the economy of line and the intimacy of expression that I always associate with his drawings. But it’s actually a suspended wire-frame model by Alexander Calder, part of a special exhibition, “Performing Sculpture”, at the Tate Modern that we visited this
- [Rambling the Sculpture Park](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/rambling-sculpture-park.html) - It’s Mothering Sunday in the UK. The Netherlands and US celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May, but in the UK, it’ always the fourth Sunday of Lent. This makes the actual day a bit unpredictable, so the Tesco is full of people picking up flowers and cards. Dads with small children are
- [A foggy Cambridge morning](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/a-foggy-cambridge-morning.html) - I’m making a two-day loop through East Anglia, driving between London and Cambridge. The connecting drives link sessions with investors and directors, course administrators and students, service providers and designers. Between, the roads ramble through villages and farmlands remote from my usual route on the M11, past colorful streets and quaint gastro-pubs in villages like
- [Edibles and antiquities: Bridport](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/edibles-and-antiquities-bridport.html) - It’s hard to know how the restaurant critic of the New York Times ever wandered off-track into this part of Dorset. The owner of the Seaside Boarding House Restaurant thought that there might have been a relative nearby; someone else suggested that it was the pretension of ‘discovering’ a remote gem ahead of everyone else.
- [Sunday on the beach](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/sunday-on-beach.html) - Winter has lingered in England. While the US enjoyed a much warmer February than usual, drizzly rain, biting wind, and occasional hail has been the norm across the southern UK. I’ve been scraping frost off the windshield and layering on the sweaters most mornings, driving more carefully in anticipation of black ice in the shaded
- [National Treasures](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/national-treasures.html) - Tracy Ulman has been having a gentle go at Judi Dench this season. In each skit, Dame Dench raises antisocial havoc, then escapes by claiming that she is a National Treasure, obviously beyond reproach. It’s becoming my go-to excuse when things go wrong. An actual national treasure, Simon Weston, was featured in an informal conversation
- [The Nettlebed Kiln](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/the-nettlebed-kiln.html) - In 1416, Michael Warwick accepted a commission for making 200,000 bricks for Thomas Stonor for the princely sum of £40, and to deliver them three miles away for an additional £15. While tiles had long been made in the region, this was the beginning of local brick manufacture that flourished for 500 years. My Sunday
- [‘Still on the road](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/still-on-road.html) - Dave is north and south and all about in the UK … I took a look at my map of the past two week’s travel (left). True to my words on Skype, I’ve been all over, skirting around London between knots of activity in Poole, Caversham, Braintree, Cambridge, and Sharnbrook. It should slow down coming
- [Troubled times](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/troubled-times.html) - I was in the middle of early morning conference calls when the phone chimed and text messages started pinging through You’re not in Brussels, are you? I tapped into the Guardian and then the New York Times, picked up the early live bulletins from Zaventem and the city center. The billowing smoke, the dazed commuters,
- [Good Friday evening](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/good-friday-evening.html) - Europe is into the four-day Easter weekend, stretched a bit to make six for many folks. For me, ‘just another day at the office, with a couple of major issues headed towards resolution (who knew that Salt Lake City might be my mecca for sterilization validation and biocompatibility testing?). The weather warmed and turned sunny
- [Getting a bit wild](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/getting-bit-wild.html) - ‘taking my coffee canister out of the cupboard, squinty 7am on a Saturday, I brushed away a tendril questing up from beneath the lower shelf. The water boiled (100C), weight checked (12 st 2), coffee scooped into the carafe (4). Tendril? I reached behind the pans and extracted an enormous sprawling potato plant. The wrapper
- [International calling plans](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/international-calling-plans.html) - Our Saturday storm blew itself out ahead of Easter Sunday, black skies and spitting rain giving way to sunbreaks and rainbows. Still, it’s unseasonably cold (even in England’s tropics), actually bracing to make the rounds from Sandbanks to Poole Harbour, stopping for a walk and a few pictures. The Jazz Cafe served an excellent late
- [Thames walk from Marlow](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/thames-walk-from-marlow.html) - Easter Monday, once a chance to catch up during the bank holiday, now a day that I religiously take away from my desk. The coming week will be a busy road trip, so it seemed appropriate to balance with a quiet walk along the Thames in the first days of spring. The light was
- [Musings on megafloods](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/musings-on-megafloods.html) - ‘up early and off to Dover this morning for a circle through Belgium, the Netherlands, and north England. The weather started out wintry on the drive east, rainy and windy, ill omen for the ferry crossing. But it opened to sunshine on approach to the refurbished Port entry, maybe a smooth sail? ‘not to
- [‘kind of nice to be back](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/03/kind-of-nice-to-be-back.html) - Its a working few days in Maastricht, time spent with design groups that are working for the business, and a lot of catch-up with lapsed pieces of everyday life that scatter in my absence. The PT clucks about how stiff my ankle has become since we last met; my housekeeper stops by to discuss the
- [Building a better ‘Tay’](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/04/building-better-tay.html) - Conversation will be our new User Interface. – Satya Nadella My day is filled with goal-directed tasks. They range from simple (scheduling, search) to complex (negotiation, persuasion). The more complex the task, the more likely it is to involve a dialog, passing messages to exchange information, to signal agreement, to assign actions. True Conversational dialogues
- [Through the Ardennes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/04/through-ardennes.html) - If you’re visiting the eastern Ardennes, the handiest starting point is big and gritty Liège, an industrial sprawl from where it’s a short hop south to the historic resort of Spa and the picturesque town of Stavelot, with its marvellous carnival. You can use Spa or Stavelot as bases for hiking or canoeing into the
- [Spring colours at Keukenhof](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/04/spring-colours-at-keukenhof.html) - The Keukenhof Gardens, near Lisse and 15 minutes drive from Schiphol Airport, are a spring tradition among the Dutch and tourists visiting the Netherlands. Open only two months a year, mid-March to May, the park has been operating since 1949 when it was set up to showcase hybrid varieties and boost Dutch exports. It’s now
- [Europoort, twilight](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/04/europoort-twilight.html) - The Port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe, over 40 km long with nearly 150,000 vessels passing through each year. Among those are the England-bound ferries that leave Europoort on the southern side of the main river channels. There isn’t much out there, lots of gas refineries and storage tanks, windfarms, rail and coal
- [Once around and back](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/04/once-around-and-back.html) - ‘bringing it around today, closing the circle from Dover through the Netherlands, back via Hull and Derby. It’s been a good trip, both business and leisure, but a lot of miles to cover in ten days. The line across the North Sea is an ‘at sea’ segment aboard the Pride of Hull, one of two
- [Dark Blue and Sixty-Two](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/04/dark-blue-and-sixty-two.html) - I remember, 40 years ago, a family trip to Europe that began with a drive through southwest England. My father attempted to Y-turn the rental car in a narrow Oxford street and nicked a corner brick out of the venerable University walls. Forty years have passed without revisiting the scene. But, as a take-the-day-off trip
- [East Cliff, West Bay](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/04/east-cliff-west-bay.html) - ‘Out to Bridport for a Friends meeting after a bit of a roller-coaster day. As it turned out, I was two weeks early for the meeting, but on-time for a sunset beach walk along one of the best parts of the Jurassic Coast. The fishermen and motorcyclists were also done for the night, congregating
- [Branksome Boardwalk](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/04/branksome-boardwalk.html)
- [Tailoring memories in social media](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/04/tailoring-memories-in-social-media.html) - Facebook is worried that its more than one billion daily users are sharing less with one another, headlined the Guardian on Tuesday. People are friending less and posting less: insiders attribute it to ‘context collapse’. I stopped visiting Facebook a couple of months ago. The site was, for me, a social bulletin board for our
- [East Anglian spring](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/04/east-anglian-spring.html) - Is it better to be likeable or sympathetic? ‘third day on the road, Cambridge to Braintree, Cambridge then Poole: five hours driving among meetings. Fortunately it’s a sunny day without much traffic, and my clients all need help managing good news instead of fixing bad situations. A good time for exploration, lots of time for
- [Winding up the week (in the kitchen)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/04/winding-up-week-in-kitchen.html) - A sunrise photo, not a sunset, as I struck out from Caversham on Monday morning. There was just a single ray of the rising sun probing ahead to the salmon glow from the east, marking the track into the morning, into the week. Lots of road time and phone calls, but ending with good success
- [En croûte](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/05/en-croute.html) - In America, a Pot Pie is home-cooked fast-food. They cost less than a dollar from Safeway, rendered into reliably binary choices of Chicken or Beef, sold under comfortable Stouffer and Callender brands, we always had several in the freezer. When evenings were short and busy, they were a simple dinner solution. Just toss one onto
- [Riverside, the Maas](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/05/riverside-maas.html) - ‘A still evening along Maastricht’s waterway.
- [Quayside, Weymouth](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/05/quayside-weymouth.html) - As summer breaks, the annual Quayside Music Festival (Bank Holiday version) and Fayre in the Square gather in Weymouth. Two days of music, food, drink, and boats in the center of town, accompanied by the first crush of heaving crowds along the beaches. We arrived a bit late, so parking was pretty much impossible. A
- [Brexit (with World Food)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/brexit-with-world-food.html) - It was, first, about getting a Father’s Day gift into the mail. My diary anticipates every birthday and holiday by two weeks, placing cards and goodies into the methodical hands of the Royal Post (UK or NL). Trundling into town for a bit of Sunday shopping, then, I found the pedestrian mall filled with food
- [Rococo with Richard](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/rococo-with-richard.html) - We arrived hours early for the production: it’s hard to gauge distance and traffic through SoGlo (South Gloucestershire) so best to start out early. Our birthday destination was a restored rococo garden, the setting for a frolic through Shakespeare's tragedy Richard III as performed by a traveling bicycle quartet. ‘Only in Britain. The weekend
- [Along the Wye Valley](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/along-wye-valley.html) - The River Wye flows through a rugged cleft heavily forested, in southeastern Wales. Literally inhabited for millennia, with cave artifacts dating back 12,000 years to Paleolithic times, the valley was also a medieval religious centre and a modern industrial complex. Abundant timber for charcoal and cascading rivers for power supported iron kilns, copper and paperworks,
- [ISO 13485 et. al.](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/iso-13485-et-al.html) - Medical device development is governed by Standards. If you want to bring a product to market, then there’s only one way to do it: Compliance with the rules. And it’s not enough to say that you do. You have to prove it. The relevant Standard under the European Medical Device Directive is ISO 13485: 2012
- [Picking up the Pen](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/picking-up-pen.html) - “If I waited till I felt like writing, I’d never write at all.” — Anne Tyler It’s been a couple of months since I last wrote a note or posted a picture. Thank you to the friends and followers who wrote asking if everything was okay: It is. There has been a lot going on
- [Highways and windows](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/highways-and-windows.html) - Google maps chirped in my lap, another suggestion for a route around congestion ahead. I took the suggestions: my tablet has evolved into a capable guide, even on familiar roads. There have been many during the past couple of weeks, captured on my tracking map. Poole is the bottom extension, working and walking Dorsett. The
- [The Nor Lye Festival](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/the-nor-lye-festival.html) - Too often, arts and culture play on a large stage, tailored for the greatest marketing appeal and the least demographic offense. The counterbalance are the small, hyper-local events that draw creative local talent, young and evolving, to present works for their communities. The Nor Lye festival, a play on the encircling North Leigh village, only
- [Sunday food and photography](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/sunday-bournemouth.html) - It’s a bit of a sodden day at the Bournemouth Food and Drink Festival. With an eclectic collection of restaurants, varied music, and cooking demos, its always been one of my favorites. But this was not the festival’s best year, the weather and the economy have left it feeling shrunken and besieged. The nicest
- [On the road again](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/on-road-again.html) - I think that my past six months have set a record for not traveling. Still frenetic around the UK, my airline miles have fallen to taking only two trips in six months, unthinkable in previous years when a hundred thousand miles was the norm. So, it was almost novel to be headed to Heathrow again,
- [Barry at the O2](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/barry-at-o2.html) - It been 40 years since I last saw Barry Manilow, lawn seating and KFC at Ravinia Park outside Chicago. He put on a wonderful show, lots of self-depreciating banter and familiar songs that I’d played as a DJ for 91-Rock WRVU. ‘times change, but Manilow does not. 20,000of his fans filled the O2 this evening,
- [Light along the Thames Estuary](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/light-along-thames-estuary.html)
- [Well, that was unexpected…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/well-that-was-unexpected.html) - The votes weren’t counted when we all went to bed last night, I rolled over at first light, 4 am, picked up the tablet, and thumbed to the Times and Guardian. Brexit passed. ‘bad dream… I rolled back to sleep. But it wasn’t: Britain woke to find that they had approved a divorce from the
- [On Google Maps](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/06/on-google-maps.html) - New, high-resolution Landsat 8 images have been swapped into Google Maps, yielding really amazing pictures of terrain and buildings. The whole earth is now cloud-free and the detail is good enough to make out patio furniture, stone paths, and garden boxes in my backyards. A nice 3-D effect has been added, with taller structures like
- [Here, there, everywhere](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/07/here-there-everywhere.html) - It’s been a couple of weeks of bounding about. First, a trip to the corporate parent in Uppsala, then together in London for the Manilow concert. ‘flight to Amsterdam the next afternoon and a train south to Maastricht, arriving at 1 am (suitcase clacking along the empty cobbled streets, feeling vulnerable). The rushing about was
- [Tapestries](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/07/tapestries.html) - 1972 seems a long time ago. But, Sunday night. in Hyde Park, it was only yesterday. 1972: 44 years ago. I was a late-night DJ in the south tower of Neely Auditorium, taking requests on the graveyard shift, midnight to two. Requests would come in, sad people wanting plaintive songs. Tapestry: Will you still love
- [Building professionalism](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/07/building-professionalism.html) - One of my objectives for the coming months is to hand off executive authority for running the in-market businesses to folks who have the experience and connections to do it well. I have never run a sales force or a marketing campaign, and, while I’’;m sure that i could learn, the inevitable mistakes would cost
- [Poole Bay Sunset](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/07/poole-bay-sunset.html) - ‘took a break from the office this evening to wander down and watch the sun set over the Harbour. A nice, changing rehearsal space to see what might be composed from light, reflections, and colour.
- [Healthy habits](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/07/healthy-habits.html) - It’s not just jet lag. Long-haul travel has a lot of detrimental effects, from sleep deprivation to junk diet, sitting too long in one place and accommodating cultural shifts. I know that my feet swell and my dreams intensify with every air mile. My blood pressure and heart rate had crept up when the dentist
- [At the Readi(pop Festival)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/07/at-readipop-festival.html) - As the summer heat finally settles in, lazy afternoons turn to picnics in the park, beer tents, and music into the twilight. Readipop is the annual festival held at Christchurch Meadows along the Thames. A family fun event lies outside of the ticketed areas, while paid entry gains beer tents and food stalls, music tents
- [Fishmongery](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/07/fishmongery.html) - When I first took a class in watercolour painting, I quickly learned that I lacked basic drawing skills. While I could apply convincing and pleasing washes and blends, it was hard to produce credible landscapes without some ability to draw a tree or a mountain. I needed a good skills class. Similarly, a recipe can
- [Tokyo twilight (and trains)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/08/tokyo-twilight-and-trains.html) - ---------
- [Tokyo, briefly](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/08/tokyo-briefl.html) - We will be able to meet with you on Tuesday, advised the design team. We can arrange hotels and start at 9. ‘considering that the date was only five days away, it presented no small challenge. Still, I love getting the opportunity to travel to Asia, and was able to set up flights through Amsterdam
- [Not missing the flowers](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/08/not-missing-flowers.html) - Georgia O’Keefe is an iconic twentieth century American artist, whose paintings are instantly and uniquely recognizable. Robert Hughes characterized her as “a ‘natural': not a naive or primitive painter by any means, but one who seemed to be instinctively in touch with the vibrations of the cosmos.” I’ve visited her museum in Santa Fe, filled
- [Sculptures and Installations](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/08/sculptures-and-installations.html) - Work and travel kept me away from the opening weeks of the Tate Modern’s new extension, the Switch House. Ten stories set atop The Tanks, the angular brick structure is dedicated to interactive art and video. It opened to generally positive reviews , and invited members in for a preview ahead of the opening week
- [Evening light across the Thames](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/08/evening-light-across-thames.html) - ‘just a warm summer’s evening sharing a drink and conversation, watching the light and colour change, riverside in Henley.
- [Expat skills](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/08/expat-skills.html) - Being a expat can change your life for the better. And we bet you can be proud of your accomplishment whilst being a expat. I’ve trained Medium to highlight articles that deal with the expat experience, and it returns a generally satisfying steam of young-ish consciousness. Many folks are wide-eyed in their first year, musing
- [Breaking eggs](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/08/breaking-eggs.html) - “Life is a competition,” we used to joke. It’s the stereotypical male/American perspective on work, friendships, love, and life. So when my w.wezen sent an early email with links to omelet recipes and the note You are brilliant at poaching, so now omelet-ting! …well…it was gAME oN. As with all things me, it takes three tries
- [On camera](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/08/on-camera.html) - The company website has been in sad shape for some time. Out of date, incomplete, it marks the space for the company rather than excites people about the great things we are attempting and accomplishing. As our product moves towards market, there’s no question that it deserves a better home (frame). Our COO brought in
- [A stop in Stroke Bruerne](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/08/a-stop-in-stroke-bruerne.html) - A thousand years ago, the Domesday Book took note of the outlying hamlet of Stoche, lying in the rolling hills and waterways of today’s Northamptonshire. By 1254, its name had augmented to Stokbruer after a prominent local family, and six hundred years later the village became a transport stop along the Grand Union Canal linking
- [Once along Little Venice](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/08/once-along-little-venice.html) - This turns out to have been my week for walking the Canals. I normally zip through Paddington Station on the way elsewhere, diving into the Tube or jumping onto the Great Western Railway out of the city. Today, though, I found a couple of hours hanging about before linking up with my w.wezen and heading
- [Notting Hill Carnival](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/08/notting-hill-carnival.html) - It’s the 50th year of London’s Notting Hill Carnival, a Caribbean-themed street party held during August Bank Holiday each summer. Echoing the British fairs of the 18th century and adopting their symbolic ‘moments of great festivity and release’, the Carnival celebrates music, dance, jerk chicken and Red Stripe Beer. Or, more historically, “juggling, pickpocketing, whoring,
- [Bournemouth Arts-by-the-Sea](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/10/bournemouth-arts-by-sea.html) - I headed down to the seashore on yesterday evening around sunset, looking for a beer and a bit of quiet to set the week aside. Bournemouth Pier is free to wander once the summer season is over at the equinox; the beaches are less crowded and the best light comes comfortably earlier than in August.
- [Keeping up with news and ideas](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/10/keeping-up-with-news-and-ideas.html) - The UK and Netherlands are both fortunate to have strong public broadcast news services in the BBC and the NOS (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting). Both are chartered to produce regular and frequent pregular and frequent public service programming, including, full and impartial news service and coverage of parliamentary debates and other national events. Both are criticized
- [Leven is wat er gebeurt…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/11/leven-is-wat-er-gebeurt.html) - …terwijl ik niet over te schrijven. It’s been a couple of months: ‘apologies for my absence. Everything is fine with my life, my work, and my important people. But there has been a lot going on the past couple of months, leading to a lot of (mostly positive) changes. In the middle of it all,
- [Improbable wins](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/11/improbable-wins.html) - As one who grew up in Chicago, it would be impossible to overemphasize the significance of the Cubs winning the World Series this week. Coming back from a three-game, must-win deficit after Game 4, I thought that the series was headed to another disappointment for the 100+ dry years for their true fans. I have
- [Something lost](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/11/something-lost.html) - It’s been a very busy and stressed week, so my w.wezen and I decided that time off at the coast would be tonic. We needed to make a stop southeast of London, so decided to continue on to the Southeast coast, choosing landfall at the historic community of Hastings. The town is home to the
- [At the Hastings Herring Fair](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/11/at-hastings-herring-fair.html) - This is Bonfire Weekend across the UK, celebrations of Guy Fawkes night held in communities and fireworks lasting towards morning. We spent it in the seaside fishing town of Hastings, along the East Sussex coast between Brighton and Dover. The town is famous for the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the tart of the Norman
- [Bumping across the Channel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/11/bumping-across-channel.html) - I gave myself three hours and a bit to get to the Ferry docks at Dover: its been raining hard all night and likely that the M25 would see some accidents even on a light Saturday morning. Predictably, my tablet (long since replacing my trusty TomTom) chirped disaster as I approached the ring road:
- [Misty morning, Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/11/misty-morning-maastricht.html) - A damp and peaceful Sunday morning beneath dripping skies along the Maas. I moved the car (late, but unticketed) and took a long wander around the old center. The Christmas decorations are almost all up, and the holiday chocolates are on display for Sinterklaas’ visit in a few weeks. Whie the twon square is
- [That time of the season](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/11/that-time-of-season.html) - ‘back in Poole, the weather unsettled, but nice to be off the road for the weekend. We’re in the middle of device testing, formal validations that provide necessary evidence of safety and efficacy to satisfy our regulators that our device is ready for market. Its a risky time: a negative finding, a major non-conformance, could
- [Bump, bump, bump](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/12/bump-bump-bump.html) - It was a trip I’ve made a hundred times. West of London to the ferries, the Dover crossing, the long straight motorway past Bruges, Ghent, around Brussels. The the washboard highway to Luik, a turn north at the Maas Crossing, and into the ‘skade to carry suitcases into the apartment around 7 pm. This started
- [Morning light, Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/12/morning-light-maastricht.html)
- [A Kew Christmas walk](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2016/12/a-kew-christmas-walk.html) - Each year, Kew Gardens hosts a nighttime Christmas event in the arboretum, a walk filled with lights and music. My w.wezen and I went a few years ago and found it enchanting. Word of mouth for this year was good, so we got tickets and headed out into the year-end cold for a look. Entry
- [Renewing my passport](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/01/renewing-my-passport.html) - ‘You’re not going to be able to travel with this much longer,’ the Customs Agent warned, shaking his head and wagging my dog-eared passport. The book bulged with two extra sets of pages, edges curling. Even moreso, years of cross-border travel had filled almost every page filled with via stamps. ‘If a page falls out,
- [Changing times](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/01/changing-times.html) - Grosvenor Square is a small park adjoining the US Embassy in Mayfair, London. It’s been the traditional home for the official US presence in Britain since the first mission established by John Adams in 1785. During the second world war, a military headquarters adjoined the square, and the US Naval Forces Europe continued to occupy
- [Sunset, Henley :: Sunrise, Bedford](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/01/sunset-henley-sunrise-bedford.html) - ‘A restful evening’s walk along the Thames, followed by a foggy morning’s drive to Colworth ========================
- [Back in business](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/02/back-in-business.html) - My new passport arrived today, ten days ahead of when the Embassy promised to deliver it. It feels sort of odd to have a clean, thin document again, pages crisp at the edges and unmarked by visa stamps. Strange, too, to see an expiration date of 2027. Where will I be when that date rolls
- [Cookham Village, along the Thames](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/02/cookham-village-along-thames.html) - Sunny but wintry cold this weekend; the storms have passed through leaving blue-washed skies and marshy puddles across the grasslands. Ideally, it would be a day for touring a stately house or photographing a sheltered garden, all antiques and snowdrops, but the National Trust properties don’t really open before March. So, the open public spaces
- [Sorting through Stanley Spencer](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/02/sorting-through-stanley-spencer.html) - There couldn’t be greater contrast between the ordered ambiance of Cookham village and the strange life of its most famous inhabitant, artist Stanley Spencer. At the same time, his inward looking painting and introverted life seems a perfect match for the quiet Thames-side setting. The Stanley Spencer Gallery lies at one end of Cookham’s
- [Op weg; Hungary](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/02/op-weg-hungary.html) - The agent sighed: I need to check yiur visa status. He made a quick call to his supervisor: American…European residency…traveling to Hungary. Complications in the era of Brexit and Trump. There are rumors of tit-for-tat fees and permissions springing up, but I’d thought that they were not yet applicable within the EU. No problem, he
- [Post surgical snowfields](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/02/post-surgical-snowfields.html) - We put in a good day’s work today, arriving at the hospital early with prototypes and engineers, then working with the physicians to verify that the whole system was operational. For the third time in three weeks, everything was flawless:, good data and good performance. We were cleared to monitor a hernia repair, relatively
- [Driving on the left, from the right](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/02/driving-on-left-from-right.html) - I’ve finally sorted out the logistics and financing of getting the car fixed. Initial proposals from Ford Lease were that the car be repaired in Maastricht. While likely practical from the standpoint of the engine, I didn’t think that the hood latch would necessarily hold for the 6-hour drive to the Netherlands. Second suggestion? “We
- [‘Not the year for Carnival](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/02/not-year-for-carnival.html) - i had set time and travel aside to be in Maastricht for Carnival this year – the four-day pre-Lent celebration filled with food, drink, and costumes (did I mention drink?). The parade is Sunday, official kick-off in the Vrijthof square with the raising of ‘t Mooswief, and the ‘skade filled with color until the wee
- [Making marks at the seaside](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/02/making-marks-at-seaside.html) - Flipping through the BBC directory the other evening, I came across a new art show: The Big Painting Challenge. A bit like Masterchef, it features a dozen amateur artists who go through weeks of themed challenges, creating works under supervision of two professionals. Works are judged, someone goes home, the rest hug and advance.
- [Saturday errands and walks](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/02/saturday-errands-and-walks.html) - It’s a day for catching up, sorting through small jobs and picking up parts. I’d promised to fix a lock for the house, screws, oil, and fat screwdriver to get the cover off. Whereas, in the US, I’d be off to Home Depot or (back in the day) Ernst, here in the UK it’s a
- [Chilling with the snowdrops](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/03/chilling-with-snowdrops.html) - Today was the day for submitting our Technical File to our regulator, but a couple of key bits were still missing. The Notified Body was gracious about accepting a 12-hour slip, but it was difficult for me to step back and accept that we needed to accept a delay. In research, always a first time
- [Making the Milestone](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/03/making-milestone.html) - Our Technical File was submitted to our Notified Body today. I know, it’s one of those ‘What did he just say?’ statements. A bit of background, then: Medical Devices in Europe do not enter the market until they conform to the European Medical Device Directive. Each country has a standards group, the Competent Authority, which
- [Poole, into London](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/03/poole-into-london.html) - A close friend called, asked if I could meet him in London today on a personal matter. Of course, anything, let me get the train in. I pick up a flower and a some fizzy water before heading out. I’d planned a day along the beach, long overdue. A storm surf would have been wonderful,
- [London twilight](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/03/london-twilight.html)
- [Flying Silver](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/03/flying-silver.html) - It’s been, well, decades since I flew in the airlines lowest privilege category. ‘not a bad thing, but different now that I’m demoted. The cause is a combination of factors. I’m not traveling as much overall. When i do, it’s to Stockholm, Budapest, Dubrovnik: Low-cost carriers rather than the majors. And my long-time loyalty partner,
- [House Style at Chatsworth](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/03/house-style-at-chatsworth.html) - With meetings finished for the week, we decided to head north, rather than south, for the weekend. Trees and flowers are blooming later in Derbyshire than in Dorset, but there was a hint of spring warmth and likely only light numbers of visitors to the Peak District. Chatsworth House, towards the southeast corner of the
- [Chatsworth Gardens](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/04/chatsworth-gardens.html) - The great English landscape gardener, Capability Brown, transformed the working farmland and small formal gardens around Chatsworth House to rolling gardens in 1760. Joseph Paxton added the kitchen gardens and glasshouses a hundred years later during his period as head gardener. Today the trails above the house meander through mature woodlands, flower beds, and
- [Braving the Dovedale Trail](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/04/braving-dovedale-trail.html) - Morning dawned misty and cool along the Amber Valley, a former mining district just southeast of the Peak District. Evening at the Farm Hotel had passed with comfortable ease, from drinks with the owner of a pub Saturday night to a decent buffet breakfast to start our Sunday. Flicking though the local outdoor
- [Sorting out the issues](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2017/04/sorting-out-issues.html) - There have been fewer blog posts of late because of numerous technical problems with too little time available to sort them. Open Live Writer has only been able to publish intermittently because of an Error 500 associated with posting pictures. Blogger stores photos in dedicated albums in Google Photos, and the interface is, at best,
- [Untitled Post](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/10/if-i-start-from-anywhere.html) - If I start from anywhere...I'd start in Umbria....
- [In the beginning: the Contract](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/in-beginning-contract.html) - I simply wanted to stay in Europe.I'd spent a year at Cambridge, emerging full of ideas, energy, and hope. The three months back in the 'States had only added to my conviction that my best opportunity and happiness lie overseas. Curious: I know so many people who define their ambitions first in terms of Place,
- [Reflecting from Pullman](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/reflecting-from-pullman.html) - It's a snowy morning in Pullman WA, I'm bringing my daughter to tour Washington State (one of the colleges that she wants to apply to). It's 4 am (jet lag takes its toll) and I'm typing from the lobby of the Holiday Inn. The first snow of the season has dusted the Palouse hills, wet
- [The Amazing Race](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/amazing-race_19.html) - 'Back from Pullman, the snow and fog closed the small airport there so we drove to Lewiston to find an open airport. These days always remind me of the reality show "The Amazing Race", one of my favorites....I've been there: It's always fun to see the racers tear through someplace that I've been, whether a
- [12 Gadgets for Expatriate Travel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/12-gadgets-for-expatriate-travel.html) - I recently came across a list of "killer gadgets" that you should have when you hit the road. It was a bit too flashy to be practical, though, and missed the necessities. But it did lead me to think of the dozen things that I carry in my "Widget wallet": most are small, universal, and
- [Summer reflection](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/summer-reflection.html) - Happy Thanksgiving! The weather is cold here, so it's a good day to reflect on lazy summer evenings...A big plus of living in Europe is the opportunities for travel. This is a boat that we chartered, at our mooring in Findhamn, in the Swedish Archipelago.
- [Sitting on the sidelines?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/sitting-on-sidelines.html) - I was at our family's Thanskgiving dinner party last night, lovely ornate setting, good company, fine wine. Conversation turned to politics and my brother, otherwise intelligent, started holding forth about how leadership was the real issue. "America needs to regain it's global role", asserting the leadership that the world expects from it as the global
- [Cross country driving](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/cross-country-driving.html) - At a reunion today for my father's 80th birthday. We're holding it in Colorado Springs, so I flew into Denver International Airport and drove down. I forgot to pick up a map, but the signs put me right onto I-25, and I steered south.Hours passed, the country opened up into rolling, arid Colorado farmland. The
- [Time zone differences](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/time-zone-differences.html) - From Arnhem, I'm 7 hours ahead of the Corporate center in Minneapolis: They start up by 8, which is late afternoon, my time. I've learned that if I don't cut it off by 5 or 6, then it's easy to stay until 10 pm, getting dragged along with their morning meetings and e-mails.More difficult is
- [Shaping a web presence](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/shaping-web-presence.html) - I've tended to accumulate a web presence, rather than crafting one. Originally just an e-mail address and a few USENET postings, then a personal web page, now social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, and TripAdvisor. The problem is that I started each with a specific purpose in mind at different times in my life,
- [Impacts of Language](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/impacts-of-language.html) - Even though I'm not much good with learning languages, I believe that learning Dutch is a valuable path to joining the people and culture here. The Dutch are nice about it, saying that it's a tough language and that everyone speaks English (actually, the language is very straightforward and there are many times that I
- [Regina Coeli: the Nuns in Vught](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/regina-coeli-nuns-in-vught.html) - Every bit of advice that I get says that the Dutch give you about two years to learn the language; after that, why bother to make the effort of speaking English if you won't make the effort to learn Dutch? As the expatriates drain out of my corporate division here, there is definitely a reversion
- [Curb the dogs, please...](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/curb-dogs-please.html) - This has been one of those weeks; back from Thanksgiving week, and immediately into a spin with work, evening meetings and activities, struggles to get out of bed in the morning, struggles to fall asleep at night. No airport lounge or comfortable seat makes a nine hour time difference easy (I'm avoiding Melatonin this time
- [Beware the schoolchildren (and confuse the rats)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/beware-schoolchildren-and-confuse-rats.html) - I registered with the American Embassy when I arrived, which gets me the Consular Alerts. This gem came in yesterday: The Consulate General wishes to alert U.S. Citizens traveling to and residing in The Netherlands that demonstrations by secondary school students have taken place during the past week, and may continue over the next
- [Guard, gate, guard, gate](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/11/guard-gate-guard-gate.html) - Last week, I went to the US Embassy in Amsterdam to add more pages to my passport: the accumulation of visa stamps has overwhelmed the original pages, and Dutch customs authorities were threatening to turn me away if they couldn't find a place to stamp. I stood in the cold rain and step-stopped through security:
- [Senseo and Schiphol](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/senseo-and-schiphol.html) - It has been a brutal week: while I was on Thanksgiving vacation in the US, the Dutch were dealing with a bunch of problems at work here. There was a lot to catch up with and to help with when I returned, and it feels like I never really got over the time change and
- [Rootlessness](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/loss-of-roots.html) - As a professional on expatriate assignment, I accept that my job is a contract, and that it will come to an end. Some days that gives me motivation to finish my job in the allotted time; other days I make time for a talk or experience that I might otherwise have put off. But there
- [Work-Life Balance](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/work-life-balance-2.html) - One of the biggest dangers of being solo-expatriate is that there is no governor on my work habits. I really like what I do and there is no end to the time that I can spend on it. Worse, the US wakes up at mid-afternoon here, and the West Coast is just getting going at
- [What's it like in Holland?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/what-it-like-in-holland.html) - Yes, I do always try to say "The Netherlands", but it's hard to get the tonguetip back and forth from 'th to 'n and back to 'th quickly, so it sounds a bit lispy. Beyond that, though, I like living here among the Dutch. Landscape: It reminds me of Nebraska: absolutely flat and open, with
- [Bad weather everywhere](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/bad-weather-everywhere.html) - It's been rain and wind everywhere lately...In the Netherlands, the rain was sheeting horizontally as I drive to Schiphol and back on Sunday, and then blowing past my office window in dark bands yesterday.Things were worse in almost every regard back in Seattle though, as a major storm with 100 mph winds pushed in from
- [Podcasts to go](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/podcasts-to-go.html) - First, "Thank you, Sinterklaas!". I've been feeling a bit underappreciated lately, mired in a flood of work that has consumed life in recent weeks. My team surprised me with a small gift and poem for today's eve-of-feast celebration: it made my day. ============================I was once program manager of a radio station, and have always enjoyed
- [Foraging for Food (Part 1)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/foraging-for-food-part-1.html) - Food shopping in the Netherlands is a more frequent and more local affair than in the US: I walk to the Albert Heijn (AH) grocery at the top of my block every other evening (left photo), and to the nearby butcher, bakery, and fishmonger weekly. The AH is open 9 to 8, and (as with
- [Foraging for Food (Part 2)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/foraging-for-food-part-2.html) - The Albert Heijn Photo Tour, illustrating the prior blog post: 1) The Produce Counters 2) The Bakery 3) The Cheese Counter 4) The Meat Wall 5) The entire Bakery Mix section (and, for comparison, the equivalently sized Coffee Milk section) Epilog) And the Christmas Trees arrived today, looking like big ears of corn.
- [And for dessert...](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/and-for-dessert.html) - It's been a bit of a food-week, so I will wrap up with a brief post and a picture of one of my favorites, the Bossche Bol. The Dutch have a soft spot for chocolate, although I haven't found any good native ones. Belgium, though, has stellar chocolate, so heaven lies just a few hours
- [Never enough time...](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/never-enough-time.html) - I commented before that time management is a big issue for me as a solo expatriate. The days seem to fill with opportunity and demands, with help or advice asked and commitments made. It's hard to say no, because I want to do a great job, want to make the most of the experience, want
- [While you're adjusting to the Dutch...](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/while-you-adjusting-to-dutch.html) - ...remember that the Dutch are also having to adjust to you. I got this advice during my orientation, and it's always been a good thing for me to remember. The basics are easy: I take my time, speak clearly, avoid idioms, and check for understanding; fortunately, the Dutch directness ensures that it works both ways.
- [Taking a time out...](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/taking-time-out.html) - One of the nice (or worrisome) things about this journal is that I can see the clouds gathering before the storm breaks (but not sensibly enough to get inside before it does, to stretch the metaphor). In this case, the trip to Koln, the notes on not having enough time, and on trying to be
- [Terrorists and Cheese Wheels](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/terrorists-and-cheese-wheels.html) - I try to keep family and friends updated about life here by posting pictures into albums on Flickr. When there's a nice afternoon, I enjoy wandering around town taking a few snapshots, then posting images that look pleasingly exotic: the town market, the random road art, the tangle of bike paths and roads at major
- [The Global Cosmopolitan](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/review-workers-of-world.html) - Last summer, the INSEAD publication World Business published an article "Workers of the World", about the unique characteristics and problems of global workers. It is based on studies by Linda Brimm, a psychologist specializing in organizational behavior: she describes a "Global Cosmopolitan -- a population of highly educated, usually multilingual people that have lived, worked
- [Making peace with the Senseo](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/making-peace-with-senseo.html) - Well, I've been using the Senseo Coffeemaker for about two weeks now, and we've reached a bit of accommodation. I'm still not sold on it, and certainly don't understand the reverence that the Dutch have for it, but I think I'm starting to warm up to it in the mornings.On the plus side, it is
- [Christmas shopping in Utrecht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/christmas-shopping-in-utrecht.html) - I got up early this morning, avoided the gym, and headed straight to Utrecht to try to close up my Christmas shopping. I leave for the US on Thursday, and have to be in Cambridge tomorrow through Tuesday morning, so this was about the last chance to sort it all through. My first tendancy would
- [Back from Engeland](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/back-from-engeland.html) - It been a good couple of days: I flew over to England Sunday morning to pitch a start-up business to a venture group in Cambridge, 'just arrived back in the Netherlands this morning (the usual EasyJet delays from Stansted, and ice in Amsterdam on arrival ).Nonetheless, it was nice to be back in Cambridge: it's
- [Handling a bad day](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/handling-bad-day.html) - Today was just rotten. I got to bed too late last night, and had to be up too early this morning. The weather has plunged to a permanent sub-zero (Celsius) and days now start with scraping ice off the car, creeping to work through slick streets, and a long walk in from employee parking. In
- [Slouching towards Schiphol](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/slouching-towards-schiphol.html) - The Christmas holidays can be the worst time to travel: crowds, bad weather, delayed flights, heavy loads, short tempers. A friend also once advised me that, once a day starts badly, you become a 'poo-magnet' for life's debris.Thus, it was a bad omen to wake to find an ice storm had hit Arnhem the day
- [Finishing the Christmas Cards](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/finishing-christmas-cards.html) - I flew back to Seattle last night: it was an 11 hour flight, the perfect time to write the Christmas cards. Quiet and undisturbed, alone in the rumbling darkness over the north Atlantic, I could reflect on people that are important and events of the past year.I always sign each card, put in a short
- [What the Netherlands can't provide...](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/what-netherlands-can-provide.html) - When I visit the US, I always have a shopping list of things that I can't find or do in the Netherlands. The list surprises me: there isn't really any consistency or logic to it that says something deeper about the two cultures (or even about me). Nonetheless, here's my "scavenger hunt" list of things
- [Three signs that Christmas is here](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/three-signs-that-christmas-is-here.html) - The Christmas tree is decorated and lit... ...the Malley's chocolates have arrived from Cleveland... ...And there's a huge poinsettia in the living room.
- [Disconnecting / Reconnecting](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/disconnecting-reconnecting.html) - I found out last night that the company has found a new Research Manager to replace me. I had taken the interim assignment to fill a hole in the organization last summer, and have been leading the search, so this was expected. It is a good thing: I've been holding down three full-time jobs at
- [Merry Christmas (and the movie mirror...)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/merry-christmas-and-movie-mirror.html) - First, warm and happy Christmas wishes to each of you. I hope you have close and fun times with family and friends, and I hope for true peace on earth during these troubled times. The holiday movie season is also around us, leading to today's pop question: Kate Winslet or Keira Knightley I'm less of
- [Reverse ExPatriate-ism](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/reverse-expatriate-ism.html) - Amanda published a very nice summary of the perils of Reverse Culture Shock at Vagabondish over the holiday. She writes about the types of disconnections that open between expatriates and their friends back home, and makes some good recommendations for how to adapt (and, yes, it still falls on us to do the adapting...).It's a
- [Heading back to the Netherlands](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/heading-back-to-netherlands.html) - 'nothing deep or reflective today, just up at 5 am and packing to get ready for a noon flight back from Seattle to Amsterdam.It's been a good visit, but full of events and short of sleep. I'm in the peculiar circumstance of living overseas while my family remained in the US: the kids are older
- [Flight and Escape](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2007/12/flight-and-escape.html) - "How many houses are there on the hill?", she asked soon after her arrival, and Carlos said, "Eight. They are owned four by North Americans, two by English, one by a French, and one by Danes." "Why have these people come here?" "Consider this," Carlos said. And from the edge of the terrace where they
- [Best Wishes for 2008](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/best-wishes-for-2008.html) - In search of New Year's fireworks and celebration, it was off to Brussels for the weekend, having heard of the wonderful light shows, seafood feasts, and Christmas Markets that are part of Europe's Capital. But a terrorist threat led authorities to curtail the celebrations: the markets were closed by 9 pm, and the fireworks were
- [Looking back / Looking forward](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/looking-back-looking-forward.html) - I've been reading all of my fellow expat blogger's year-end reflections over the past weeks with interest; they have come in all forms, shading the spectrum from enthusiasm to weariness. Thanks to all who posted their thoughts and plans.For me, 2007 was a transitional year in many ways; I think that I can look back
- [Easing out of the Holidays](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/easing-out-of-holidays.html) - It's nice that the Dutch take a slow start to the new year. Emails are starting to fly in from the US, and even my UK associates are asking if I'm back online. But our offices remain quiet and dark, the company is running with a skeleton staff.It's all kind of nice. Life starts to
- [(Good) New travel rules](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/new-travel-rules.html) - A rainy dark Dutch day, mirrored in events (from local to global):My post-holiday battle to get below 78 kg again by diet and exercise is frustratingly stalled at 79 kg,My long drive to Utrecht to return a Christmas gift at ANWB yielded only a store credit, costing me an additional 2 hours and 2.40 euro
- [Sunday morning around Arnhem](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/sunday-morning-around-arnhem.html)
- [The Brussels Christmas Market](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/brussels-christmas-market.html) - This was, happily, my year for visiting Christmas markets. Although a four-hour drive down to the famous Nuremberg market was too ambitious for me, I did get to the Koln market in early December and, at New Year's, made the two-hour trip down to the Brussels market.The Brussels Market is an annual event, running from
- [Mysterious Dutch light](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/mysterious-dutch-light.html) - At this time of year, daylight in the Netherlands arrives late and ends early. Sunrise begins after 8 am, sunset concludes before 4, and the sun stays low most of the day. On occasional clear mornings and late afternoons, the light paints the landscape with a distinct yellow cast. My camera doesn't show it well,
- [Happy "Day to Read"](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/happy-to-read.html) - A quiet day on the blog while I take advantage of today's designation as a "Day to Read", being promoted by a number of sites. And, just in case you find yourself without something to read, I'll add a link for the day to Amanda's latest post about "what to do if you're traveling too
- [...and when they're grown](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/and-when-they-grown.html) - When your children are little, you'll think that they will change the world; by the time they turn twenty, you are simply glad that they aren't in jail.A research nurse gave me that advice when my family was young, and events this week led me back to reflect on the difficulty of raising grown children.
- [Visiting Haarlem](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/visiting-haarlem.html) - The rain and cold returned to Arnhem, so I drove to the coast yesterday seeking a bit of sun and scenery. On the recommendation of our finance director, I aimed towards Haarlem, the capital of North Holland. I didn't have time to see the museums, but really enjoyed a few hours wandering the town center
- [Oral Pleasure and Expatriate Satisfaction](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/oral-pleasure-and-expatriate.html) - Oh, come on: we're all adults here... This is the title of an article by Jean-Claude Usunier, appearing in the International Business Review, 1998 (7:89-110). He hypothesizes that "expatriates experience a loss of oral pleasure related to the absence of their native language and eating and drinking habits in the host country, and that this
- [Dreaming of Stresa on a Winter's Night](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/dreaming-of-stresa-on-winter-night.html)
- [Druk, druk, druk](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/druk-druk-druk.html) - The Dutch Word of the Day often seems remarkably apt: it produced "Piekeren" (to worry, to brood, to ponder) on the days that we were having a management offsite to ponder company strategy, and, true to form, it suggested learning to use "Druk" (busy, crowded) during this week. The busy-ness was caused by the arrival
- [Blogging from Boston whilst backing up](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/blogging-from-boston-whilst-backing-up.html) - Arrived in Boston: The cold and snow isn't too serious, just a bit of crunching ice underfoot and a bite to the air waiting for the taxi. The Courtyard clearly saves money by turning the heat down at night, though: I was huddled in a pile of covers all night. Fodder for TripAdvisor (interestingly, though,
- [Ice on the prairie; Rain on the plains](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/ice-on-prairie-rain-on-plains.html) - I moved on from Boston to Minneapolis last night, and from the refrigerator to the deep freeze. The landscape is buried in snow and ice here, and there is a hard freeze on that has even the natives warning me about roads and exposed skin. The drive up from the airport took over an hour
- [Healthy Dutch table conversation](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/healthy-dutch-table-conversation.html) - When Dutch men gather, talk often turns to diet and health. Travel, home repairs, and politics are also popular (sports and finance are almost never mentioned), but I'm consistently surprised at how often healthy eating dominates the conversation. The South Beach low carbohydrate diet is their favorite, where bread, rice, potatoes, and corn are avoided
- [Dutch fitness center tales](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/dutch-fitness-center-tales.html) - I've been a fitness club member in the US since I was 20, going over to ride a bike, attend a class, or play some raquetball about four times a week. It was only natural to want to continue the habit here in the Netherlands. Fortunately, a Fitness Club membership was included for all employees,
- ["Lesser Seattle" and happy Nederlanders](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/seattle-and-happy-netherlands.html) - The World Database of Happiness (in Rotterdam, of all places: logo right) compiles results drawn from happiness surveys taken around the world. Their current summary puts Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Iceland, and Finland at the top ranks (the Netherlands is 15th and stable; Belgium 18th and dropping). The Economist credits this to being "married, extroverted, optimistic,
- [Arnhem Market Square](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/arnhem-market-square.html)
- [End of the month account settlement](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/01/end-of-month-account-settlement.html) - Each month, around the 25th, the banking cycle comes to a frenzied and unpredictable end. Through the days credit card charges accumulate, wages are earned, utilities are consumed. Unlike the US, all of this is invisible. Credit cards cannot be accessed online, wages are paid once a month sometime in the last week, utilities fluctuate
- [Would you be cut out for the expat life?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/would-you-be-cut-out-for-expat-life.html) - Expat Focus blog points out a BBC survey of expatriate Britons that indicates that they are both happier (90%) and more homesick (76%) than others in the UK. The survey mainly reflects opinions of retirees, and cites "British weather" as one main reason for leaving, behind "better quality of life, and the standard
- [The long and winding road](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/long-and-winding-road.html) - I was feeling a bit frayed this week: we're dealing with some tricky issues of defining how to run the business at work, and had meetings off-site most days and into the evening most nights. It was unusual for the Dutch, who generally adopt a sensible nine-to-five and don't-call-me-at-home approach to business boundaries. (And I'll
- [Long and winding roads 2](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/long-and-winding-roads-2.html) - I drove up to Nunspeet on Sunday to preview the Spaarenhorst Conference Center, where I'll be leading an off-site brainstorming session with my team next week. It was a very posh place: lovely woods, restaurant, hotel, and meeting rooms, I'm really looking forward to spending time there. I also took advantage of the day to
- [Going through the changes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/going-through-changes.html) - No deep thoughts today: my head is already in vacation-space and I'm really looking forward to a few days down south. I need to find my way to RyanAir's Dusseldorf hub and on to Malaga on the 5 pm flight. 8 pm arrival, and on the beach (in the dark) by ten.Thinking more broadly, I'm
- [Reflecting on Malaga](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/reflecting-on-malaga.html) - 'Back from a wonderful few days in the South of Spain and Portugal. There weren't many Internet connections along the way, so it was a real vacation, disconnected from the office and the social network. The travel loop led through the mountains near Ronda, around Seville, and across the Algarve: weather was temperate and very
- [...but I loved Seville !](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/but-i-loved-sevilla.html) - After Malaga, the drive led north through the Sierra Nevada mountains to Seville, a two lane road that winds through wonderful valleys and gorges. Although TomTom said that it would take two more hours, it doesn't: traffic flows nicely across the desert plains on the north side of the highlands, and the views are so
- [Where do all the good thoughts go?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/where-do-all-good-thoughts-go.html) - Nature is inherently conservative: good things are retained and passed along, while bad things are discarded. The maxim holds for nature, for nurture, for evolved and acquired traits. This reflection led to "windshield thinking", driving through Portugal, about how nature might be conservative about experience. Over our full years, each of us builds up a
- [Creating a panorama from pictures](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/creating-panorama-from-your-pictures.html) - A couple of months ago, I downloaded the Windows Live Photo Gallery as a companion to the Windows Live Writer that I use for authoring my blog. It isn't perfect, but has some really nice features that might make it worth a look.On the good side, I've found that the Auto Fix Photos does a
- [We all find our way forward](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/we-all-find-our-way-forward.html) - I called my son last night: he took his physical and qualification tests for the Air Force on Thursday - Friday. We'd arranged to talk about what he had learned about the opportunities and about what he was thinking about doing. It turned out that he had already enlisted. I should have expected it: he's
- [Beaches in Portugal](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/beaches-in-portugal.html) - A few pictures of seasides in Portugal, while I compose my next thoughts... These are all taken around Sagres, at the extreme southwest corner of Western Europe, a windy and spectacular portion of the Atlantic coastline.
- [Doing taxes and choosing causes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/doing-taxes-and-choosing-causes.html) - I'm deep into preparing my 2007 taxes: the assignment provides Deloitte to help out, who come with a small army of accountants and an absolutely impenetrable personal information collection system. I swear that it takes me twice as long to fill in their on-line system as it would to just do the taxes: this weekend
- [Lost in translation](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/lost-in-translation.html) - 1) Is it a good thing when the Dutch tell youYou are able to ask very penetrating questions about things that you don't understand.2) I'm having a discussion with my HR rep about my decision to give an employee a raise. He was at 84% of market value, and company policy is is to be
- [Wild, wet and weird at Duisburg Zoo](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/wild-wet-and-weird-at-duisburg-zoo.html) - I was out in Germany on Saturday to see the Duisburg Zoo, a smaller park with some notable exhibits. What I found (besides legions of Dutch holiday traffickers clogging the A12) was a transitional park with one foot in the zoological past and one in the conservation future. It's definitely got things you won't see
- [Expatriate Perils](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/expatriate-perils.html) - The Wall Street Journal ran an article last week in their Expat Life column that detailed the "Marital Strain of a Life Abroad". (Thanks to Expat Focus Blog for the original reference!). It reviewed the various strains that a couple face when taking an overseas assignment, and the coping strategies that they might use to
- [International banking on a small scale](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/international-banking-on-small-scale.html) - "Due to global compliance payroll reporting we have made the decision to deliver all assignee remuneration shown on your balance sheet via your home country payroll. However, we are pleased to introduce Reimbursement for Exchange Rate Loss. This will be effective May 2008. We understand this is a big change and a member of
- [Idle miscellany...](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/idle-miscellany.html) - 'nothing organized to be worth a full posting today; just a few bits to pass through...===========================================I have discovered that the Dutch authorities consider my wife and I to be "legally separated". The tax advisors tell me that if we have not lived together under the same roof during the tax year, we're separated. 'should make
- [Flinging on Fridays](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/02/flinging-on-fridays.html) - What is it about otherwise good people that leads then to take a sharp poke at others after a hard day? I was uncomfortable with my previous comment that it's challenging to slip into a communicating and supportive role when I'm feeling ground down by work or life. But shouldn't it actually be a relief
- [The daughter cometh](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/daughter-cometh.html) - My 18-year old daughter arrives for twelve days on April 2. This is really great: in the years that I've lived out of the country, no-one of my family tagged along nor visited. Nothing malevolent about it: I'm back to Seattle every quarter, the kids are older teens with school and work and their own
- [Away with the wind](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/away-with-wind.html) - I'm entering a busy travel period for the next two weeks, so things might get a bit quiet depending on internet connections. I'll post pictures or snips of stories along the way as I can.I'm particularly excited to have the chance to be in Israel for the next week. I've never visited the Middle East
- ['Made it to Israel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/it-to-israel.html) - I'm in Jerusalem: really an amazing city to see for the few hours that I've been here. The county is surprisingly green and compact: the settlements of the West Bank, for example, are a stones throw (literally) from the city and the highway. There are a surprisingly high proportion of American evangelicals around the airports
- [British transport on Sunday night](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/british-transport-on-sunday-night.html) - Back from Jerusalem...some amazing times there, but a long flight back...stories to tell in the coming days.However, the trip to London seems more difficult than it should have been, and I think I'm starting to sour on British Airways. An hour and a half late at departure; 45 minutes on the ground at Heathrow waiting
- [Education, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/education-innovation-and.html) - I am in Cambridge to participate in a conference on innovation and education sponsored by the Cambridge-MIT Institute (CMI). It was really a stimulating day: I wanted to share a few ideas and observations before running for the plane. Background: CMI is a collaboration between Cambridge Univ and MIT, created by the British government six
- [Observations on Jerusalem](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/observations-on-jerusalem.html) - ' Last leg of the 10-day trip: winding things up in Paris, but thoughts are still lingering back to the visit to Jerusalem last week. It is an amazing place to visit: I just wanted to include a few illustrated reflections. Israel is greener than I expected. The drive up into the hills from Tel
- [Why is life full of surprises?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/why-does-life-surprise-us.html) - In conversations with friends over the past months, we've all shaken heads about how life's road has twisted over the past five years. "Who'd have thought we'd all be here today..." we begin, and talk about how things turned out so unexpectedly with kids, with jobs, with dreams.It makes me wonder, indeed, how it happened.Psychologists
- [(not) Accessing bank accounts and television shows](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/not-accessing-bank-accounts-and.html) - I'm approaching my May 1 deadline to establish a US bank account for my paychecks that I can access for living expenses in the Netherlands. I finally gave up trying to convince (Yoo Hoo !) WaMu that global banking should include currency exchanges and wire transfers. I went on to approach Schwab, HSBC, Bank of
- [The Wiki way to ignorance](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/wiki-way-to-ignorance.html) - I love Wikipedia. It's the first reference that I consult when I need information on-line in a hurry, and I generally get the background, pictures, and links that I need for a quick insight. For example, someone suggested that I see the Goya etchings exhibit at the Petit Palais in Paris last Sunday. The art
- [Soured on Citi](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/soured-on-citi.html) - A couple of days ago, I wrote glowing praise of Citibank's Access Account, which seemed to provide a simple means to do direct deposit and wire transfers without need for visiting the bank to open the account or to give transfer instructions. I take it all back. I tried a test transfer, moving $100 from
- [Ready for a long weekend](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/ready-for-long-weekend.html) - I feel like a bit of a curmudgeon today: rain has been falling and the blog posts have been grumbly. The worst of it seems to have hit today: as the view out my window suggests, the rivers are rising as the skies are lowering. What it doesn't show is the cold and snow showers
- [The new train station at Liege, Belgium](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/new-train-station-at-liege-belgium.html) - A bit of a space station, but it's going to be awesome when it's done...
- [Cold day on Kinderdijk](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/cold-day-on-kinderdijk.html) - I decided to take a day off today and hit the relatively empty Easter roads to roam around Rotterdam. It's the sort of footloose day that I really enjoy: I packed a bit of hummus and pita, a couple of guidebooks (I like the Frommer's for the big things, and the "52 Mooie Dorpen" recommended
- [Just another spring day in paradise...](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/just-another-spring-day-in-paradise.html) - The snow squalls continued through dusk, in just about every variant. Sometimes wet and heavy, plopping onto the balcony, other times just a feathery swirl across the front window. By morning, though, the storm had blown itself through, leaving only frosted branches on the trees and highlights along the roofs. The neighbor's garden hose lay
- [Staying flexible at T5](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/staying-flexible-at-t5.html) - "We wanted to make the experience of being in an airport exciting. We wanted to capture the spirit of travel." said Heathrow's Terminal 5 architect Richard Rogers.It certainly looked that way to me yesterday: the baggage system malfunctioned, causing hours of delays in retrieving luggage, at least 34 canceled flights, and a temporary ban on
- [Flowing into the weekend](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/flowing-into-weekend.html) - 'been a long week: lots of tension, lots of progress, lots of uncertainty. The temperature is up to a hopeful 10 C, though, and the weekend is at hand. My daughter arrives on Thursday for ten days: I'm really looking forward to her visit and to sharing some time together. 'funny how much family time
- [American, Dutch, Canadian](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/american-dutch-canadian.html) - My native country is the US, born outside Cleveland, raised in a suburb of Chicago, schooled in Tennessee, and lived with my own family near Seattle. While I've traveled internationally a lot, I've only spent the majority of my time outside the US during the past three years, first in England, then in the Netherlands.
- [Arts and Waffles in Dusseldorf](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/03/arts-and-waffles-in-dusseldorf.html) - Sometimes I overlook the good things lying right across my doorstep.I almost skipped over Gary Bembridge's "Tips for Travellers" podcast on Dusseldorf: what could there be to say? I had passed through many times: my impressions from the airport and train station were of a charmless city, as compared to Koln or Dutch destinations. But
- [Idle chit-chat at mid-week](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/idle-chit-chat-at-mid-week.html) - Nothing momentous on my mind today; just a few bits and bobs to share...My daughter arrives tomorrow...I'm finding myself acting a bit like my mother does when we visit: cleaning, buying food I think she'll like, thinking about things we can do together. I also remember that I usually disappoint my mother in this regard:
- [Girls just 'gotta have fun](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/girls-just-have-fun.html) - The girls arrived yesterday, I don't think that they slept at all on the plane. They alternated two hour maps and two hour ooh's and ah's at the Netherlands for the rest of the day before collapsing with a movie about ten and sleeping through to mid morning. It didn't slow them down when it
- [Wearing your travel well](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/wearing-your-travel-well.html) - We're wrapping up a few days in Paris: 'did the major sights that a first-time visitor wants to do (Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame) and the major shopping that girls want to try (Galeries Lafayette, St. Germaine). Along the way, they've learned how to pay for a Metro ride, count change in Euros, order still or
- [Building confidence](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/building-confidence.html) - It's been a good birthday today: I took the requisite box of pastries in to work and introduced my daughter around to everyone. Then we went in to Amsterdam for the afternoon: the girls wanted to do the Anne Frank house and cruise the shopping areas. Jamie Oliver's "Fifteen" restaurant told me, when I called
- [Building Confidence (2)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/building-confidence-2.html) - What did girls do before there were digital cameras? Some days I feel like the world is simply a backdrop for them to take pictures of one another. They are constantly posing, clicking, arranging, directing one another, then huddling and giggling over the results. At first, I thought it was simply youthful narcissism: today's
- [Building clarity](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/building-clarity.html) - The girls decided that they wanted to go into Amsterdam themselves yesterday. We had spent the prior day orienting to the city, walking the streets near Central Station so that they knew how to get to the Dam Square shops. We had a quick orientation to how to read a train schedule and find a
- [What are the common differences across Europe?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/what-are-common-differences-across.html) - TextualHealing observed in a comment the other day:To a European there's a huge difference in the way that, say French and Dutch people live (with of course different languages - though no longer currencies). Are there common aspects of European culture that North Americans see that we don't because we are so close to them
- ['Not a bad day in London](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/bad-day-in-london.html) - Wrapping up in London with the girls last night; we do Cambridge today, then back to the Netherlands and they're out from Schiphol at mid-day. The college has no public Internet, so I'm doing things the old way: camped out in the spring sunshine behind the rooms, borrowing some bandwidth from a neighbor over the
- [Artifacts](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/artifacts.html) - I really need to get back to reflective philosophy again: work and children do take their toll. But they are a *lot* of fun.The visit is over; the girls flew through passport control this morning and are somewhere over Greenland now. We had to compile CDs with all of the collected trip photos: 976. Cheez...but,
- [One picture; two thoughts](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/one-picture-two-thoughts.html) - Trafalgar Square.............We spent the day with our medical advisors today, pitching our ideas and getting their feedback for the best way to use our shiny new device. One of them cautioned against the moral hazard of medical innovations: if we take responsibility for patients, they will cease to take care of themselves. The specific topic
- [Gathering Clouds](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/gathering-clouds.html) - My Dutch residence / work visa renewal came through today: I'm good to go for another year and a half, through November 2009. That's cause for celebration: it's a chance to continue a wonderful independent life here, with opportunities to learn a language, to sample cultures, travel the region, and do some exciting work with
- [But, at least it's not snowing...](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/but-at-least-it-not-snowing.html) - 'Rolling on into the weekend: I've shaken off some of the gloom from Thursday night. The problems are still there, and still real, but I feel a bit more centered and ready to deal with them today.I got news from Seattle that spring is also late in coming there: the picture at the left was
- [Springtime comes to Keukenhof](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/springtime-comes-to-keukenhof.html) - The temperatures hit 17, the sunshine hit my bedroom window, and I hit the street. Spring had finally arrived in the Netherlands. No more moping about the apartment watching it rain; no more dark clouds at work. It was time for the spring tulips! And there is noplace better than the Keukenhof gardens. Last year,
- [Back from Geneva](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/back-from-geneva.html) - ' Back from a short trip down to Geneva to pitch our new idea to some interventional cardiologists at the University Hospital. The weather was terrible: low clouds, blowing cold, spitting rain. But the city must be beautiful in the summer between the lake and the mountains. I'll need to plan a trip back when
- [Digital nomadism and changing patterns of work](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/digital-nomadism-and-changing-patterns.html) - The Economist has a special series of articles in their April 10 issue about Mobility. Rather than reviewing emerging technologies and business models, they examine the apparent impact of wireless networks on work-life activities, and conclude that it is leading to a new form of nomadic lifestyle: "Humans have always migrated and travelled, without necessarily
- [Vechtplassen and Utrecht blues](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/vechtplassen-and-utrecht-blues.html) - With temperatures soaring to 23 deg C this weekend, it was a perfect day to go out with a friend to explore the countryside.On several occasions, trying to get overland to Schiphol, I've been blocked by lakes and waterways north of Utrecht. This area is the Vechtplassen (literally Ponds of the Vecht river, shown in
- [Exploring the Vecht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/exploring-vecht.html) - How do all the big sailboats get into the Vechtplassen?A map of the area shows the lakes to the right, and the twisting Vecht river to the left, passing through (of course) Loenen aan de Vecht. The straight cut of the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal passes diagonally at the far left.The Kanaal is the logical place for large
- [Curiosity and Experience](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/curiosity-and-experience.html) - The French business school, INSEAD, is making a variety of papers and presentations on global business issues available through their Knowledge website. There's been a good focus on the people-centered aspects of engaging with international partners and customers, including articles on cross-cultural negotiation, diverse hiring, emerging-country entrepreneurship, and social development. The dean, Frank Brown, recently
- [Americans in Amsterdam (video)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/04/americans-in-amsterdam-video.html) - The Today Show is a national, daily American television program with light news and features to help people connect to the world gently as they get up and out the door in the morning. Their roving correspondent, Matt Lauer, drops into cities around the world, giving people perspectives on other cultures. This week he visited
- [How many hours in a workday?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/how-many-hours-in-workday.html) - I'm back in Minneapolis for a few days, with sunny skies and warm breezes bringing the trees into first bud. 'up early, I've got some quiet time to read and write. In the corner of the room, the morning news is showcasing Istanbul and grilling Barak Obama. Closer to home, I am thinking about time
- [Scoring the Target](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/scoring-target.html) - I'm visiting HQ in Minneapolis with a Dutch physician who is a longstanding friend: it's been fun contrasting US and Netherlands social and cultural artifacts all week.A big opportunity came after dinner last night, he asked if we could stop somewhere to pick up a disposable razor.'No problem: in the US, there's only one place
- [A luminous day in Arnhem](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/luminous-day-in-arnhem.html) - I had to interrupt my trip to the US for a business recall back to the Netherlands. Not a great situation, but when I step off the train into a day like this, how can I hold a grudge?
- [The breaking storm](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/breaking-storm.html) - Our parent firm, Medtronic, announced today that, as part of a worldwide re-organization, they will transfer all product responsibilities back to Minneapolis, closing our facility in the Netherlands.Our product, the Reveal monitor, has done well in the market this year, with new product introductions increasing sales 70% worldwide and bringing us close to profitability in
- [Keeping personal integrity](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/keeping-personal-integrity.html) - Do you lie to the people who work for you? My student intern from Cambridge asked this question during a discussion of how I conduct group communications through e-mails, reports, and meetings. The short answer is 'no', shaded with a couple of lightly textured exceptions. I have a legal obligation to keep some information confidential:
- [Both sides of Dutch directness](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/both-sides-of-dutch-directness.html) - It's been a very tough week: everyone has struggled to come to terms with the announcement and to start to think about their changed futures. On balance, I think that the Dutch do much better than Americans in comparable circumstances. I think that it connects back to their "directness": Despite being reserved, the Dutch have
- [The owl flies at dusk](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/owl-flies-at-dusk.html) - "The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk." -- Hegel Its a beautiful summer evening: clear sky, Dutch light at sunset, trees in full flower, 'just a breath of breeze. A month ago, I was celebrating the start of another year and a half of varied and delightful times
- [Minerva's Owl 2 :: Corporate version](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/minerva-owl-2-corporate-version.html) - In hindsight, what have we learned? What would we have done differently? Between support meetings, we've all been debating what happened. Our emerging consensus is that there are five expectations that parent companies have for their distant divisions. Some are more important than others, all are necessary. Return on Investment. Success here ("Making the numbers")
- [Change of scenery](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/change-of-scenery.html) - I was feeling a bit stale, and it was showing. I haven't been able to talk about the potential work issues over the past months, so there was a bit of backlog to clear when I finally could. Now, most of what I had bottled is now poured. Still, it's been an immersion, and by
- [Turning the other cheek](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/turning-other-cheek.html) - My Frommer's Guide recommended a stop at the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch, Luxembourg, dedicated to the Battle of the Bulge in the Second World War. It's hard to imagine, today, that the rolling countryside had seen such fierce fighting: the villages are timeless and unspoiled, set into deep green forests and sunny
- [Rummaging through my mind's attic](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/rummaging-through-my-mind-attic.html) - The hot spell broke as storms rumbled through last night; morning dawned tropically humid today. Despite it's reputation for rain, Seattle never gets sticky air like this, where I can almost roll it between my fingers. It feels more like a prairie summer. It makes for a lazy morning, perfect for clearing collected notes, jotted
- [Dealing with Feeling](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/dealing-with-feeling.html) - The support group supervisors must have been looking over my shoulder this morning; they found me today to ask why I had stopped coming to the group meetings.I admit to feeling culturally and linguistically outside the process, but I accept the point that it sends the wrong message when a leader decides not to attend
- [Once around the Broads](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/once-around-broads.html) - Norfolk, of course... I finished with business in the UK on Friday and had a beautiful weekend to spend on the Norfolk Broads, a web of waterways in pristine forests and marshland east of Cambridge. This is a very traditional British yachting area, and we were lucky to explore it with Zoe, a restored gaff-rigged
- [Do not destroy what you cannot create.](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/do-not-destroy-what-you-cannot-create.html) - As we continue the difficult and sometimes contentious work of dismantle the company here in Arnhem, I'm reminded again of my hierarchy of things I enjoy doing, in work or outside of it. I'm someone who loves exploration and epiphany, so it's not surprising that I find my greatest joys in creating new things. If
- [A view from Ghent](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/view-from-ghent.html) - The conference has ended, leaving me a half-day to explore the historic center of Ghent. I was last here about forty years ago when my foreign exchange group spent a night here before boarding the plane from Brussels back to the US. We must have been staying just outside of the city center: I remember
- [An interlude for the Visual Arts](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/art-i-like.html) - Visual arts are a secret pleasure of mine: I took my first watercolor classes about ten years ago at the urging of a close friend and was immediately drawn to the fluid color and interactive freedom of the medium as a contrast to my work with data and computers. 'Feeling like I needed to be
- [What to do if you lose your US passport](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/05/what-to-do-if-you-lose-your-us-passport.html) - My passport lies somewhere on this lively street in Ghent.I've never lost a passport before, and am still kicking myself for doing it this time. My small Grey wallet with my passport, USB stick, Bluetooth earpiece, business cards, and bank decoder was under my arm, along with my umbrella, when I left the hotel, and
- [Yes, there is a Schengen (Luxembourg)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/yes-there-is-schengen-luxembourg.html) - 'back from a few day's holiday to tour Strasbourg and the Alsace wine country: I'll share photos of the region (and the night that the forest invaded our village) as I get caught up this week.On the way down, the road leads through through the Moselle valley in southern Luxembourg on the way to France,
- [It's Complicated....](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/it-complicated.html) - Why does life feel like it's become so complicated?There is more to do than hours available to do them, settled issues rebound in new ways, relationships don't feel as close or relaxed as I want. On vacation, idle thoughts reflect back to find causes: Does life inherently become more complicated with experience, circumstance, and responsibility?
- [Het Koffiemoment](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/het-koffiemoment.html) - I was tagged by AB over at My Neck of the Woods to spill six random things about myself...I've got a little salmon cooking for dinner and a bit of quiet time to think, so I'll take up her challenge. It's also a great opportunity to link to six other blogs that I enjoy (and
- [A few pictures from Alsace](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/few-pictures-from-alsace.html) - On the road visiting parents in Boulder and family in Seattle this week, so I'm logging lots of hours on the plane and catching up as long as the computer battery holds out. One of the things I wanted to finish was to get the pictures sorted from Strasbourg and Alsace and posted on Flickr.
- [The great Alsace flood](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/great-alsace-flood.html) - After a day exploring the Route du Vins, the setting sun and rumbling stomachs signal that it's time to consult the maps to think about where to spend the night. It's early in the season, and we were confident that most of the inns and hotels weren't filled and that we could negotiate a
- [U.S. political winds](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/us-political-winds.html) - 'back in Seattle for the week: it's cold and rainy here, almost more like January than June. The snow level is down to 3000 ft, which is causing unseasonable blizzards at the Cascade Mountain passes and frigid, gusting winds here in the lowlands. My daughter graduates High School this evening: I visited a friend last
- [Last one down the aisle](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/last-one-down-aisle.html) - My daughter graduated high school last night; she's the youngest, and so this was a milestone evening. There were 400 graduates; each got introduced to receive their diploma, and it was great to see Laura cross the stage, beaming, and get a quick hug from the principal. She's worked hard and done well, achieved a
- [U.S. economic tides](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/us-economic-tides.html) - The price of gasoline passed $4.50 per gallon this weekend. It isn't much compared to the price in Europe (around $10 per gallon now), but it's up significantly from roughly $2.50 last winter. Recent articles in the business press have noted that this historic rise has had remarkably little effect on the economy, speculating
- [Do children still need college?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/do-children-still-need-college.html) - At high school graduation, the principal proudly read the statistics about where the graduates were headed after the summer. A third were going on to four year colleges and universities. 14% will attend to two-year colleges; 7% are going to vocational or trade schools. And the remainder, 36%, had chosen "Ministries and missions, military, travel,
- [Catching up back in the Netherlands](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/catching-up-back-in-netherlands.html) - ** It was a busy week in the US without a break and, despite having fun catching up with friends and kids, it still feels good to be back in the Netherlands. My son came back here with me: we'll spend a few days here and a few days in Rome, catching up on life's
- ['not the Dutch I remember...](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/dutch-i-remember.html) - ...but a delightful midsummer evening with a packed house in Arnhem's Korenmarkt square, enjoying their Euro2008 win over Romania. 'Something about numerously drunken Netherlanders lighting orange flares and smoke bombs with every goal, then swaying and singing "We are the champions" en mass at the win, is going to be an endearing and enduring memory.
- [Two days in Rome](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/two-days-in-rome.html) - My son returned to the Netherlands with me last weekend: after a few days exploring Arnhem and Amsterdam, we shifted south to Rome. He said that he wanted to use his Latin (live and learn) and see the artifacts that he had read about in class. It's a hot day here, merging into a
- [Seeing Rome on two wheels and nine lives](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/seeing-rome-on-two-wheels-and-nine.html) - 'really in a mood to write a bit on what's been happening at work the past month since the transfer and layoff was announced, but things are still up in the air. Negotiations are ongoing regarding advice, settlements, and pensions, and it needs to conclude without my two cents here. I have opinions, though.
- [Nine Lives video through Rome](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/nine-lives-video-through-rome-test.html) - 'Trying something different today: a bit of an exploration of media sharing.William and I took a long video capture with my Sony Cybershot point-and-shoot camera while we drove on the scooter through the center of Rome. It's about eight minutes long, and is a bit bumpy because of the scooter's engine vibrations and the cobblestones.
- [Winding up the month](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/winding-up-month.html) - 'feeling a bit melancholy today. The situation at work has been a difficult one. Because the facility will certainly be closed, people are losing belief in the future and in the value in what they are doing. As the same time, no positive alternatives can be started because the Social Plan needs to be negotiated
- [The mind-body problem](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/mind-body-problem.html) - I'm back from Cambridge: 'will catch up with events later, but, in the spirit of academic philosophy, will pose a koan for the day.1) The human body is a material thing.2) The human mind is a spiritual thing.3) Mind and body interact.4) Spirit and matter do not interact. These four statements are inconsistent: any three
- [Into the dawn mists](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/into-dawn-mists.html) - The Social Plan negotiations ended yesterday with a presentation to the employees about the shutdown arrangements and severance proposals. There is now a week's period for consideration and discussion before the vote, and a simple majority will determine the outcome. I'm not a part of the arrangements, since I'm here under expatriate rather than Dutch,
- [Cross-border banking, taxes, investments (and learning to read)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/cross-border-banking-taxes-investments.html) - 'Clearing out a few notes of advice before the start of the new week...Disclaimer: This essay describes my personal knowledge and experiences with cross-border finances. It is not intended to substitute for getting personal advice from a professional advisor. Getting started, I also recommend reading the US-Expatriate-Handbook, available on-line from the West Virginia University College
- [Dutch humor](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/06/dutch-humor.html) - One of the things I've come to appreciate about the Dutch is a sly, frontal humor that is obvious once you see it, but easy to overlook. Herewith, a few examples, popping up around the plant in the waning days of the company: By explanation (Top left to lower right, as if reading): The
- [Keeping it in; letting it out](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/keeping-it-in-letting-it-out.html) - Sometimes, blog writing is a struggle with my own inner demons. There are days when things go badly, and I come home frustrated and disappointed. Then I set down to write. Usually I use the opportunity to try to find some happy things in my world to talk about. And other times, well, I don't
- [Fighting obesity](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/fighting-obesity.html) - I received a study data set from a colleague yesterday that measures the weight and body fat percentage of a dozen normal people, three times a day, over the course of a month. He asked if I could help with calculating the statistics, and I spent the morning organizing and importing the data, then
- [Happy 4th of July](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/happy-4th-of-july.html) - I'm in Berlin this 4th, attending a cardiology conference. I was surprised to find that they were celebrating the 'American' 4th with gusto here: there were paired German and US flags fluttering everywhere and a soundstage near the Brandenburg Gate that wouldn't be out of place in Milwaukee. It turns out that a new American
- [The family road trip](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/family-road-trip.html) - It's been fun driving a big triangle of seven-hour trips across Germany this week, first from Arnhem to Berlin for a conference, then Berlin to Zurich to spend a day with my brother and his family, and finally Zurich back to Arnhem for work Monday morning. The Dutch only drive long distances when there are
- [The Dutch Social Plan process](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/dutch-social-plan-process.html) - Our Dutch workforce voted in favor of the Social Plan proposal at our company last week, officially kicking off the transfer of the business back to our headquarters in the US. Events will move quickly now, and the entire process should be complete within a few months.For me, it has been an education. I don't
- [Engaging with the future](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/engaging-with-future.html) - The swirls from life's counter-phase flows are everywhere now. A wave of folks has washed in from the US to learn what was done here and to take what they need to continue the product. They are meeting a outward current of Dutch headed out to new assignments, garden leave, or vacations. Inevitable eddies form,
- [Back from London](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/back-from-london.html) - I'm back from a long weekend trip to London on business. 'no internet access, unexpectedly, so I'll need to be catching up with everyone (online and off) over the next few days. The weather was (also unexpectedly) sunny and warm, so it was a nice chance to enjoy London on Saturday and a music festival
- [Bits and bobs for 'Hump Day'](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/bits-and-bobs-for-day.html) - Reason for hope: The Economist reports another reason to savor wine and dessert after a good meal. When high-fat foods, especially red meats, are digested, they release various oxidizing toxins, implicated in cancers, diabetes, and heart disease. Red wine and fruits contain substances that react in the stomach to neutralize these toxins before they are
- [Two sides of identity](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/two-sides-of-identity.html) - Job hunting is a sure route to self-discovery. I've been updating my resume and preparing for interviews, sending inquiries and following up on referrals. At each step, I have to think about fundamental questions of who I am, what my experience means, and what I want. The answers have to be written down in very
- [Being right for the wrong reasons](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/being-right-for-wrong-reasons.html) - I've grown used to living with long-distance social interactions as an expatriate, with co-workers and extended family living thousands of miles away and many hours delayed. While this separation sometimes makes it difficult to understand events, I still feel like I usually know what's happening since I can infer the likely causes.So, for example, I've
- [Enjoying a quiet Saturday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/enjoying-quiet-saturday.html) - I've looked forward to this weekend for a while: I haven't had an uncommitted weekend in two months. This one is completely free: I plan to 'catch up, 'do nothing, and 'do something (not in equal proportion). For a further change of pace, I'm largely avoiding job hunting, data analysis, computer surfing, and podcasts. Bliss.
- [Virtues in open debate](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/virtues-in-open-debate.html) - Former US Senator Jesse Helms died this month. He was an arch-conservative senator representing North Carolina, and was the most vocal critic of progressive social causes in the Senate. His opinions were often bigoted, his inflexibility was infuriating, his campaigns were a model for everything that is wrong with American politics. I can't imagine anyone
- [Great drives in the US](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/great-drives-in-us.html) - The Dutch seem to be headed to the US this summer. I suspect that it's driven by some combination of a strong euro and (relatively) cheap US gas, perhaps even by renewed interest in the US presidential race or bad weather here.Whatever the reason, I've shared a bunch of evenings pouring over maps with friends,
- [Where to find vast, echoing silences](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/where-to-find-vast-echoing-silences.html) - A beach at sunriseMountains after a storm Sailing out of seasonA rural snowfall Within prairie grassHallways after the Social Plan and, in summertime, on blogs authored by the Dutch...'hope everyone is having fun vacations!
- [Dutch electrical systems](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/dutch-electrical-systems.html) - The lights went out at midday. I didn't notice, still hammering at the data filling my spreadsheet. With the scientists headed for 'garden leave' around the first of August, our paper won't get done if the preprocessing isn't finished. It was only when I noticed the battery icon, curiously displayed at the lower right, that
- [When is a sport not a sport?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/when-is-sport-not-sport.html) - I was watching the Olympic trials on BBC yesterday; the track and field events are always remarkable. The way the hurdlers flow over the jumps without breaking stride, or the pole vaulters know just how to bend and when to push to arc over the bar, demonstrates the years of practice and dedication behind the
- [Men are (?) boring](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/men-are-boring.html) - You never listen!You just don't hear what I'm saying!Why don't we ever talk?Despite being literate, open, engaging, and witty, I will admit that (even) I (gasp!) get these questions from time to time.And they now merit better discussion, following Sabine Durrant's article Are Men Boring? in the summer issue of Intelligent Life. She maintains that
- [Updating progress](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/updating-progress.html) - I think that the occasional rain evaporates as steam when it reaches the ground, enhancing the humidity rather than drawing moisture from the air. Under the circumstances, it's hard to get a lot of drive behind any task except soaking in a pool or sitting in the shade. Nonetheless, life moves on... The first-phase job
- [The end of the scientific method](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/end-of-scientific-method.html) - Wired Magazine has published a provocative article in this month's issue, The End of Theory: The Data Deluge Makes the Scientific Method Obsolete. The author, Chris Anderson (who also wrote The Long Tail), argues that the growth of massive databases and faster computing has enabled conclusions to be derived from statistical analyses whose quality rivals
- [How crowded is the Netherlands](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/07/how-crowded-is-netherlands.html) - Friends often tell me that the Netherlands is the most densely populated spot in Europe, with 16.4 million people in an area of 16,000 square miles: an average density of over 1000 per square mile (1). Yet it feels spacious to Americans: the drive from Utrecht to Arnhem consists of fields and forests, punctuated by
- [Around the Ardennes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/around-ardennes.html) - 'back from a weekend visit to the Ardennes, a wonderful area of hills and forests located in eastern Belgium, about an hour south of Maastricht. It's easy to access for a short escape, and has a variety of activity for everyone's tastes. To the north, there is a national nature reserve, the Hautes Fagnes, reminiscent
- [Guilty pleasures](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/guilty-pleasures.html) - I'm starting to wonder about the Dutch taste in popular culture. It started in the video store. I usually browse the new releases, "DagFilm", expecting that I'll find recent big-screen blockbusters with a sprinkling of European art-house fare. Instead, I find a few thrillers, a low shelf of cartoons, and a large rack of horror
- [The Sonsbeek sculpture garden](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/sonsbeek-sculpture-garden.html) - One of the nice things about living in Arnhem is the Sonsbeek Park, a wonderful area of woods, meadows, and waterworks adjacent to the city center. My apartment is located a few steps away from the park, which fills with people, fountains, concerts, and exhibitions each summer. The park is sponsoring a sculpture show with
- [Pepper Potts, Mark (54), and a world map of peace](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/pepper-potts-mark-54-and-world-map-of.html) - [Pepper greets Tony when he comes home from Afghanistan]Tony Stark: Hmmm. Your eyes are red. Tears for your long lost boss? Pepper Potts: Tears of joy. I hate job hunting. Tony Stark: Yeah, well, vacation's over. Job hunting is such fun. There's always a mixture of anticipation (the whole future is awash with possibility) and
- [Opening ceremonies](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/opening-ceremonies.html) - I settled in to watch the opening ceremonies for the Olympics on EuroSport this evening. The first half was sprawling and colorful: thousands of synchronized performers and very high-tech ground visuals. It culminated in Sarah Brightman singing atop a huge video globe.The Boston Globe has a wonderful photo collection that really captures the event. And
- [Live Olympic coverage in Europe](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/live-olympic-coverage-in-europe.html) - While event schedules and scores are always available at the official Chinese Olympic site (above), I was looking for live streaming coverage of the various events from the Internet. Unfortunately, NBC's streams will not play in Europe, BBC's won't play in the Netherlands, and, while EuroSport is streaming their cable channels, 1, 2, and News
- [Dutch sailing skills](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/dutch-sailing-skills.html) - I was watching the women's sailing competition today from the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, located on the Yellow Sea about 500 km SE of Beijing. The Sailing Center is built on an old shipyard of the port, close to the business center of the city, and the events take place in Fushan Bay against the
- [I hate job hunting (part 2)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/i-hate-job-hunting-part-2.html) - I got this gem (and a smile) from a potential employer this morning: It’s the best rejection letter I've ever had (and one of the most final).I feel both proud and deeply rejected :)We refer to your job application of August 5th 2008 and thank you for your interest in the above position.We regret to
- [The Conversation Prism](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/conversation-prism.html) - I'm on the road for a week: four days in Minneapolis, then four in Seattle - Pullman. The Minneapolis part is to settle an interim position for the next eight months in Europe and to lay groundwork for options after that, while the Seattle visit is to move my daughter to college. The Dutch women
- [Bits and bobs before the sun rises](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/bits-and-bobs-before-sun-rises.html) - I'm up early this morning; it's only about 3:30 here in the room outside Minneapolis. Normally I take a couple of Melatonin tabs a half hour before bed and it helps me to sleep through the first couple of nights. Unfortunately, I didn't pack it along this time, so I'm going to have to rotate
- [US and Dutch traffic contrasts](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/us-and-dutch-traffic.html) - The Corporate offices are scattered around a number of campus sites, and even though I cluster the meetings, it still ends up being a lot of driving. I allow fifteen minutes to get back and forth, the it takes five to get to the car, ten to drive, five to get from the car. The
- [Saturday morning over the Cascade mountains](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/saturday-morning-over-cascade-mountains.html) - It's a flawless morning in the Pacific Northwest. The plane flew in over the Cascade mountains, a young volcanic range to the east of the city. It's always a fantastic view with the morning mist and the blue skies. I'm driving through them tomorrow morning and will post some ground-level photos as well.
- [Moving the daughter to college](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/moving-daughter-to-college.html) - Our day began at 4 am, when a stray thunderstorm wandered north of Seattle and the flash and crash tumbled both of us out of bed. No arguing with nature's will: we packed all of the bags and boxes into the van and hit the road. It's a strange feeling, she's lived her whole life
- [The way things are in Washtucna](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/way-things-are-in-washtucna.html) - I checked out of the Moscow hotel early, meeting my daughter at 6:30 to swap keys so that she could go to sorority rush. Hopefully the last bits could be solved by noon, but the problems started immediately. Software conflicts kept her computer off the college network, XP SP3 broke the Windows Installer, a cable
- [Crossing Eastern Washington](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/crossing-eastern-washington.html) - I've commented before about the contrast in distance, density, and landscapes between the Netherlands and the US. Driving border-to-border yesterday really brought it home for me, so I wanted to share a few pictures (starting with a Washington Windmill, so the Dutch feel at home...) Washington State is in the extreme NW corner of the
- [Back in the NL](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/back-in-nl.html) - 'arrived back in the Netherlands Thursday morning, and have been burning the candle at both ends since. There have been a series of farewell parties filling days since I got back, and I finally collapsed into bed last night to sleep straight through to noon today. Very uncharacteristic; very telling. The staff farewell get-together was
- [Catching up with life and the future](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/catching-up-with-life-and-future.html) - It's been three months since the announcement that our corporate parent would move responsibility for our product back to the US, closing the facility here and releasing the 200 Dutch folks in our division. It's been a difficult period: coming to terms with the changes, finalizing the Social Plan, transferring the programs, closing the building.
- [Nieuwersluis and Kasteel Sypesteyn](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/nieuwersluis-and-kasteel-sypesteyn.html) - Over dinner last night, I was asked which region of the Netherlands was my favorite. The villages around the Vechtplassen hold a special charm for me, with picturesque villages and lakes filled with holiday boats, and winding roads along tree-shaded rivers. I'm starting a two-day round of meetings in Amsterdam this afternoon, so I took
- ["I need to get better."](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/need-to-get-better.html) - I watched Barak Obama's acceptance speech last night (as I'll watch John McCain's in full next week). It was well written, well delivered, hit most of the issues that I align with him on. I wish that something more had been said about restoring civil liberties, banning torture, and closing Guantanamo ( a comment echoed
- [Expatriate safety nets](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/expatriate-safety-nets.html) - "Touch of Dutch" wrote a good essay last week about the need for expatriates to have a sensible contingency plan for taking care of themselves if their domestic situation goes bad. I think that its a good time to echo her sentiments.I was faced with the potential loss of my expatriate contract a few months
- [What makes 'Mooie Dorpen'](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/08/what-makes-dorpen.html) - When I pitch out into the Dutch countryside, I often take along my copy of 52 Mooie Dorpen, a guide to scenic villages throughout the Netherlands. Yesterday, I visited Spakenburg and Baarn, two listed towns near the Emmeer waterway north of Amersfoort. However, the visit was disappointing: both are modern towns, filled with the low
- ['sorry to be scarce....](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/09/to-be-scarce.html) - I've been catching up with lots of life events the past few days, on the road Monday and Tuesday, locked in a writer's garret all day today. I've been on a quest to answer some questions about long-term assignments in the Netherlands. It turns out that there is a former ex-pat (5 years, circa 1995,
- [Improved methods for innovating](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/09/improved-methods-for-innovating.html) - A large-company scientist, buried within the research organization, discovers a customer need: Stroke patients don't get to the hospital fast enough for treatment to be effective. She finds a novel technical solution: an infrared sensor that measures brain oxygen saturation. She works with university partners to collect data and prove that ischemic brain regions can
- [Expat advice and surveys](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/09/expat-advice-and-surveys.html) - James at American in Amsterdam posted some useful reference information this week: I took his advice to pick up some breakdown insurance with ANWB. I've always been a member of the AAA, a similar service in the US, and have gotten great value for the membership over the years. The AAA provides road service, maps
- [Autumn in the air, and in the pocket](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/09/autumn-in-air-and-in-pocket.html) - The winds rose, the clouds lowered, and the cold rain arrived this weekend. No doubt: there's autumn in the air. Signs are everywhere, contrasting yellow in the green trees, puddles of leaves in the gutter.The economic news seems to be drifting towards winter as well. True, oil prices are down and the dollar is up,
- [Autumn in the air, and in the pocket (2)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/09/autumn-in-air-and-in-pocket-2.html) - Last essay, I reflected on the increase in household expenses, reflected in the Consumer Price Index. I'd like to touch on the income side today. For most people income has not kept pace with expenses. Wage increases for most people I talk with have averaged just over 3% this year. Investment income, whether from bank
- [Blogging from Bologna](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/09/blogging-from-bologna.html) - I'm attending the 2008 Computers in Cardiology conference in Bologna this week, a yearly gathering of researchers and engineers to explore ways to extract more information from the electrocardiograph (ECG). It's much more fun than it sounds, especially when the venue is Balogna, Italy. It's my first time here, and it's been wonderful to explore
- [Naples and Pompeii](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/09/naples-and-pompeii.html) - Still moving south: staying in Naples and visited the amazing excavations at Pompeii. The site really has a lot of presence from the people who were there: the streets and ruins really evoke the city and their everyday things are still present in their homes, shops, and squares. Vesuvius is a dominant presence, both over
- [Amalfi and Cinque Terre](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/09/amalfi-and-cinque-terre.html) - Well, 'back among the Internet-alive again. I'm still out of the country, holed up in Switzerland for a day of break before the final drive back to the Netherlands. The Italians make it impossible to access the Internet in many places: there is an anti-terrorism law on the books that requires passport-registration in order
- [Shoveling out the backlog (and the financial industry)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/09/shoveling-out-backlog-and-financial.html) - ‘back in town, but a bit scarce while I collate tasks that have accumulated in my absence and try to address the most pressing ones. It was a great trip, but there’s always the return to earth when it’s over.The weather is deteriorating as fall moves in. Not a good thing: I’ve got to start
- [The water folk and the mountain people](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/water-folk-and-mountain-people.html) - I know that I’m on delicate ground today, but I’d like to spend a few paragraphs contrasting the Dutch and the Swiss. I’ve lived in both countries, in Switzerland when I was 17 and in the Netherlands today, and I have high regard for both cultures. They have always seemed to me to have lots
- [Network, neighborhood, community](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/network-neighborhood-community.html) - A brief pre-note: I’ve finally finished getting pictures selected, edited, and posted from the conferences and travels in Italy the past few weeks. I won’t publish too many here, but the albums are available on my Flickr site. --------------------- I wanted to take a bit of time today to reflect some thoughts about the importance
- [Travel bric-a-brac](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/travel-bric-brac.html) - Small ornamental objects valued for their antiquity, rarity, originality, or sentimental associations. Part of the fun of traveling is finding souvenirs to remind you of the various places that you’ve visited. Sometimes I really do return with something of unique value, a little gem of artwork or a thoughtful gift from a friend. But
- [Tools to manage your narratives](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/tools-to-manage-your-narratives.html) - First, a link for the day: Air Traffic Worldwide (be sure to click for the high-def version of the video). This one-minute video shows the progress of air flights over a 24 hour period, superimposed on the progressing day/night terminator. For those who travel, it’s fascinating to watch how the tendrils of traffic reach out
- [Watching the markets swoop and plunge.](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/watching-markets-swoop-and-plunge.html) - A poem, fashionable in the United States, anticipates the time “when suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.” Do the Dutch, equivalently, start to ride purple? ========================== As the financial crisis continues to grind forward through the world’s markets, I’ve been keeping up through podcasts of Bob Brinker’s MoneyTalk radio show from
- [Bits of Seattle in the Netherlands](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/bits-of-seattle-in-netherlands.html) - There are a lot of similarities between the Pacific Northwest and the Netherlands. The atmospheric environment is almost synchronized between the two, with wet, gusty maritime weather systems and moderate year-around temperatures. It’s around 20 deg C in both areas right now. In either case, winters are dark and burdened with near-constant drizzle and mist,
- [Visible signs of the coming of Winter](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/visible-signs-of-coming-of-winter.html) - The brilliant golden tree in my backyard is fading day by day… But it is a beautiful autumn in Arnhem so far. The gallery below gives some idea. The river pictures are from the Rijnkade, an area of restaurants along the Neder Rijn in downtown Arnhem. The tower is the Eusebius Church
- [Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/sudden-cardiac-arrest-awareness-month.html) - It may seem ironic, but this month is Sudden Cardiac Awareness month in the United States. Given the crumbling world economy, you may be more interested in preventing the stressful causes of heart attacks than with treating them. Still, it can affect anyone, any time, and we all need to do our part to help.
- [First visit to Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/first-visit-to-maastricht.html) - I just returned from a couple of days in Maastricht, starting the transition process to a new job and the search for a new place to live. It’s a little exciting, it’s a little discouraging, but it’s definitely a big step into the future beyond Arnhem. Maastricht is a different city in many ways. It
- [Foods that I miss in the Netherlands](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/foods-that-i-cant-find-in-netherlands.html) - For some reason, the Dutch don’t put *both* meat and cheese onto a sandwich. Lunches at work feature trays of sandwiches with either/or, and I’ve become known as a bit of an ‘ugly american’ for reconstructing ham and cheese out of bits of other sandwiches. I have it on good authority that the British also
- [Networks eliminate distances between people](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/networks-eliminate-distances-between.html) - A couple of e-mail exchanges this week reminded me how important it is to keep contact with friends. Years ago, this was really a hard thing to do. It could take weeks for correspondence to circulate to friends overseas and for a response to come back. Now, thanks to our connected world, the cycle takes
- [Wearily into the weekend](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/wearily-into-weekend.html) - I got up this morning knowing that there were a dozen things marked ‘Urgently Burning’ on my To-Do list. How does life get into this state? I do think I’m doing a better job of selecting tasks to commit to, of prioritizing what needs to be done on any given day, and even of anticipating
- [The Obama flag?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/obama-flag.html) - A bit of fun regarding the right-wing fringe in the United States, and the somewhat-American flag shown to the left. According to BlatherWatch, Bob Grant, (host of a conservative radio show on WABC) has noted "[W]hat is that flag that Obama's been standing in front of that looks like an American flag, but instead having
- [Checking in from New York](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/checking-in-from-new-york.html) - 5 am near Times Square in the Big Apple: the wind is howling around the corners of the hotel and there is rain gusting in intermittently. Still, the city feels alive and friendly. I used to visit New York to manage a clinical group at NYU in the 80’s, and this area could be frightful.
- [Is New York becoming Paris?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/is-new-york-becoming-paris.html) - It was a nice day yesterday; appointments had not materialized, so I had time to wander New York a bit and see some of the areas around Midtown that I hadn’t had enough time to really explore before. I visited the top of Rockefeller Center (beautiful views (above), cold wind, and trying to sell you
- [Progress and updates](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/progress-and-updates.html) - ‘back in Arnhem after a week on the road in France and the US. Autumn transitioned to winter here in the Netherlands during my absence: the leaves are almost gone from the “Countdown Tree” in my back yard, and the rooftop puddle of rainwater completely froze overnight. Time to migrate south, clearly. I’ve got a
- [(Not) Booking the trains in Europe](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/not-taking-trains-in-europe.html) - I’ve always been a fan of train travel in Europe: it’s clean, convenient, quick, and scenic. So, when asked if I could help find youth fares for a return ticket from Paris to Amsterdam, I thought it would be a breeze. Europe is moving towards an integrated rail ticketing system, RailEurope, available online or over
- [Further thoughts on the economic slowdown](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/10/further-thoughts-on-economic-slowdown.html) - I’m running off to Amsterdam today, but wanted to make a few quick comments on the ongoing economic problems * Many commentators are focused on the mortgages as the source of the crisis: too many house loans were made to too many sub—prime borrowers with little or no vetting. Remedies have thus focused on propping
- [Museum Night in Amsterdam](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/museum-night-in-amsterdam.html) - A fellow blogger's recent post alerted me to the N8 Museumnacht Amsterdam held across the city last night. It looked great: roughly 40 museums open from 7 pm until 2 am, accompanied by special showings, performances, lectures, and activities. For 17 euro, patrons get access to every venue, as well as free rides on all
- [Keeping perspective](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/keeping-perspective.html) - This morning, I caught up on recent blog posts authored by a US-based friend of mine. Although they are a long way from the sights and thoughts found along a later stroll through Amsterdam’s center, they do remind me of the force that Tuesday’s election has back home. She writes passionately about the upcoming election,
- [Good election outcomes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/good-election-outcomes.html) - I came back through Schiphol late yesterday evening: it had been a long few days of meetings and interviews. The fog had settled in over Amsterdam, and the flight up from Geneva was delayed by hours. I was only half-awake when I hit Immigration: as is custom, the officer glanced at the residency card and
- [Hodo-hodo zoku](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/hodo-hodo-zoku.html) - The words literally translate from Japanese as “so-so folks”, and the Wall Street Journal says it’s the newest trend among salarymen. They are workers who are refusing promotions, shunning civil-service exams, and forgoing raises in favor of slow careers. “Not everybody needs to become a leader…Forget goals, and stay true to yourself”. In contrast
- [Why we blog](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/why-we-blog.html) - A number of people whose blogs I enjoy reading have stopped writing. While some have run out of time or things to day, others seem to have reached a point of existential concern about the very nature of their work: has their blog drifted from it’s original purpose, or has it become too personal, too
- [Central Park autumn](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/central-park-autumn.html) - I was in New York on Friday, getting a tooth fixed and visiting a close friend that I hadn’t seen in over twenty years. ‘Riding back to Penn Station from 94th Street, the taxi driver took a cut through Central Park. The leaves were in their full fall glory: impossible to do justice, but worth
- [Boulder bits](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/boulder-bits.html) - ‘beautiful morning here in Colorado: the sun is out, the air is crisp, and the snow is sparking on the mountain peaks to the west. My father is doing better than I could have hoped: I honestly would not know that he just had surgery by his appearance. He is up and moving well, and
- [It’s been a good day](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/its-been-good-day.html) - We got my father home from the hospital today, looking great at 81 and three weeks from 5-artery bypass My consultation was a bit more equivocal, but I’ve got time to reflect on my options.
- [Writing on a schedule](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/writing-on-schedule.html) - …really isn’t my style. One of the fundamental rules of professional writers is that they write regularly. They set aside a time and a place that they retreat to each day, and they devote the time to advancing their thoughts and their works. I agree that finding rhythm to my writing can be as important
- [Applying to work with Barak](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/applying-to-work-with-barak.html) - I’m still rattling my tin cup around various corporate offices, pitching for the potential of global innovation and my qualifications as a driver as the annual budget process builds up steam. Thus, the announcement that the Obama administration is now seeing job applicants caught my attentions. I immediately kicked on over to change.gov to see
- [The view from row 73](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/view-from-row-73.html) - I arrived at Schiphol early to check in for my flight to the US: it had been a long week leading to a longer flight. I just wanted a bit of quiet and legroom to catch up with my reading, watch a movie, maybe sleep a bit. Swipe the passport and touch the screens at
- [What happened to Science Fiction?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/what-happened-to-science-fiction.html) - I spent the afternoon at the Mall of America ahead of my plane back to the Netherlands, buying clothes, a little melatonin, browsing for Christmas presents, getting a haircut, enjoying a plate of beef brisket at Famous Dave’s BBQ restaurant. I browsed the bookstore for some reads for the long-cold Dutch nights to come: Daniel
- [LifeScripting at the MoA](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/lifescripting-at-moa.html) - I spent Saturday at the Mall of America (MoA, above) picking up some clothes and sundries before headed back to Arnhem on the evening flight. The Mall was absolutely packed from parking lot to walkways, stores to restaurant. I didn’t think that the Christmas season had really started, and had heard that stores were emptied
- [Two sides of the matrix](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/two-sides-of-matrix.html) - I’m realizing that a lot of my current frustration and stress can be traced directly to where I live in the business development matrix. I’m a “core team director”, a manager who leads a focused, cross-functional business team. Together, we act as a “small in large” entrepreneurial unit, chartered to define the market, create the
- [The significance of the Obama vote](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/significance-of-obama-vote.html) - A lot of European have asked me about the significance of Barak Obama’s election as president. They, along with the media, sees this as symbolic of the historic change in American attitudes towards race and national origin. I do agree that the election is terribly significant in this regard. The county-by-county vote, shown above, shows
- [Tearing down the pile, high and deep](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/tearing-down-pile-high-and-deep.html) - It’s been a busy month: my job officially switched location from Arnhem to Maastricht on the 1st of November, and I’ve been playing catch-up with finding a place to live, getting ready to move, taking on the new job, closing out the old one, and plying the two-hour commute a day or so each week.
- [And so it goes…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/and-so-it-goes.html) - ….away. This is, however, not a sad post or even a wistful one. Rather, it’s a last look back on a wonderful part of my expatriate life. I’ve had a good run here in Arnhem, and great memories of people and events that mean a lot to me. I closed things out at the office,
- [Binnenland verhuizen (Moving within the country)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/binnenland-verhuizen-moving-within.html) - Yes, I’m determined to get the Dutch back in gear… I’ve sorted through most of the tasks that have to be done as an expatriate when pulling up from one location and moving to another, all within the Netherlands. Although most of it is pretty common-sense, there are some peculiarities to watch for, so I’ll
- [SnowSprouts](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/snow-sprout.html) - The Dutch woke to snow this Saturday morning. It’s not a common thing here: the climate is temperate marine, much like Seattle, and winters are similarly dark and wet. When snow showers blow in, it frosts trees and walkways for a few hours, then subsides to wet slush by mid-afternoon. Thus, any snow day becomes
- [Capitalism’s winter](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/capitalisms-winter.html) - Sunday has become the day for governments to make their big announcements as they try to stabilize the world’s financial markets. In the Netherlands, the Dutch government announced its plan to nationalize and merge Fortis and ABN, injecting 16.8 billion euros to stabilize it’s operations. (The country’s GDP is 400 billion euros, so this is
- [Moving Day: 1 / 3](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/moving-day-1-3.html) - ‘easier moving into a new workplace than a new apartment. A lot is provided, and there is a lot less to arrange. Office is there, fitted with a desk, chair, and shelves, so there are only a few boxes of books and desk items to bring up. Plants and computer connections are in place, and
- [Moving Day: 2 / 3](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/moving-day-2-3.html) - The snow has largely melted off of the cobbled streets of my new neighborhood; the sun was out as the city was waking.The river makes a nice backdrop for the people and the buildings, I think I’m going to like having it nearby. When I first came to Arnhem, I had negotiated for an apartment
- [Moving Day: 3 / 3](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/moving-day-3-3.html) - The realtor and landlady had moved on, leaving a few hours of quiet before the movers arrived. My strategy is always to take a quick ‘daily living’ inventory: as I go through my imagined, typical day, what would I reach for that is missing? The “Ikea List” starts to take form: a worktable for an
- [Thanksgiving reflections](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/thanksgiving-reflections.html) - …And a happy Thanksgiving-feest to all the folks stateside! It’s been hard to find a Thanksgiving dinner venue here in the Netherlands. I’m a bit surprised: I would have expected a larger (or more organized) expatriate community in a university town like Maastricht. The Hard Rock is serving all day in Amsterdam and all weekend
- [Assimilating / accommodating](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/assimilating-accommodating.html) - The psychologist Jean Piaget studied how people develop knowledge, the ways that we explore our environment to gain better understanding of the world and to acquire more sophisticated skills. He identified two types of learning, assimilation, in which we learn how new experiences fit into our existing understanding, and accommodation, in which we adapt our
- [‘tis the season for Christmas Markets](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/tis-season-for-christmas-markets.html) - The Maastricht city Christmas market opened today, a collection of huts filling the main square. The best part will be the big Ferris Wheel that can be seen from all over town. Christmas Markets are a tradition in many cities across northern Europe, and well worth taking a day to visit. I’ve been to the
- [Closing out in Arnhem](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/11/closing-out-in-arnhem.html) - Everything is wrapping up in Arnhem this weekend: the closing party at the old division was held yesterday. It was pretty light: virtually everyone came back and it was more of a reunion than a wake. There was good food and music, a bit of entertainment, closing remarks from the senior managers. We had a
- [Dutch mysteries (some of many…)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/dutch-mysteries-some-of-many.html) - 1- When I tell Dutch friends that I live in Maastricht, they all wax rapturous about the city. They say it’s a wonderful place to live, I’m lucky to be there. Waarom is de stad zo leuk? (Why is the city so nice?)When pressed, the Dutch may talk about the culture, the architecture, and the
- [A month of daily blogs](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/month-of-daily-blogs.html) - For the month of November, I accepted the challenge to make daily blog entries. The NaBloPoMo initiative was brought to my attention through Amsterdam Asp, who used the opportunity to post daily observations on the topic of “Joy in Amsterdam”. Asp did a great job meeting his goal of daily, high-quality, themed postings; I missed
- [Hanging out in Rome](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/hanging-out-in-rome.html) - The XIII International Symposium on Progress in Clinical Pacing is meeting in Rome this week, a gathering of cardiologists and researchers interested in electrical dysfunction and therapy in the heart. The general public sees pacemakers as “old technology”, but there are a surprising number open clinical questions and new research findings that keep the proceedings
- [Starling roost at sunset (video)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/starling-roost-at-sunset-video.html) - I wanted to get some good pictures back onto the city of Rome from the Ponte Sant' Angelo bridge on Thursday evening after the conference. A huge flock of starlings gathered east of the bridge, over the trees, and started executing a “Starling roost”, forming fluid patterns of shadow and shape against the evening sky.
- [Hang time around Rome](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/hanging-out-in-rome_05.html) - The conference center’s across town from the apartment’s neighborhood, which made for good opportunities to criss-cross the city a couple of times each day. Since the traffic is uniformly terrible, there’s always time for looking and thinking… I was surprised by the near total lack of Christmas decorations. The apartment agent said that the
- [Are you really somewhere remote?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/are-you-remote.html) - One of the small pleasures of travel is the chance to compare notes with other travelers by reading their books. I had the recent good fortune to read Richard Guise’s From the Mull to the Cape (“A gentle bike ride on the edge of the wilderness”). The author recounts his 600-mile bike ride through the
- [Maastricht Christmas Market](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/maastricht-christmas-market.html) - I feel like I didn’t really do justice to the Maastricht Christmas Market as it opened a couple of weeks ago. It doesn’t show well in the late November daytime, empty of people and with the booths and the attractions still getting going. The SkyWheel has been lit and active every night across the river,
- [The Koln Christmas Market](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/koln-christmas-market.html) - ‘back on the road again, passing through the airports at Schiphol (left) and Terminal 5 (right). The decorations seem muted: Delft-inspired hangings in Amsterdam and a few forlorn trees in London. No doubt, for the season’s spirit, you have to go to Koln.
- [The insanity of constant travel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/insanity-of-constant-travel.html) - Some time back, Vagabond posted an article (that I haven’t been able to find again) detailing the signs that reveal when it’s time to come in from the road for a bit. ‘Becoming jaded about the places you’re in, irritated with language and cultural differences, numb to hardship, withdrawn from friends, were all indications that
- [Bits and bobs on Friday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/bits-and-bobs-on-friday.html) - Still sorting a bit today: leaving for the US on Sunday, so lots to be done at work and home, for settling in and for Christmas. I’m also still wrestling with the conflict inherent in the travel issues I wrote about yesterday: I love the travel - I hate the consequences. I think that it’s
- [Master and Commander](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/master-and-commander.html) - Marketing and HR folks always illustrate their ideas using two-by-two matrices, with a quality along either edge ranging from Bad to Good, and four metaphoric quadrants. The Boston Consulting Groups started it with their Growth/Share diagram …and things just metastasized from there. Type any two qualities followed by the word "”matrix” into Google Images and
- [Sharing the Dutch apartment decor](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/sharing-dutch-apartment-decor.html) - I finally feel like things have pretty well found their places in the new apartment, and it’s nice to be looking a bit more settled into place. I know that I’ve referred to the furnishings as “somewhat traditional” before, but now that the boxes are gone and the tables are cleared, it’s easier to show
- [Neighborhood life in the Wyck](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/neighborhood-life-and-advice-at-weekend.html) - The Wyck neighborhood was busy and fun this weekend: everyone was out to do their Christmas shopping and attend the markets. This made for lots of crowds flowing through the streets and over the stone bridge to the Old City. A number of shops took advantage of the shoppers to set up hot wine (Gleuwijn)
- [Being -18 F in Minnesota](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/being-18-f-in-minnesota.html) - On the road for work, then onward for the holidays. Even though it’s a mere week before Christmas, it feels easier this year. I arrived with cards addressed (on the plane) and gifts purchased (Christmas Markets and de Bijenkorf store), and spent a focused hour with Kinko’s this morning to get things shipped. There’s still
- [It’s winter everywhere…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/its-winter-everywhere.html) - I’ve arrived back in Seattle for the holidays: the cold weather in Minneapolis was a prelude to deep snow and cold greeting me in the Pacific Northwest. Like the Netherlands, Seattle has a maritime climate that rarely get’s snow. When a small amount does come down, usually briefly, it brings life to a hard stop.Today
- [Sending out the Christmas cards](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/sending-out-christmas-cards.html) - As the snow continues to fall here in Seattle… USA Today noted this week that 56% of all Americans have never lived outside of their home state. The main reasons given for staying in their hometown were the tug of family ties and friends, and a feeling of belonging. I would guess that they have
- [A cool idea for next Christmas’ wish list…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/cool-idea-for-next-christmas-wish-list.html) - In the ‘wish I’d thought of that’ category… T-Mobile has introduced a new type of digital picture frame, the Cameo. It has internet-enabled wireless networking built in, able to not only accept pictures that you beam in from your computer or camera, but also pictures that others e-mail to the frame. Friends and family can
- [2008 Lists and New Year’s resolutions](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/2008-lists-and-new-years-resolutions.html) - I think that Tyler Brule needs to take a break from travel. With a noticeable dip in blog traffic over the holidays, I’m broadening my early-morning reading to take in recent columns by some of my favorite essayists. This morning, I logged in to the FT Weekend to catch up with Fast Lane columnist Tyler
- [And still it comes….](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/and-still-it-comes.html) - The snow just keeps falling here, dominating the days to a much greater degree than Christmas shopping or tree-trimming. Seattle, like the Netherlands, is a maritime climate, and an inch in the lowlands is unusual and usually dissipates within a day. Not this year… Shoveling out the drive- and walk-ways has become a daily task
- [Two cookie recipes and one for cranberry relish](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/two-cookie-and-cranberry-recipe.html) - Holiday’s are always a time for preparing favorite dishes and festive treats. I have several recipes that get dusted off at this time of year, and I spent most of the day with the daughter making cookies and cranberries. The cookies are simply family favorites: the cranberry recipe comes form an out-of-print HP microwave cookbook,
- [Knocking snow off the rhodies](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/knocking-snow-off-rhodies.html) - Everyone jumped when there were a series of thumps and thuds next to the house this morning. One of the rhododendron trees had fallen over under the weight of the snow, now sprawled across the rear door. This kicks off the quintessential Pacific Northwest winter task, knocking snow off the landscaping. The magnolia tree and
- [Naughty and nice in the oil markets](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/naughty-and-nice-in-commodity-markets.html) - It’s an iconic scene, playing out in many movies from Trading Places and Wall Street to A Good Year (below). Wily traders manipulate the commodity markets by placing a sudden flood of “Sell” orders. The index plunges, panicked traders curse their luck and follow suit. At the bottom, the traders buy it all back on
- [The melt is on…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/melt-is-on.html) - Maybe Mother Nature needed to be appeased, satisfied when Governor Gregoire declared a snow emergency. Or maybe the Fates demanded acknowledgement from thoroughly snarled Christmas travel and shopping throughout the Northwest. Or, perhaps, it was just a last jab from the dismal spirit behind 2008. Whatever the reason, the temperatures finally began to rise today
- [Triangulating the glass ceiling](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/triangulating-glass-ceiling.html) - As I talk about my future career alternatives with friends and colleagues, the potential for a “glass ceiling” emerges repeatedly. Am I aspiring to positions beyond my reach? Will I be considered for positions where I’m qualified? I’ve always been a positivist: believing that the ceiling is just the natural upper bound of a career’s
- [New Year’s visions](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2008/12/new-years-wishes.html) - Out with the old… …and ready for some ‘new. Wishing you a 2009 to (happily) remember ! Art by Mark Kostabi
- [Snow in Seattle: so goes Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/snow-in-seattle-so-goes-maastricht.html) - I’m beginning to think the curse follows me. Dutch weather often parallels the weather in Seattle. Both locations are maritime regions at low elevation, leading to eerily similar daily temperatures and precipitation. Still, I hoped for a winter divergence after two brutal weeks of snow in Seattle, believing that the Netherlands would be warmer and
- [Addressing the snow and ice](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/addressing-snow-and-ice.html) - Although winter is becoming a wearisome topic, it’s also a good time to look up from where I plant my feet and to observe where the Dutch are planting theirs. Extended periods of winter weather are a rarity in the Low Countries. Snow and ice, when it does appear, is usually gone within a day.
- [Visual and aural concentration](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/visual-and-aural-concentration.html) - I wish I liked Audiobooks. I’m a member of Audible.com, and I like the idea of having books being read to me as I drive, exercise, or lie in the predawn darkness. I avidly devour podcasts. I bought The Bourne Ultimatum, a simple thriller, and only made it 2/3 of the way through before giving
- [A lower standard?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/lower-standard.html) - It’s the downside of the gezellig lifestyle: things get done slowly and often need to be done twice. As the cold and the holidays stress local businesses and services, I’m finding that more and more seems to fall through the cracks. * Ten weeks after putting in an order for (4 week) guaranteed Internet installation,
- [European health and housing economics](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/european-health-and-housing-economics.html) - Flat chunks of ice have been floating down the river this morning. I’m not sure whether they have broken off from ponds upstream, heralding a thaw, or formed overnight, anticipating a further freeze. The snow has certainly lingered, icing the gables of the Old City and outlining the stones along the Wyck Bridge. Commentators are
- [When men lean](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/when-men-lean.html) - On weekends, I catch up with the Writer’s Almanac, a daily podcast by essayist Garrison Keillor that features biographical sketches and poetry readings. He recently featured a poem by Bruce Taylor, Middle-Aged Men Leaning. Four movements, four seasons, beginning as: They lean on rakes. It's late, it is evening already inside their houses. The
- [A sucker for Quiz Night](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/sucker-for-quiz-night.html) - Trivial Pursuit was an obsession among my friends twenty years ago. Everyone wanted to be the one person who could shout out answers to “How many rings make up an arm on a Michelin Man?”, or “Who once warned: ‘Never eat more than you can lift’?”. I didn’t see the point. Success turned on having
- [The Santa Ana winds blow in](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/santa-ana-winds-blow-in.html) - After a week of snow and ice and sub-zero (Celsius) temperatures, the wind picked up out of the south this morning, darkening the river with wavelets and scattering the gulls. The snow icing the roofs melted in hours, sheeting water over the eaves. The cobblestones emerged from their cloak of ice, and the streets became
- [The worst CEO](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/worst-ceo.html) - In 1999, Wally O’Dell became the Chief Executive Officer of Diebold Systems, a $1.2 billion manufacturer of ATM and Security systems. The 2000 election gave the company a significant growth opportunity, as the Florida presidential recount highlighted vote-counting issues caused by paper ballots. Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002, mandating replacement of
- [Obama’s citizen briefing book](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/obamas-citizen-briefing-book.html) - The Obama Campaign was praised for the way that they used the internet during the campaign to recruit support, raise money, communicate from the center to the edges, and coordinate messages. The most famous example was the decision to SMS the vice-presidential choice to all of the campaign workers at the same time that the
- [Premiering my first Panto](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/premiering-my-first-panto.html) - ‘Going to see ‘Pantomime. Cool, I said, filling with visions of Marcel’s striped shirt and flowered hat. Back in grad school, I took a pantomime course and loved it, even though it left me with a permanent tic for gesturing to make points. No, no: Panto. A Christmas Show. A Christmas Story? No, “Jack &
- [Cambridge celebrates 800 years](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/cambridge-celebrates-800-years.html) - This weekend, the University of Cambridge is kicking off the celebration of it’s eight hundredth anniversary as an educational institution. The signs are everywhere, and there will be a symphony of bells rung in colleges and churches across the city this evening. The administrative center of the University, Senate House, is being used as a
- [Consequences of a Dutch driver’s license](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/consequences-of-dutch-drivers-license.html) - Within 180 days of becoming resident in the Netherlands, I was required to supplement my Residency card with a baby-girl pink Dutch driver’s license if I wanted to operate a car. The process is painless: just fill in a form and visit City Hall. There wasn’t a written examination or a road test, not even
- [Organizing a presentation](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/organizing-presentation.html) - It’s been a busy week for travel and presentations, first in the UK and now in the US. When I was younger, it was hard for me to give public speeches. My mind was on the audience, I was self conscious, I worried that I didn’t have anything worthwhile to say. Clenched muscles, shaking hands,
- [Climbing F6](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/climbing-f6.html) - With closure of our business unit in Arnhem, a new team is being assembled in the US to carry forward the development and marketing of the product. This group held a planning summit yesterday to define the future product map and project plan, and asked me back to lead discussion of the programs that I
- [Stopovers the past four days, contrasted](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/contrast-along-road.html)
- [Saturday around town](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/saturday-around-town.html) - ‘nice to be back off the road…it was a short trip but with a lot of stops. The 16 hour trip back on the plane didn’t help, and there was an absolutely stationary queue of traffic waiting for me on the ring road around Eindhoven and south towards Maastricht. I wish I had a way
- [Mixing it up with minions](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/mixing-it-up-with-minions.html) - For a long time, my corporate nemesis was the gatekeeper and the auditor. While I recognize the need for rules and procedures, documentation and compliance, it’s never come naturally to me. Too often, the tasks, and the people charged with ensuring my timely adherence, were simply barriers to creativity and progress. As I’ve matured, my
- [Wishing away the TSA](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/wishing-away-tsa.html) - I hope that an early objective of President Obama’s administration is to rein in the Transportation Safety (oops, sorry: Security) Administration (TSA). In the Bush years, the agency’s scope and the intrusiveness of airport procedures expanded year by year. X-ray screenings and laptop inspections grew to include shoe removal and liquid restrictions. Threat levels were
- [One lap around the lake](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/one-lap-around-lake.html) - I had meetings at the corporate HQ near Lausanne yesterday, a good chance to reconnect with the European folks after the visit to the US headquarters last week. There really is a different style and attitude to the facility, mirroring the differences between US and European cultures. The meetings ended early, leaving me with a
- [Geotagging is cool…but…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/geotagging-is-coolbut.html) - I love to play with new technology, exploring the capabilities and figuring out how it fits into my work and life. The Eye-Fi memory card is a good example, an SD card for digital cameras with built-in WiFi. It can upload pictures automatically to phones, computers, or internet albums, and can even imprint location-based information
- [The business to have in tough times](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/01/business-to-have-in-tough-times.html) - The signs of a worsening economy are everywhere along the retail streets of Maastricht. Post-christmas sales (Korting 30%) have now given way to much deeper clearance sales. Still, times are flush and waiting lines of patrons stretch out into the cold winter streets at the Wafel shops across the town. These are small storefronts
- [Backups and synchronization](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/backups-and-synchronization.html) - The best advice to give anyone with a computer is to make backups. Hard drives crash, laptops are stolen, personal items need to stay off of company computers, so the pictures, videos, music, and email archives need to go somewhere. I’ve been saved more than once by a timely backup, but the process of making
- [Carnivale in swing](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/carnivale-in-swing.html) - February is usually a wretched month in the northern US. Christmas and New Year’s celebrations are over; the weather is at its coldest and wettest. February started with snow showers here in Maastricht as well, obscuring the views and confusing the gulls. But the sound of drums and bagpipes broke the midday calm and the
- [Seeds for spring in the chill of winter](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/winter-chill-settles-in.html) - Its started snowing again: I think that the weather has actually gotten worse since I moved down from Arnhem. Expatica recently reported that this has been the coldest winter since 1997, although the coldest temperature, –20.8 C in Weert (Limburg) still seems warm at –5.4 F compared to what the upper Midwest has been experiencing.
- [Stray thoughts for a Wednesday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/stray-thoughts-for-wednesday.html) - …along with some photos from local art galleries * I haven’t had a vacation in far too long. Last summer we were closing the company, the future was uncertain, I needed a new situation by September, so it didn’t happen. Then autumn was filled with the move; early winter with business travel and the holidays.
- [Peering around Poznan](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/peering-around-poznan.html) - I’m on the Lot flight back from Poland, inexplicably put at the back of the plane with ten rows of empty seats in front of me before the rest of the passengers. Since this might be an honor reserved for select guests, I haven’t objected. Besides, it gives me some quiet time to organize photos
- [The expat and the immigrant experience](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/expat-and-immigrant-experience.html) - I listened to Tom Ashbrook’s interview with filmmaker Wayne Wang this morning: he created “The Joy Luck Club” and is now releasing two independent films mirroring the Chinese-American experience. I was surprised at all of the ways that this conversation resonated with me. Their immigrant experiences were a mirror to many of my expatriate experiences,
- [Winding down Sunday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/winding-down-sunday-2.html) - It’s been a busy weekend, catching up on shopping, classwork, emails, and phone calls back to the US. By mid-afternoon today it was time to get out of town and see a bit of countryside. The clouds were low and grey, threatening snow. Temperatures hovered around zero C, but the winds were light and there
- [Resolving to be better](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/resolving-to-be-better.html) - By the end of 2009…. Physiological I will take time for rest and relaxation; giving myself permission to slow down or enjoy open space. I will have fixed my left foot. I’ll have spent more days than not with regular exercise and good diet, and I won’t feel guilty about the lapses. I’ll have done
- [25 things about me…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/25-things-about-me.html) - I’ve been tagged so many times on Facebook that there’s no choice but to give in… Reading a well-crafted personal essay is my second-favorite way to spend ten delightful minutes. I enjoy learning and teaching, but am clearly not the university sort. Becoming deeply expert in a narrow field is just too limiting (and
- [Back from Madrid](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/back-from-madrid.html) - Winter is starting to stretch long, and there were cheap flights south that were too good to pass up. To Madrid, Spain, in fact. I hadn’t visited Madrid since 1985, and my memories were dim at best. What I found was a modern white-stone and red-brick city under warm blue skies. People were sitting in
- [Who do you trust when you plan travel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/who-do-you-trust-when-you-plan-travel.html) - When I plan a personal trip, like the recent one to Madrid, I find that I use a variety of sources depending on the task at hand. I didn’t realize how diverse it was until I got into a discussion of who I trust for restaurant reviews; I’ve devleoped a ‘go-to’ source for almost every
- [Loose ends from a few days of travel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/loose-ends-from-few-days-of-travel.html) - The first glimpse of a new place is always exciting: the descent through the clouds, the distant snow-capped peaks, the sprawl of the city, then trying to put names to features and spot buildings. On this trip, though, the flight attendant insisted that all cameras be shut down during the descent with the argument that
- [Varieties of Dutch food shopping](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/varieties-of-dutch-food-shopping.html) - One of the things that I like about living in Europe is the choice of food shopping. When I first arrived in the Netherlands, I really had to downshift my habits. Gone were the weekend trip to Costco, buying vast quantities (of bulk) in bulk for pennies on the dime. I used to squirrel it
- [Nightmares of Carnivale](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/nightmares-of-carnivale.html) - Which is more frightening to have in your bed? The demon from Fusseli’s Donne ed incubi or the disembodied clown face gracing our local sleep shoppe?
- [Premonitory dreams](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/premonitory-dreams.html) - (n.) A dream where future events are foreknown or forecast; a warning of future misfortune. It’s been a year since I first learned of the plans to close our division in Arnhem. The decision was finalized in early May, communicated on the 8th. Summer was spent assuring the employees welfare through the Social Plan, transferring
- [Scenes from Carnivale Friday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/scenes-from-carnivale-friday.html) - The pre-Lent celebration Carnivale seriously kicked off last night: the streets were filling with people dressed as pirates and princesses by early afternoon, streaming across the Stone Bridge in their green, yellow, and red finery. The bands were playing at sunset, brass marching bands and pop-happy records seemed to dominate. We all ventured over about
- [Scenes from Carnivale Saturday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/scenes-from-carnivale-saturday.html) - I’m convinced that everyone living in the Netherlands keeps a funny hat and an elaborate costume in the closet for special occasions. The costumes at Carnivale vastly exceed the quantity and quality of what we see at Halloween in the US. And my favorite clip from Crossroads Inspectors of the Food and Consumer Products Safety
- [Carnivale Video](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/carnivale-video.html) - Two quick videos to give a bit of the dynamic of it all. The first it the band performing the Carnivale Song in Vrijthof Square on Saturday evening, the other is a typical street scene outside the pubs.
- [Winding up Carnivale](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/winding-up-carnivale.html) - Yes, this was a serious party! 'Het Mooswief' (the greengrocer woman) was run up the pole on Sunday morning, then King Carnivale led his (3-hour) parade through the Wyck, across the Stone Bridge, and into the Old City. Once ignited, his party ran through the streets and into the wee hours for the next three
- [Working across borders as an expatriate](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/working-across-borders-as-expatriate.html) - I am an American expatriate working under a valid work permit in the Netherlands. So here’s a simple question: can I work as an employee of a company in the UK? No: Dutch work permits are not transferable outside of the Netherlands. Now, under the same circumstances, I have a contractual relationship with a UK-based
- [To chase the dream?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/02/to-chase-dream.html) - The Cambridge University webmail service recently completed their voting on the question “Should you chase the dream or chase stability?”. The results, from 227 voting members, were heartening, especially in these hard economic times: As a pure left-right decision, starting from nothing, I think that the aspirational choice to ‘Chase the Dream’ is the obvious
- [Battlefields in Belgium](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/battlefields-in-belgium.html) - Four countries, three wars, two days, one Amazing Race… We spent the late-winter weekend touring famous battlefield sites across southeast Belgium. The weather was nice, the conversations were good: its always fun to tour with someone who knows their history, carries the books, and can place all of the events and people into their proper
- [Approaching the fork in the road](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/approaching-fork-in-road.html) - The request for me to make an early repatriation to the US arrived over the weekend. Its not entirely unexpected: with the closure of the facility in Arnhem and the current global economic challenges, corporations are universally looking for ways to cut costs and to improve productivity. Expatriate agreements are expensive and will continue to
- [The intimacy of groups](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/intimacy-of-groups.html) - What is the optimal number of people to have in a group; what is the upper limit? The answer would seem to be circumstantial. For traveling companions, one to four is often enough. My intimate circle of friends probably numbers only half a dozen. Still, when someone asks, I validate myself as having 131 Facebook
- [Friday, winding down, reading](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/friday-winding-down-reading.html) - Its late on a Friday afternoon and I’m catching up on some reading, looking forward to a quiet weekend. Bits and pieces of interesting reading keep surfacing, so I’ll pass along a few to enjoy with your weekend coffee. (Next weekend is the big Maastricht Tefaf Art and Antiques Exhibition, so I’ll be browsing the
- [A day’s visit to Mons, Belgium](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/days-visit-to-mons-belgium.html) - It’s a rainy day in Maastricht: time for sorting pictures and stories while watching the river lazily flow past. A week ago, the scene was of Mons, Belgium, south of Brussels. Mons is a fortified city of the Middle Ages with a lovely town square (the Grand Place) overlooked by an ornate city hall. During
- [Trash days in the Netherlands](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/trash-days-in-netherlands.html) - One of the most convoluted things to learn when I moved to the Netherlands was how to navigate the trash collection process. In the US, it’s pretty straightforward. I have a recycle bin, a yard waste bin, and a trash bin. Mixed cans, bottles, and paper go into the recycle bin; everything else is bagged
- [Ah, Saturday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/ah-saturday.html) - It’s been a long week; ‘sorry to have been scarce. The ‘final final', finally’ was due on Friday evening, a 3000 word essay that took most of the latter part of the week to compose, edit, and polish. This is for a class in Organizational Theory that I’ve taken through Stanford Distance Learning, completing work
- [A few highlights from TEFAF](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/highlights-of-tefaf-2009.html) - The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) is being held in Maastricht until March 22 in the MECC (the convention center). It’s a bit pricey: 35 euro per person for a day pass and 20 euro for the catalog. But the art is worth the price: this is a private collector’s show, so there are a
- ['Back in the US for a few days](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/back-in-us.html) - Hopped the pond to Minneapolis today for a week's round of meetings …the usual 3-hour drive up to Schiphol required me to hit the road at 5 am. Ugh…but was up at 3 :30 anyway…not sleeping well. On the way over, I watched the Bond film “Quantum of Solice “(much better than expected), read 150
- [Reflecting on retirement](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/reflecting-on-retirement.html) - I’ve been wrapping up the taxes for 2008, which always includes a look back at the year-over-year change in the household accounts. As would be expected given the economic situations, 2008 was a dismal year. As with many US households, the long-term financial goal is to achieve ‘critical mass’, where investments generate enough interest to
- [Then and now and TEFAF’s Old Masters](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/then-and-now-and-tefafs-old-masters.html) - I stayed south of Minneapolis this trip, driving across the city at sunrise each morning on the way to the corporate campus. It’s a typical American city, with today’s skyline, left, crowded with skyscrapers. It’s all so new compared to the Netherlands: consider what Minneapolis might it look like to a person born 150 years
- [A last look back at TEFAF](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/last-look-back-at-tefaf.html) - I’m still on the road, approaching Oklahoma today, but with a few bits of miscellany to post before I archive the Euro Fine Art Fair photos. I’ve touched on the modern and masterwork collections, which make up the bulk of the exhibits. Today I wanted to show a few bits from of the smaller specialty
- [Notching a visit to my 50th State](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/notching-visit-to-my-50th-state.html) - My family traveled a lot when I was growing up, spending at least three weeks every summer pulling a trailer around the country, visiting cities and camping in national parks. It instilled a footloose happiness that continued once I left home, taking road trips with friends at spring vacation and tacking sightseeing days onto business
- [The distance among close relatives](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/distance-among-close-relatives.html) - I was talking with a northern-Dutch friend the other day about North/South differences in the Netherlands. The dividing line here is the Grote Rivieren, the three large rivers cutting across the middle of the country and separating the more industrial, Calvinist north from the more agrarian Catholic south. As in the US, its a divide
- [Sometimes you get a good experience…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/sometimes-you-get-good-experience.html) - …Other times you get a good story. I had to smile at the quote: the author applied it to taking your chances with hotels, not making reservations before arriving in a new town. I think it applies equally well to the opportunistic and erratic course that life takes as an expat. ‘back on the road
- [Lost beneath the Alps](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/lost-beneath-alps.html) - Leysin to Lugano by 1 pm. 4 hours by car, according to Google; TomTom concurs. Sure, it’s a bit of an overland route through the Alps, but it’s the end of March and looked like good secondary roads all the way. I woke to find a bit of fresh snow in Leysin, a small ski
- [It’s surprising when…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/its-surprising-when.html) - The professor blogs the final. In my course "Organizational Behavior: An Evidence- Based Approach," I give the students the final exam question on the first day of class, and it is due the last day. It is, "Design the ideal organization. Use course concepts to defend your answer." It is really a hard question, but
- [Experimenting with personality tests](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/experimenting-with-personality-tests.html) - A few jobs back, my workgroup ran into a storm of trouble. The group didn’t agree on goals or methods, respect for one another flagging, and communications had deteriorated to a point where people were withholding data, refusing to exchange ideas. The research director asked the company president, a scientist himself, to spend a few
- [The eels of Harderwijk](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/eels-of-harderwijk.html) - It was a sunny, if cold day on Sunday, perfect for getting out into the countryside and exploring a new village. I’m not sure that Harderwijk made the list of 50 Mooieste Dorpen, but it seems like a particularly good family destination. Harderwijk is an old port city along the Veluwemeer, the broad river-like extension
- [Group membership and speaking Dutch](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/03/group-membership-and-speaking-dutch.html) - On a recent episode of the BBC Radio podcast From Our Own Correspondent (Oct 31 2008), Henri Astier discussed the tensions between Dutch and French speakers in the Flemish region surrounding Brussels. Its a short segment and worth a listen if you’ve ever wondered how the whole language partition / cooperation thing works in Belgium.
- [The economic Pandora’s Box](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/forbidden-secrets-of-nature.html) - In Greek mythology, Pandora’s Box was a large jar given to her by Zeus, along with instructions to keep it closed. However, because Zeus had also endowed her with curiosity, she opened the box, releasing misfortune, disease, and burdensome labor into the world where it had not previously been known. At the bottom of the
- [Revising Twitter and updating my web presence](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/revising-twitter-and-updating-my-web.html) - This will be a geeky aside, sorry: I continue to experiment with integrating Twitter feeds into this blog, and with better managing my personal web presence. A few fellow bloggers have done a really nice job of making their content Twitter-compatible and separating their business and personal presences. Martyn Postle at Cambridge Healthcare and Biotech
- [Partitioning life into compartments](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/partitioning-life-into-compartments.html) - During a recent visit to the US, a friend asked what it felt like to come back after having lived abroad for so long. It’s a difficult question: my closest answer is that it feels most like the feeling that I used to have when I went back to visit my parents. I always have
- [Pushing a big boat through a little bridge](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/pushing-big-boat-through-little-bridge.html) - With warmer weather arriving, pleasure boats have appeared among the working barges on the Maas. Jet skis and motorboats are popular so far, with the occasional sailboat and fishing barge. A few days back, I was surprised by an *enormous* barge that suddenly appeared one morning. No way this was fitting under the bridge, especially
- [Saturday evening along the Maas](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/saturday-evening-along-maas.html)
- [In search of Drielanden](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/in-search-of-drielanden.html) - There is a mythical point on ancient maps called Drielandenpunt, where three great empires touch at a single point near the misty city of Vaals. It has the further distinction of being the highest point in the kingdom of Nederland, over 300 nose-bleeding meters above the zeespiegel water mark. And so, on a slow spring
- [The expat’s dilemma](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/expats-dilemma.html) - The Prisoner’s Dilemma is a simple social paradox: two prisoners are isolated from one another and each is told that if they cooperate and the other doesn’t, they will be released. However, if they remain silent and the other implicates them, then they will receive a harsher sentence. If neither confesses, both will get the
- [Spring from my window](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/spring-from-my-window.html) - You can see the season arrive…day by day. February March April
- [The fact in the fiction](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/fact-in-fiction.html) - I was talking with a friend last night who is thinking of leaving his day job to start a new business. Yes, he’s thinking about it even in this economic climate. His rationale is that while the BigCo’s cut costs, programs, and people, innovation will spin out towards the industrial periphery. We’re in for a
- [Views from Easter Saturday along the Maas](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/views-from-easter-saturday-along-maas.html) - It’s a beautiful, if unsettled, start to a long weekend: warm weather beneath threatening skies. Foliage is now fully out along the river, the sightseeing boats are overflowing with sunglassed voyeurs, the sidewalks have filled with bicyclists and cafes. and, tellingly, universally, the sap begins to rise…
- [Kayaking in La Roche](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/kayaking-in-la-roche.html) - Easter morning was overcast and sunny; I ate the ears off of a locally baked bunny-bread and tried out Gordon Ramsey’s recipe for the perfect scrambled egg. It’s an intriguing demonstration and works pretty easily. In the end, it’s a bit runny by American standards, but yields a very tasty and celebratory breakfast.. You can
- [Anglo-Dutch translation guide](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/anglo-dutch-translation-guide.html) - What the British say. What the British mean. What the Dutch understand. I hear what you say. I disagree and do not want to discuss it any further. He accepts my point of view. With the greatest respect… I think you are wrong (or a fool). He is listening to me. That’s not bad. That’s
- [Three more Dutch mysteries](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/three-more-dutch-mysteries.html) - Waar zijn alle de eekhoorns? Where are all of the squirrels? I was lying in bed listening to the cooing and clucking of pigeons on the rooftops outside when I realized that a I haven’t seen a squirrel in months. Ordinarily my yard is full of them in the US, running along wires, dangling
- [Big boats in small rivers](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/big-boats-in-small-rivers.html) - The big sightseeing boats are becoming more common along the Maas, stopping overnight along docks beneath the old city walls. I’m becoming familiar with the repeated schedules of some of the boats that ply the ply the waterway, and have tried to get a peek at the interior living and dining areas through binoculars when
- [Keeping up with the literature](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/keeping-up-with-literature.html) - I’ve never been good at keeping up with Literature. In times past, the department librarian would circulate journals with a list of names stapled to the cover. Researchers were asked to scan the table of contents, read the articles of interest, and pass it on within a day. Within a week, the publication would get
- [Thrift and simplicity](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/thrift-and-simplicity.html) - Life’s complicated. Or, rather, life becomes complicated. It’s contrary to entropy, but left unattended my affairs always seem to spontaneously evolve towards greater complexity. For example, at tax time I’m always surprised by how the bank accounts change over a year. As CDs mature and balances are transferred, they leave a trail of new
- [Hanging out on Alvin’s Island](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/hanging-out-on-alvins-island.html) - Sometimes the cheesy route is the best route… There is just something about a really tacky souvenir shop that never fails to draw me in. I don’t need an excuse; cheap, trashy trinkets have an irresistible allure. It might be the day-glo colors, cedar ashtrays, weird t-shirt slogans, logo shot glasses, floating foam cup
- [The primacy of people and places](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/primacy-of-people-and-places.html) - The conference has ended: the closing dinner was held last night and the good-bye toasts ran into the wee hours. ISCE is a unique event: 100 academic researchers, physicians, and industry scientists meet yearly for three days of formal presentations and informal discussions about cardiac disease and electrocardiology. Sessions start at 8 and run all
- [Scenes along the road to Koninginnedag](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/scenes-along-road-to-koninginnedag.html) - Thursday is Koninginnedag, the annual Queens Day holiday celebration throughout the Netherlands. As expats quickly learn, it has little to do with the Queen’s Birthday (which is in January) and everything to do with a celebration of all things Oranje. The holiday began in 1885 as a day to celebrate national unity on the queen’s
- [Further thoughts on Plan B (and swine flu)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/further-thoughts-on-plan-b-and-swine.html) - NOTE: The Warden at the US embassy in Amsterdam has issued a bulletin reminding US citizens living in the Netherlands that “In case the need arises for antiviral medications, to access these antivirals without delay in The Netherlands, you MUST have registered with a “huisarts” (family/general practitioner physician) for everyone in your family.” ===================
- [Queen’s Day in Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/04/queens-day-in-maastricht.html) - First, my warm thoughts and sincere sympathy to those affected by today’s incident in Apeldoorn. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Queen’s Day was a quiet affair in Maastricht. The Maas did not fill with drunken sailors (only a few jet skis and motor yachts). There was no dancing in the streets. Orange was applied as an accent to shop
- [My first (traffic) stop in the Netherlands](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/my-first-traffic-stop-in-netherlands.html) - In my youth, I was no stranger to the occasional police stop, usually for exceeding the speed limit by (somewhat) more than 5 mph. With age comes (economic) wisdom and a heightened instinct for avoiding unnecessary risks, so my incidence of police encounters fell rapidly. Beyond a 20-in-a-10-zone speed trap about six years ago, it’s
- [A view from my window](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/view-from-my-window.html) - Storm clouds roll in over the old city in Maastricht.
- [Bits and Bobbing across the pond](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/bits-and-bobbing-across-pond.html) - Regretfully, I’m back on the road for a few days: the weather and street life are getting delightful back in the Wyck. While clearing up to-do notes, I came across a bunch of links and notes that I had been saving to share here. I’ll turn this over to a day of miscellany, then... *
- [‘Before and After’ meme for expats](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/refracting-my-experience-through-meme.html) - Isabella has posted a meme for expats to consider: I have a few hours before the plane today, so it’s a good opportunity to pause and reflect on her questions. Before: Before you knew you'd be coming to the Netherlands, for whatever reason you originally came to the Netherlands, truthfully how much did you know
- [Accommodation between boats and bridges](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/this-week-in-bridges.html) - Busy day here in the US: headed back to the Netherlands tomorrow. Among the many things to miss back in the Old Country are the endless opportunities to watch the interactions of large, modern boats and small, ancient bridges. My favorite boat passing by weekly is a handsome Swiss sightseeing cruiser. sleek black and white,
- [Tweets from the Netherlands](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/tweets-from-netherlands.html) - ‘back in the Netherlands after a busy and fruitful week in the US. These trips will come to an end this month as my voluntary separation from the company takes effect on the 31st, but it’s been a good opportunity to make a round of friends, colleagues, and projects, bringing everything to a soft landing.
- [Keeping in touch back home](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/keeping-in-touch-back-home.html) - Despite the speed and density of links across the globe, I’ve found that isolation is one of the most difficult issues to deal with as an expatriate. The 9-hour time difference between Maastricht and the West Coast makes telephone conversations difficult: it’s always the crack of dawn or late evening for one or the other
- [A movie, a play, a book recommendation](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/movie-play-book-recommendation.html) - I am trying to get into better balance during trips to the US, adopting the Dutch habit of working during work hours and cultivating life during off hours. So, over the past week, i branched out a bit and returned with a few recommendations. Movie: Slumdog Millionaire: I had avoided this one based on the
- [Thrills and Chills](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/thrills-and-chills.html) - The Vrijthof Square has lit up with a summer carnival just a bit ahead of the actual arrival of summer. The Speed Tumbler looks absolutely breathtaking: I’ve been watching the arm spin above the rooftops each evening and working up the fortitude to try it. The roller coaster was good; the haunted house was more
- [The necessity of getting advice](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/necessity-of-getting-advice.html) - Despite all of the good intentions of international treaties and globalization advocates, the complications associated with transnational business can still be daunting. Take a simple example: an American entrepreneur establishes a Dutch BV to create a software product in the Netherlands for sale to US customers. Pretty straightforward, until you start to follow the money
- [Ready for a bit of a break](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/ready-for-bit-of-break.html) - I’ve been tackling four large writing projects this week; a manuscript, a funding proposal, and two business plans. By this morning, with most of the work done or in final draft, it was a good time to relax and take advantage of a sunny Dutch Saturday. The central core of Maastricht fills with tourists and
- [Where’s Dave today…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/wheres-dave-today_19.html) - I’m taking a bit of a break from things…back in a day or so and looking forward to catching up and sharing stores. In the meantime, a few vacation pix to ponder, labels to follow shortly.
- [Innocents Abroad in Istanbul](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/innocents-abroad-in-istanbul.html) - I’m back in Maastricht after a wonderful break in Istanbul, aided by cheap fares from Frankfurt on Condor Air (SunExpress) and some favorable hotel prices in the old city of Sultanahmet. There’s always lots of experiences and ideas to share after an expedition like this one, where the history and culture are so rich and
- [Variations on an evening meal](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/variations-on-evening-meal.html) - Cognitive scientists theorize that we simplify complex social actions into pre-patterned scripts. Paying the store’s checkout person, leading a business meeting, rigging a sailboat, can all be reduced to a sequence of process steps and conversational exchanges that become second nature. And, despite knowing that these scripts are culturally specific, I still fall into the
- [Idle questions on a Sunday afternoon](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/idle-questions-on-sunday-afternoon.html) - Zijn expatrates meer creatieve? (Are expatriates more creative?) Gulliver’s blog reports on a recent INSEAD study that concludes that there is something in the experience of living in foreign parts that helps foster creativity. I would suspect that there is a self-selection bas at work: that the most creative people are also the ones most
- [Short illuminations of Turkey](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/short-illuminations-of-turkey.html) - I have a notebook full of scribbles taken during the visit to Istanbul: here are a few impressions along with some connected pictures -- Low-cost flights (Condor; SunExpress) go to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport on the Asian side of the Bosporus. It’s a fresh, modern facility being built as an alternative to Atatürk
- [The last words on Istanbul](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/last-words-on-istanbul.html) - …mine, at least. There are lots of small sights, sounds, tastes, and experiences to explore and enjoy around the Old City. Of course, there are the big sights as well, so I’ll close with a quick pictorial tour of some favorite locations around the Horn. 4. Grand Bazaar The hot streets give way to dm
- [Following one another's family footsteps](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/sons-of-father.html) - My son is transferring from his training at Tinker AFB to his deployment location up in Alaska.. In practical terms, he’s on a two-week government funded road trip across the Southwest, up the West Coast, and onto the Alaska Ferry in a rambling Land Rover that he picked up from a friend in Oklahoma. The
- [Stepping out and making changes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/stepping-out-and-making-changes.html) - Friday was my last day with my employer of 22 years. I will remain an expatriate, living and working in the Netherlands. And I’ll still be here, writing advice and experiences and exploring cultures and ideas. It’s all just going to be a lot more independently. It still feels strange to say that: it
- [Country mice, stone walls](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/country-mice-stone-walls.html) - I’ve lived overseas for four years now, first in the Enterprise program at Cambridge, starting a new business in England, building a business in Arnhem, developing clinical evidence at the research center in Maastricht. The diverse assignments and the many people I’ve met have helped me to develop a much clearer vision of who I
- [Looking to the future](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/05/looking-to-future.html) - I have a couple of months remaining on the expatriate contract to sort life out and move on to it’s next phase. There are a number of living arrangements that have to be settled as I move out from under the umbrella: taking over housing contracts, establishing new telephone and credit card arrangements, sorting transportation,
- [Off to a wobbly Monday; better Tuesday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/off-to-wobbly-monday-better-tuesday.html) - The last day on the prior job was Friday, the first day beyond was was Monday. It was not a good beginning… I have thought a lot about how my work life ought to change. I would hope to take on more projects that were interesting, work with creative and insightful people, and focus on
- [A few resolutions](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/few-resolutions.html) - Reading back through the writings of the past week, I’m uncomfortably aware that it’s been a bumpy transition. At the same time, it was never the purpose of these essays to dwell on the difficulties. And, as the local storefronts say, right, the economy is nobody’s friend just now. So I resolve: No
- [Camped in a corner at Nero’s](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/camped-in-corner-at-neros.html) - ‘been a busy week; I’m currently in the UK, enjoying the beer, the rain, the easy English communication. What’s the best way to get to England? I took the Norfolk Line Dunkirk to Dover ferry over: it turns out to be a really good alternative to Easyjet. Round trip is 54 euros for a
- [Abraham, Alps, and a Ukulele](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/abraham-alps-and-ukulele.html) - ‘Idling through the weekend with stray thoughts and observations whilst chilling in Suffolk * I’ve talked about the huge, inflatable babies that appear outside of houses with a newborn: lately, I’ve seen a few labeled “Sarah” or “Abraham” that are clearly not for the youngest amongst us. It turns out that the Dutch celebrate their
- [Staying over in distant homes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/staying-over-in-distant-homes.html) - I had a wonderful weekend staying with friends outside of London: there was a big birthday celebration that was fun to participate in, and a chance to reconnect with their extended family and with the Surrey countryside. It was a wonderful day for the ferry back, too: the picture is today’s view of the ‘White
- [Be back shortly](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/be-back-shortly.html) - Losing the computer for a few days; ‘back by the weekend… Have a good week!
- [Back on-line](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/back-on-line.html) - Hi, all, I’m back, bonded with my computer and catching up with e-mail and everyone’s blog updates. It will take most of the week, I’m sure, but wanted to give a quick update on things as I got back on-line. Some of you know that I’ve had a major misalignment of my left foot for
- [The Swiss hospital experience](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/swiss-hospital-experience.html) - It’s finally turning cloudy and cooler in the southeast Swiss hills. The weather has been brutally hot and sunny for the past few days, well above 30C, but the temperatures moderate agreeably and the breezes return each evening. It’s been nice to sit out over a late meal and watch twilight fall across the valley
- [Paying for a stay in a Swiss hospital](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/paying-for-stay-in-swiss-hospital.html) - Note: Pix are from my aerie at Morbio Superiore. When I decided to have elective surgery in Europe, I was covered by an American health care plan. Economic, cultural, and practice differences assure that this will not be an easy union, and my case worker at WorldWide worked with me for weeks as we put
- [Up the road from Como to Agra](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/up-road-from-como-to-agra.html) - I moved across the lake today: a planned trade of one apartment for another, gaining some proximity to Lugano and a bit more quiet above the valley. The quality and value of these holiday apartments has really been outstanding, I took a leap of faith booking in sight unseen, but the locations, families, and facilities
- [Meditating on a Tower Crane](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/meditating-on-tower-crane.html) - This is the view from above the house in Agra, looking roughly north along the valley towards Lugano. It’s beautiful summer up here; the storms last night washed out the mist and humidity and left the day feeling scrubbed and crystalline. Across the center of the scene is the long orange boom of a tower
- [Today’s view from the terrace](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/todays-view-from-terrace.html)
- [A Father’s Day thought for Jim Redmond](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/fathers-day-thought-for-jim-redmond.html) - Father’s Day is always a time for reflecting on all the support and encouragement I’ve received from my father, the same that I’ve tried to pass on to my children. And it’s a day that I think of Jim Redmond. Derek Redmond was a sprinter for the UK Olympic team in the 1992 Games in
- [In and around Lugano](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/in-and-around-lugano.html) - ‘finally got a few pictures posted on Flickr to show some reflections of the past couple of weeks here in (and above) Lugano. Lugano and the Lake Morbio Superiore Agra Morcote
- [Clearing out the clutter](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/clearing-out-clutter.html) - Clearing out old books and old ideas. Time is change, so it's time to change and throw out the unused stuff that clutters the shelf and the mind. A good friend back in Seattle posted this update on his Facebook page this week, prompting a back and forth about whether this was a good thing
- [First looks at the new foot](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/first-looks-at-new-foot.html) - ‘looks like it all paid off… Two weeks after the procedure to correct my left foot, I went back to the doctor’s office to remove the cast and see how things had turned out. It’s a bit of a tense time: the toes are pointing the right way out the tip of the cast, but
- [Happy time in Eguisheim](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/happy-time-in-eguisheim.html) - Two real delights of living in the lower Netherlands are the proximity to the Ardennes and the Alsace. The Alsace is a strip of wine country along the French / German border four hours south of Maastricht. There are lots of charming villages in the Hautes-Vosges foothills between Strasbourg and Colmar, each filled with excellent
- [Interlude with health care and banking](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/interlude-with-health-care-and-banking.html) - 'Back in Maastricht since the weekend and busy gong through weeks of unread mail and unaddressed to-do lists. I‘m navigating the town on crutches which adds to the time to accomplish almost anything. I think that if I can’t get twice the upper body strength, I‘m just going to have to accept that things will
- [What is an artist?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/06/what-is-artist.html) - “One who creates art.” Simple tautology, unsatisfying, raising questions rather than answering them. I immersed in Sarah Thronton’s “Seven Days in the Art World” on Sunday: it’s a nice glimpse into the interlocked world of artists, collectors, dealers, and promoters who define the art world (the whole system around art, distinct, as she points out,
- [Everything points to Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/everything-points-to-maastricht.html) - Kind of a fun “Maastricht in 5 minutes” video, one of two put out by local civic boosters. It’s fun to pick out the places I know and wonder about the many I don’t.
- [Wilting hot](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/wilting-hot.html) - The July weather has really settled in along the river, shimmering off the streets and glinting off the water. Air conditioning is not the norm in Maastricht: the apartment temperature is controlled by strategically manipulating the windows and lighting. Metal shutters are installed on every window ( a rarity in the US), and I make
- [Evolution of the 4th of July](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/evolution-of-4th-of-july.html) - Happy 4th of July, everyone ! A day like any other here, but I’ve noted the creeping silence that has enveloped blogs and e-mail accounts as US-based folks take off for the long holiday weekend. Some are boating or visiting relatives; others taking lazy days at home to mingle with neighbors and watch community fireworks.
- [Three thoughts on a Monday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/three-thoughts-on-monday.html) - The Fourth of July parties were lots of fun: as hoped, it was a good opportunity to get together with other expats and have a familiar (parochial) celebration. We indulged traditional American pastimes of eating (hamburgers, chips, and beer), arguing about politics (Obama as socialist / Palin as genius, but I can hold my own
- [Whacking a cold with the Dutch](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/whacking-cold-with-dutch.html) - The weather has become decidedly cold and rainy, leaden skies and sheeting wind. Although I’m told that I can’t catch cold from abrupt temperature shifts, that’s always how I seem to get them. “Count back 3 days to find the source,” my mother always advised, and it always coincides with a change in the weather.
- [Interpreting Dutch road marks](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/interpreting-dutch-road-marks.html) - Preliminary test: Imagine you are driving from Maastricht to Liege. You pull up to the A2, confronted with this signage, how do you turn south? Among the many markers in this (true) picture are the route signs, lane marks, bike warnings, and bus signals. It can be a real challenge the first month out. Dutch
- [Two patron saints of Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/two-patron-saints-of-maastricht.html) - A friend wrote recently to fill me in on the background of St. Servatius, Maastricht’s patron saint. I admit that I’ve never learned much about the bishop, although I’ve visited the church on the Vrijthof Square and have seen the tomb and the relics inside. His history is a mix of fact and legend.
- [The McKinsey Way](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/mckinsey-way.html) - Newsweek published an article this week reviewing recent predictions made by the management consulting firm McKinsey and Company. McKinsey advises many large corporations, companies, and institutions, and their influence has dominated strategic management consulting for much of it’s 75 year history. Newsweek tallied the accuracy of predictions made in their 2007 State of the World
- [The Dutch Surveillance Society](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/dutch-surveillance-society.html) - The Dutch Constitution was written in 1815, establishing the constitutional monarchy, then amended in 1848 to establish a parliamentary monarchy. In 1983, the constitution was almost entirely rewritten, incorporating 21 articles of fundamental human rights among many other changes. The current 2005 charter (English or Dutch) is surprisingly compact and efficient: there is no preamble
- [Michael Jackson, Inventor](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/michael-jackson-inventor.html) - And I thought it was all CGI and tilting floors… While working on searches for a patent landscape, I was surprised to find that the US Patent and Trademark office is having a memorial exhibition of Michael Jackson’s patents and trademarks. Believe it or not, MJ actually has issued a 1993 patent, #5255452: Method and
- [A couple of art notes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/couple-of-art-notes.html) - Our local Antiquarian Bookstore, de Bovenste Plank (The Highest Shelf) is hosting an art sale by Brigit Viegen, a local watercolourst. Brigit does some very evocative pen and wash works of villages and people throughout the area: you can see examples of her work at her website here. I really like the depiction of the
- [Dutch Insurance Coverage](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/dutch-insurance-coverage.html) - The Dutch are among the most highly insured people in the world, and I’ve found that policies are available that parallel most of the coverage that I’ve had in the US. ExpatFocus has a good overview: The basic policies for most expats include health insurance and third-party liability insurance. Auto insurance is compulsory if you
- [Raising the BV](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/raising-bv.html) - This hasn’t been a good week for writing thoughts into my blog; there’s lots to catch up with. But, as things finally crystallized into focus, it’s turned out to be a good week for most everything else. The big event was Thursday’s signing ceremony at my accountant’s offices, Finsens, in Amsterdam. The notary delivered a
- [The Royal Delft Factory](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/royal-delft-factory.html) - Since 1653, the Royal Delft pottery factory has created signature fine porcelain and ceramic works here in the Netherlands. The artisans still create and paint the works by hand, and, approaching the celebration of my mother’s fourscore years, it was a fitting place to shop for a gift and to peek into a bit of
- [Cutting the wood in Itteren](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/cutting-wood-in-itteren.html) - Out for a Sunday drive with friends, we came across a street festival in the village of Itteren, flush against the Belgian border north of Maastricht.m These are common across the Netherlands in summer, a chance to drink beer, listen to music, and enjoy the sunshine. In this case, the center of attraction was a
- [Time Management](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/07/time-management.html) - I have to admit from the start that I’m no fan of Jim Collins. Mr. Collins is a top management advisor and the best-selling author of Good To Great, telling companies how to make the transition to high performance profitability, innovation, and growth. I always thought that his “over-the-shoulder analysis”, conducted by his graduate students
- [Happy moments on the road](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/08/happy-moments-on-road.html) - I’m back in the US, motoring across the Northwest towards a family reunion in Wyoming. Beautiful, hot, sunny weather, open roads, miles humming by, conversational catch-up. Roadside signs like “Sweet, fresh, Porn” (a defaced farmer’s roadside stand, I think) Discovering that, for the first time, I qualify for the Senior’s Menu choices at Denny’s
- [View from my terrace](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/08/view-from-my-terrace.html) - 7 am, Jackson Lake Lodge, Wyoming.
- [Back from the Reunion](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/08/back-from-reunion.html) - A few day’s break in Jackson Hole, Wyoming at the Grand Teton Lodge. It was my mother’s ‘fourscore’ birthday, and the whole family came in to join the celebration. It’s a real milestone birthday, and wonderful to see everyone again. The Delft vase survived the journey from the Netherlands to Wyoming, and it felt nice
- [Nailing down the US presence](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/08/nailing-down-us-presence.html) - I arrived back in Seattle with a day full of appointments to nail down the US connections to the new Dutch business. The goal was to set up the tax and banking structures that would enable me to pay (minimal) taxes, partner with US talent, and simplify contracts with US clients, eliminating potential drawbacks of
- [Back after a break](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/08/back-after-break.html) - ‘not exactly a stellar Blog Posting Month (BloPoMo). The past ten days have been filled with business and a little leisure, continuing progress with the foot and the company. I’m in stormy Chicago for a couple of days, woken up by thunder, worn down with jet lag, so I’ve just settled in with coffee and
- [Back after some work](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/08/back-after-some-work.html) - The resolution to be a more faithful blogger crashed quickly… I've just returned from a business trip to the US, exercising my new consultancy in the service of a paying client. It was an engaging experience. They have a new diagnostic technology that is almost complete and want to have their clinical evidence portfolio ready
- [‘been a busy month…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/08/been-busy-month.html) - I was counting the days that I've been away, and I think I've hit a new low of being in the Netherlands only about a quarter of the month of August. Family travel, medical transitions, business meetings, even the occasional vacation day has kept me busy and off-line. Duriing the dog days of summer, it's
- [Sunday's Thumbs Up /Thumbs Down](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/08/sundays-thumbs-up-thumbs-down.html) - ‘gotta love the Maastricht Food Festival and Chateau de Jehay, but CarTrawler and Microsoft are causing trouble…========================Thumbs up to the four-day Bite of Maastricht, rolling into the Vrijthof Square this weekend with 40 food booths and live entertainment. More properly known as the Preuvenemint, it resembles US festivals from Seattle or Chicago, where local restaurants
- [Live, from the Global Command Center](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/08/live-from-global-command-center.html) - When I first started working in Maastricht, I remember that a stylish corner office was one of the early thrills. Glass furniture, territorial views, a personalized nameplate were all pretty exciting perks for starting the new position with confidence. I gave that all up, of course, opting for a substantive workspace befitting the modest beginnings
- [The sensate pleasure of cycling](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/sensate-pleasure-of-cycling.html) - The expat-car went back to the lease company a month ago: I armed myself with a discount pass for the train and a strippenkart for the bus and braced myself. So far, though, things have gone swimmingly. The office is three blocks from the apartment and shops (winkels) fill the neighborhood, so I usually walk
- [Radio Daze](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/radio-daze.html) - I joined the college radio station as a freshman: WRVU, the student-run Voice of Vanderbilt, Nashville's Music Station. Album rock, special jazz, folk, and classical, news-of-the-hour. I'd originally joined to be a board operator, fascinated with all the buttons and lights (the studios of a Paris FM station, left, was my vision), but the station
- [Tuesday Miscellany](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/tuesday-miscellany.html) - I almost spent the night in the Global Command Center. I was working on a regulatory landscape, alternating internet searches with cut and paste into a huge spreadsheet, when I heard the downstairs door bang shut. An innocent investigation of the cause revealed that the office staff was closing up the building for the night.
- [A quick visit to the Pyrenees](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/quick-visit-to-pyrenees.html) - One of the wonderful things about Europe these days is that it's easy to hop onto a discount airline and take a short, cheap holiday somewhere really fantastic. Ryanair flies out of Maastricht in the summer with 40 euro fares to Girona, just north of Barcelona along the French-Spanish border. A new adventure in a
- [Pedaling into Herfst](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/pedaling-into-herfst.html) - There’s a chill in the air and the leaves are starting to turn in the south-central Low Country. At first, the orange and red turned out to be just berry clusters among the leaves, but this morning there is a definite change in color along the trees beneath the High Bridge. Autumn (herfst) is not
- [Riding the rails](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/riding-rails.html) - Meetings in Rotterdam today, since I'm sans-auto it was a good chance to try out the new train pass and make the appointments by rail and public transport. Journey planning starts with the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) Rail website, determining the best way to get from Maastricht up to Rotterdam (a two-hour car drive). The query
- [Approaching the end of summer](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/approaching-end-of-summer.html) - Everyone is back from vacation: the frequency of boats plying the Maas has picked up in the last weeks, even as the visits bby river cruisers drops off.The incidence of police stops for excess partying is likewise in decline.Students are having to keep in touch by phone or mobile, rather than being able to simply
- [Ah, Europe…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/ah-europe.html) - I was scheduled to meet a colleague for lunch on Thursday, catching up on what we had each been doing since we both parted from Corporate and trading ideas for future projects. I left the Command Center at noon and meet him on the street corner; we walked through the Wyck suggesting preferences and alternatives.
- [It’s a little like home schooling](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/its-little-like-home-schooling.html) - It's been a busy week: lots to talk about but little time to write. I'm continuing to divide time between developing the plan for the client business, due at the end of this month, and plans for developing my own business. A college friend, now an independent marketing specialist, offered to help me sort out
- [The aspirational elite](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/aspirational-elite.html) - Back in town, back on-line. I didn’t anticipate being scarce for the whole week, but it’s harder to justify $10 for an hour of Internet time when I’m paying for it myself. So, the week became a good opportunity to enjoy travel, new places, old friends, and a variety of experiences. Not a bad thing.
- [At home with Installation Art](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/at-home-with-installation-art.html) - The Wall Street Journal magazine (European edition) is a glossy quarterly dedicated to the good life, as envisioned by corporate high-fliers. It has articles on fast cars, oversized jewelry, exotic destinations and world culture. I ended up thumbing an issue left on my seat at a recent layover, and was fascinated by an article depicting
- [Paying my income taxes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/paying-my-income-taxes.html) - Remember Steve Forbes' pitch that your tax return should fit on the back of a postcard? My US and Dutch tax returns arrived from the Deloitte last week, and they were a study in contrasts. The US return weighed in at 71 pages of dense pose, boxes, exhibits, and supporting declarations. In all fairness, a
- [Struggling with Sony service](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/struggling-with-sony-service.html) - Why do companies that make great products back them up with abysmally poor support and service? The Global Command Center needed a smoking hot computer to keep it humming, and I spent months researching specs and visiting showrooms to qualify the candidates. There is nothing worse than having a consultant drag in a cheap netbook
- [Definitions of success](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/definitions-of-success.html) - I try to set aside time for reading and writing each morning: today I ended up reflecting on an essay from the E-Myth business group regarding their definition of success as "The process of building a business that 'works'". More specifically, It fulfills your life's passions and dreams It is an asset that supports your
- [Beelden van mijn buurt](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/beelden-van-mijn-buurt.html) - Take a look out your window: take in your familiar sights and sounds. Houses, streets, trees, people: you instictively know where to fgo to ind your friends, and where you'd go for good food once you met up. It's become a neighborhood. Scholars say a neighborhood is more than just a local geographic region, rather,
- [Biking to Eijsden](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/biking-to-eijsden.html) - Today was a wonderfully sunny day, unusual after the cold nights and foggy mornings that we've been having the past week. Although there was work to be done (housework if nothing else), the rivers and fields were far more tempting, so I saddled up the Locomotief ( a vintage east-german bicycle according to my Dutch
- [I don’t like Mondays](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/i-dont-like-mondays-2.html) - 'with apologies to Tori Amos, it's been a bit of a bum start to a busy week. Our building's landlady is a lovely person who just celebrated her 87th birthday. She's full of energy and manages the entire building well, but is starting to worry about whether the years will catch up with her at
- [Remarkable Tuesday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/remarkable-tuesday.html) - Looking off towards the positive side of life as the week gets rolling: The 50 km per hour sailing record was broken last month by a remarkable craft called a Hydroptere. It's impressive, a large hydrofoil with grinders stationed out on each wing to adjust the sails. The video looks intense: I once wanted to
- [Remembrance Wednesday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/09/remembrance-wednesday.html) - Stephan Hawking has announced that he's stepping down as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge; his successor will be named next week. Nothing ominous behind the announcement: the university requires professors to give up their posts by age 67. It keeps a flow of fresh perspectives and ideas flowing through the senior ranks of
- [Thursday exploring Heffers](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/thursday-exploring-heffers.html) - I ran into the fellow living upstairs (but not for much longer) who told me he was thinking of retiring. What are you going to do? I asked (a question for myself as well, considered late at night). He shrugged. “Hobbies, I suppose…” What sort? He vaguely describes work that he started, then abandoned, years
- [Friday’s style of thinking](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/fridays-style-of-thinking.html) - A lot of the difficulty that people have communicating may really be due to differences in how they think. Generally, I think I communicate pretty well: At Cambridge, I was consistently surprised that I got better marks for my presentations than for my writing. I suppose that I could even score converational effectiveness by whether I understand
- [Collaborative Saturday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/collaborative-saturday.html) - One of the major challenges of running a dispersed, global organization is, literally, keeping everyone on the same page. Early on, it seemed like I needed to set up project workspaces where people could share background materials, work together on documents, and have discussions in forums. It needed to be reasonably priced, have WSYWIG editors,
- [Small-footprint Sunday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/small-footprint-sunday.html) - Since I left BigCo, I have been downsizing my carbon footprints in lots of ways. I chucked the car, bought a bike, ride the train, and, now, I'm doing the microHotel . Really, how much do you need when you check in? citizenM is a new hotel that opened adjacent to Schiphol. I had an
- [I'm not leaving (thanks for asking)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/i-arrived-in-chicago-crowded-plane-over.html) - I've arrived in Chicago; crowded plane over this morning but I got a solid eight hours work done and was feeling pretty bouyant on landing. I checked into the hotel and changed, then met the client group for a late lunch. They were local, one had moved around a bit, they were interested that I live
- [Up early and often](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/up-early-and-often.html) - I've grown pretty philosophical about jet lag. When I first started working, it was something to shoulder through or fight. For the CEO of my first company, it was a point of pride to step off a plane and into the office. He'd put in a full day, no matter whether it meant falling asleep
- [Spinning the plates](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/spinning-plates.html) - ‘back in the Netherlands after a good trip to Chicago. Not without incident, but productive overall. The work with the new company went well: they have made great progress on their device, there is a clear path to regulatory approval and a clinical study, and the investment required to get to market seems clear. I’ve
- [Transitioning from the expat contract](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/transitioning-from-expat-contract.html) - Okay, now that I’ve done it, I have to admit that I underestimated the difference. I think it’s worth passing on: this reflection is “advice from lessons learned”, not meant to be a discouraging grumble. At the outset, I had assumed that 75% of what I needed to transition to full-expat status in the Netherlands
- [Now from the global annex…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/miscellany-at-global-annex.html) - When I founded my little Dutch company, I had visions of becoming a high-tech remote patient monitoring software development lab. Something like this:The reality isn’t quite there yet. especially since the flashy mobile laptop died. I cobbled together a replacement system out of spare parts and a couple of components from MediaMart, stacked it up
- [Noch zomer noch winter](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/noch-zomer-noch-winter.html) - Fall is becoming a mix of seasons, not quite summer, not yet winter. The trees are still largely green and leafy, there are occasional days of sunshine and t-shirt temperatures. At the same time, the clouds are low and threatening, the wind blows cold, and the leaves swirl around my ankles as I walk the
- [Channeling Seth Godin](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/channeling-seth-godin.html) - If you’re a small, unknown company with a new product, how do you connect with customers? How can they come to know, like, and trust you when they’ve never heard of you; why should they choose you over established competitors? As I build my own business and counsel my clients, this question looms large. Seth
- [Don’t hate the PowerPointers](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/dont-hate-powerpointers.html) - In the twenty-odd years since it’s creation, PowerPoint backdrops have become every speaker’s Charlie McCarthy. Intended to give life and structure to status updates and sales pitches, the slide deck has, instead, become a wooden accompaniment to listless recitations in meeting rooms and lecture halls. The dreadful examples filling SlideShare are enough to make me
- [Oranje](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/oranje.html)
- [Trading places](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/trading-places.html) - I follow a couple of dozen feeds and blogs, connecting out to a range of interests and opinions. Most are fellow expats in the Netherlands, whose insights and advice are always helpful. Less commonly, I follow Dutch friends who have relocated to the US. One friend who I faithfully (and very enjoyably) read is a
- [Hunting weeds along the Maas](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/hunting-weeds-along-maas.html) - During this presentation, I will inform you of what the current policy is, the proposals for change, the rationale given by experts and advocates on both sides of the issue, and my own perspective based on first-hand experience. Mijn dochter called last night for some help with her class presentation for school. She needs to
- [Wednesday business (and Rosetta) thoughts](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/wednesday-business-and-rosetta-thoughts.html) - Midweek: lots done, lots still to do. Nothing organized for today, ‘just a few reflections on business and life. I took the train up to Eindhoven yesterday to meet with a business coach provided by my ex-company’s outplacement service. He was prepared for people uncertain of what to do next (maybe start a business?):
- [It may look dark and gloomy…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/it-may-look-dark-and-gloomy.html) - But we’re finally getting balls of colour in the trees up the river.
- [Getting my next zero](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/getting-my-next-zero.html) - I got a letter last night from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), notifying me that our Research Grant application had been funded. This is a huge deal: I started CamStent with a few classmates in 2006, and for three years we’ve been looking for funds to finish our research. The company is based
- [Backing up and sorting out for Sunday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/10/backing-up-and-sorting-out-for-sunday.html) - I’m headed to Switzerland later today for a scheduled review of how my foot is healing after the summer surgery. It’s a good opportunity to take a couple of day’s break before the holiday season gets rolling, spending time in the country and enjoying the villages along the Swiss-Italian border. Sony has diagnosed the laptop
- [When you need a week away…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/when-you-need-week-away.html) - …it doesn’t come better than northwest Italy in late October.
- [Celebrating the recovery](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/celebrating-recovery.html) - It was a good week; the motivating reason for the trip was a follow-up visit to the clinic where I had the summer ankle surgery. It was a wonderful time to visit: warm, clear weather, blue skies, and brilliant warm autumn leaves. The surgeon was pleased with how things had gone. The calf bone was
- [Yes, they do check…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/yes-they-do-check.html) - One of the requirements of Universal Health Care is that it be truly Universal: everyone in the Netherlands is required to sign up for (at least) basic insurance. There are few exceptions: an expat with US insurance, working for a multinational corporation, in the Netherlands for a limited time, is one of the few. So,
- [Words and pictures (1)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/words-and-pictures-1.html) - David Lodge observes that we use pictures to sort out space and narrative to organize time. With the addition of ensemble for describing people, it becomes a story. Narrative and images are the yin and yang of memory, really, and I enjoy reflecting on experiences through photographs and essays. I’ve been gathering memories of last
- [Words and pictures (2)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/words-and-pictures-2.html) - Halloween celebrations are uncommon in Europe, so it was nice to find two little candies tucked into the hotel room in Bergamo. It was an omen: later, the town square filled with little trick-or-treaters running between shops in the early evening, followed by teenagers with fireworks around midnight. It reminded me of the many windy,
- [Daily Maintenance](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/daily-maintenance.html) - The winter weather has settled into the Dutch South with a vengeance. When the morning satellite map looks like this, you know it’s going to be a soggy, windy day. The wide-scale shows a huge cyclonic mass over England: this band of rain is just one sweeping arm of it. We used to call them
- [Sinterklaas arrives in South Limburg](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/sinterklaas-arrives-in-south-limburg.html) - The rain poured down Saturday, making the weekend run to Carrefour a soggy mess. But by the afternoon, the showers had moved through leaving clear skies and flat waters. The Jules Verne sailed into the scene, different than the earlier boats that took tourists up and down the river. It pulled into the dock and
- [Scenes from Sunday morning](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/scenes-from-sunday-morning.html) - The garlands have appeared over the city streets; the stores have begun to open early (and will every Sunday through December) as the shopping season begins. Some people are even still huddled in the outdoor cafes. The ducks are taking an early paddle, absent the barge traffic on the weekdays. The Vrijthof Square
- [The road less traveled](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/road-less-traveled.html) - As expats, do we build or do we skim? I’ll be visiting the US this week, always an occasion for reflection on the road not taken (Frost). Friends have homes and families, wrestle with empty nests, careers, retirement plans: the lives of friends and colleagues following the leftward branch. I have pictures and experiences, wrestling
- [How do you visit a new city?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/how-do-you-visit-new-city.html) - It’s been a long morning’s drive: out of the hotel by 9, stretch and snack in a roadside park, 280 km behind you. Now, a bit past noon, you arrive in a small city with a few hours to spare. What’s your approach? While I check the guidebooks and plan ahead of arrival for major
- [Hopping the pond](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/hopping-pond.html) - ‘Completed the hop across the Atlantic: a long, long trip with a six-hour layover in the middle, but that’s the price of a cheap ticket these days. It ended up causing a lot of ricochet jet-lag: I slept 12 hours the first night. ’never good to start a day after 1 pm. The traditional decorations
- [Piling higher and deeper](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/piling-higher-and-deeper.html) - Four hours sleep last night…hope that the trend is towards damped oscillation converging to 7 hours. ‘hope it happens by tomorrow, too. It was a good excuse to get up early and re-partner with the Mobile Command Center, my Sony laptop, now restored to full function with a repaired case and new hard drive. The
- [A visual voyage over the mountains](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/visual-voyage-over-mountains.html) - This was the day to make the 5 1/2 hour drive from Seattle to Pullman for my daughter’s Dads Day weekend. I got up early to find that the 6:00 am road / pass reports were of unexpectedly heavy snow that closed the pass completely. And, hopefully, temporarily. I tossed the snow tires and chains
- [The big broadcast](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/big-broadcast.html) - There was, apparently, a Drunk Dads component to the Father’s weekend at college. ‘hard to imagine parents behaving worse than their offspring, but for some, the pull to relive their glory days was pretty strong. My days of undergraduate glory were mostly spent behind the microphone rather than beneath a table, afternoon drive DJ at
- [The view from my (car) window](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/view-from-my-car-window.html) - Early winter snows frosting the Polouse hills in eastern Washington state.
- [Swimming back towards Europe](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/swimming-back-towards-europe.html) - I turned the corner on the trip yesterday, starting back towards Europe on a two-day hop through Orlando. It’s been a good trip, wonderful to have been able to attend the Dad’s weekend, productive in getting through the “while in the US: to-do list and catching up with people. I did manage to get a
- [Airplane reading and thinking](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/airplane-reading-and-thinking.html) - ‘back in Maastricht after the long trip back: arrived to steady rain and darkness that fit my mood re-opening the silent apartment. A pile of mail was waiting; a couple of plants dried out over the week. Airplane time is always good for a bit of reading: so this might be a good time to
- [It’s beginning to look a lot like Kerstmis…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/its-beginning-to-look-lot-like-kerstmis.html) - At sunset last night, the first arc of scaffolding appeared above the rooftops. Despite a fierce wind, the circle slowly completed under arc lights late into the night. By morning, the ride was complete and the cars were on. I rode by the Vrijthof to see the result and found that Oliebollen stands have returned
- [Directions](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/directions.html) - It’s been a week for soul searching, back in Maastricht after a hectic road trip, then tired and sleepless getting readjusted. Dead plants and live problems to sort out, flopping around a bit in the quiet apartment. The days have gotten very short, and workdays are getting increasingly stressed. It’s all becoming lonely, and I
- [Touchstones](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/touchstones.html) - On the radio last week, my daughter and I debated the nature and instantiation of touchstones. A touchstone is a point of reference, a standard for judging other, unknown substances and circumstances. Classically it was a slate tablet that could be scratched by unknown materials, leaving a characteristic, identifying line. In our usage, it was
- [Progress towards a UK work visa](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/progress-towards-uk-work-visa.html) - ‘fully engaged with the process of getting a UK Tier 1 work permit now, supplemental to my Dutch DAFT application. The requirements are straightforward but the execution is miserable. Tier 1 of the Points Based System is designed for “knowledge workers” to immigrate to the UK. It requires no sponsors and is based on achieving
- [Striking a balance](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/striking-balance.html) - I read an interesting essay by one of my business professors last night, concerning the tension between getting things done and getting things right. In some ways, it’s a restatement of the Principal of Good Enough, or of Pareto’s Principal: the idea that you are done when you get most of what you want. It
- [Windy, wet Monday flu vaccination alert](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/windy-wet-monday-flu-vaccination-alert.html) - The weather has turned dismal, a uniform colorless grey, dim, misty drizzle; the boats are ghosts along the water, the bridges only faint lines in the mist. The streets are vacant, only the occasional pedestrian blows by, umbrella flattened to their head. The phones are starting to quiet as US residents move into the
- [Baking for the holidays](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/baking-for-holidays.html) - I’m making a real run at doing Thanksgiving at home in the Netherlands this year. It’s not easy. I found two splendid turkey breasts last night, and have found a recipe that suggests how to make them with a nice cranberry bread stuffing. I’ve got a big bag of green beans waiting for an almond
- [Two disparate hopes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/two-disparate-hopes.html) - The nouvelle beaujolais hit the stores here in the Netherlands this week, 4 euro a bottle. The price is right, even if I don’t know what I’m buying. It’s the first sample of the vintage that will become 2009 and, although it’s taste will be raw and meaningless, there is some continuity from young to
- [It was a good Thanksgiving](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/it-was-good-thanksgiving.html) - I got things rolling midafternoon: the cranberries had already set and the beans were prepped, so the only bit in doubt was the turkey and the stuffing. The recipe went together easily, soften the celery and onion in butter, mix bread cubes, sage, spices, chicken broth…I tossed in an egg because my grandfather always did.
- [The HSBC Expat Survey](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/hsbc-expat-survey.html) - The 2009 edition of the HSBC Expat Experience Survey is out, you can get the free download here. It makes for fascinating reading if you live overseas, if only to compare your experiences with those of others worldwide. The Netherlands placed 17th overall out of 26 countries surveyed. (Last year the Dutch placed 8th out
- [Lights, music, and Gluhwein](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/lights-music-and-gluhwein.html) - The Maasticht Christmas Market opened today at the Vrijthof Square; despite a steady drizzle the town was out for the colorful opening. Everything was in it’s familiar place: the faux-garden for hot spiced wine, the shop filled with holiday trimmings, the german sausage stand, the SkyWheel. There were new collectable cups (and I did, above),
- [More UK Visa travails](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/11/more-uk-visa-travails.html) - 'Slow progress continues towards the submission of my Tier 1 Visa application: I met with the immigration consultants in London and we reviewed the whole package. On the good side, the content is coming together well. I have all of the documentation except the testimonials from my accountant about my salary and business, and I
- [What do you do with a missing church steeple?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/what-do-you-do-with-missing-church.html) - The steeple of Maastricht’s main Catholic church (Basiliek van Onze Lieve Vrouw "Sterre der Zee" Maastricht ) is undergoing renovation. It was plucked off somehow a month ago, I didn’t see whether they dismantled it or lifted it off by crane or helicopter. It’s left the church looking a bit lopsided and forlorn at the
- [A good visit, but truly awful weather](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/good-visit-but-truly-awful-weather.html) - I’ve been in the UK for the past few days, organizing the tasks, contracts, and schedules for the research project which is being funded by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA). It was a good visit, the people involved are enthusiastic, capable, and willing to help, and it will be fun to finally get
- [Riding the waves to England (or France)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/riding-waves-to-england-or-france.html) - As my teaching and research work in Cambridge starts to gather speed, I’m finding that I need to be in the UK much more regularly. I don’t plan to leave the Netherlands, so I needed to figure out how to deal more effectively with the travel. The customary approach was to book a Ryanair (Eindhoven)
- [Post 500](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/post-500.html) - While replying to comments on the blog today, I realized that I had logged 499 entries: this one is number 500. I don’t usually mark milestones, but this seems like a wonderful opportunity pause and to thank you, my readers, for your interest and for your comments. I have learned a lot through the writing
- [Syncing through the cloud](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/syncing-through-cloud.html) - How do you sync files between multiple computers? I’ve written previously about my trials with internet based backup solutions: they were slow, expensive, tended to delete files instead of creating incremental backups, and dragged down my computer performance. I finally settled on using a cheap portable half-terabyte USB hard drive: I can literally drop all
- [Navigating stormy waters](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/navigating-stormy-waters.html) - The crossing from Dunkerque to Dover was rough this week. There were large rolling swells, wind-blown spray white off the wave crests, and fountains of spume with each drop of the ferry’s bow. The photo shows out approach to Dover, in the distance. It made me wonder how the Romans ever made the crossing in
- [A bit scarce, but…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/bit-scarce-but.html) - … still around. It’s been a thoroughly British week: another trip to Cambridge to finish lining up resources for the EEDA project and to make visits to the UK Tier 1 Visa folks, collecting the odds and ends of components for the application packet. It’s turning into a full-time job. In contrast to the Dutch
- [The Aachen Christmas Market](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/aachen-christmas-market.html) - I was going to make my annual trip to the Koln Christmas Markets this weekend: my parents wanted some German stollen, the kids collect the Gluhwein cups, and it was a good excuse to enjoy the city at it’s most festive. But a friend suggested that I could get all of the same benefits closer
- [The 10% Rule](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/10-rule.html) - One of the most famous aphorisms in projects is the 80-20 rule (Pareto’s Principle): it says that the last 20% of any project will take 80% of the time and effort. Getting things right and complete is hard, and there are legendary “Death Marches” to product release that engineering veterans tell over hot drinks on
- […and the Brussels Christmas Market](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/and-brussels-christmas-market.html) - The flight from Brussels departs at 10 am, not enough time to take the express in from Maastricht, even with the new high-speed link. One of the big downtown hotels was having a special, though, so I slipped over the night before. I arrived in time to take a quick walk through the central Market,
- [Sights around the town](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/sights-around-town.html) - The days are turning colder, –4C in Brussels last night, snow expected around Maastricht. It’s a festive time to be out, even though it’s with hands shoved deep into pockets and chin tucked beneath a scarf . Shop owners are opting for edgier window displays this year: it certainly grabs attention even when
- [Having, and getting, the proper papers](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/having-and-getting-proper-papers.html) - Security: Boarding pass and identification please. My passport is gone, left with my UK Tier 1 Visa application back in the Chicago. No matter, I smile and hand the agent my Dutch residency card. It’s all in being confident, as though I did this every day. ----------------------- Reflecting back, the final act of the application
- [Dutch or not Dutch](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/dutch-or-not-dutch.html) - Every morning, I start my day with a steaming cup of rich, dark Douwe Egberts coffee, made in a battered press coffeepot. (Or, as my Italian friend puts it, that coffee-flavored tea that the Dutch seem to prefer). I take small bags as gifts back to the US with me, along with stroopwafel and chocolate,
- [Feeling the contrasts](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/feeling-contrasts.html) - ‘back in Seattle for the holidays, plunging into a whirlwind of shopping, shipping, and socializing. It’s not without adjustment. I’m finding that I’ve adopted a more “voluntary simplistic” way of life in Maastricht, not quite Thoreau, but still walking to local shops, taking the train on longer trips, living without a car, trying to get
- [Musing on the Dutch Antilles](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/musing-on-dutch-antilles.html) - I was reading two articles today that got me thinking about the Caribbean. One was Expatica’s accounts of the winter snows and freezing temperatures across the Netherlands, the facts behind the photos from Maastricht and stories from friends. The other continuing story of Laura Dekker, the 14-year old sailor who fled to St Maarten last
- [Scenes around Seattle](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/scenes-around-seattle.html) - There’s always a lot of racing around town before Christmas finally arrived: shopping for food, visiting friends, picking out presents. But I also enjoy the chance to revisit the familiar landmarks: The Space Needle. The floating bridge over Lake Washington. A sort-of Christmas Market replica at the local shopping mall. A local food store for
- [Christmas eve, 2009](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/christmas-eve-2009.html) - Our very best wishes for a warm and happy Christmas, and for a new year that exceeds all expectations.
- [Reflections on the NWA bomb attempt](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/reflections-on-nwa-bomb-attempt.html) - The news here is filled with emerging details of the attempted bombing of Northwest flight 253. It’s unsettling to watch: I’ve taken that flight lots of times, working my way from Amsterdam towards Minneapolis or Seattle. It sounds like it all happened extremely quickly; I always wonder how fast or how correctly I would react
- [Wrapping up the holidays (and the moles)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2009/12/wrapping-up-holidays-and-moles.html) - It’s been a good holiday in the Pacific NW, time with family, friends, and merchants. I think I got everything done on my list, the suitcase will be bulging with sundries, hard-to-find seasonings, and books. Not much to carry on, though. The airline is advising to take as little as possible: one sack, plan to
- [It gets quiet fast](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/it-gets-quiet-fast.html) - ‘Back in the Netherlands after largely uneventful series of flights. In fact, everything went great right up until I hit the Belgian border (why am I surprised…) My two bags failed to materialize in Brussels, then the trains were thoroughly broken on the way back to Maastricht. Nonetheless, I arrived back in town in time
- [Basics of Media Law](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/basics-of-media-law.html) - In this time of New Year’s Resolutions, a good one is to spend an hour brushing up on the legal basics of journalism that are relevant to blogging. Yes, eyes glaze over immediately. But as on-line publishers of news and pictures we should know the rules. What can we copy, how do we attribute properly,
- [The long road back to the Netherlands](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/long-road-back-to-netherlands.html) - The itinerary is straightforward, taking less than a printed page. Board in Seattle, scoot north to Vancouver on the local Jazz commuter (a subsidiary of Air Canada, if you were wondering). A break, then Lufthansa for 9 hours to Frankfurt. Another break, then a CityHopper to Brussels. An express train to Maastricht on New Year’s
- [Serving two masters](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/serving-two-masters.html) - The new year is off to a fast start: phones and emails are getting active, projects are ramping up, and the to-do list is accumulating faster than the snow. At least there’s incentive to work it since the icy cobblestones and cold temperatures are inhibiting bike travel. Well, not among the true Dutch, but I’m
- [By the numbers](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/by-numbers-2.html) - I spend 40 minutes on the bike each day, level 15, good for about 25 pages of reading about world affairs in the Economist. When the articles get slow, I find myself drifting to the statistics at the back of the magazine, seeing how my adopted country is holding up relative to it’s neighbors and
- [Risk and confidence](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/risk-and-confidence.html) - How far out on the edge do expatriates live? The question raised a couple of times in Christmas card notes this year, in notes from friends, and in conversations back home. “Were you always such a risk-taker?” wrote one. It took some thought to make a reply. The truth is that I don’t see what
- [An inch per day…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/inch-per-day.html) - …adds up fast. There’s about 10 cm of snow in friend’s backyards, and the wind off the river is whipping up little drifts along the walls. Temperatures are still fairly mild, only a couple of degrees C below freezing, but there’s a layer of snow over ice that makes things treacherous. Although they’ve started skating
- [Why is it…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/why-is-it.html) - … that the snow can continue to fall, covering the fields, the footpaths, and the fietsen -- --yet the bike paths, themselves, remain stubbornly free of snow throughout the city?
- [How long can you stay an expat?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/how-long-can-you-stay-expat.html) - The Economist had an interesting article about living as a foreigner that concluded: "The funny thing is, with the passage of time, something does happen to long-term foreigners which makes them more like real exiles, and they do not like it at all. The homeland which they left behind changes. The culture, the politics and
- [Sliding across England (not)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/sliding-across-england-not.html) - I was expecting the worst during my trip to England: we’ve been seeing pictures of deep snow, snarled traffic, and sub-freezing temperatures all month. With a decimeter of snow on the ground in Maastricht, things promised to be bad across the Channel. I packed gloves, coats, heavy sweaters, and layers of sweatshirts and headed for
- [My favorite pub notice](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/my-favorite-pub-notice.html)
- [Peopled days and quiet nights](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/peopled-days-and-quiet-nights.html) - I tend to see myself as an extrovert. I enjoy a good conversation, look forward to seeing friends, have learned to make the most of networking events, and will walk a mile (in British weather) to give a pitch or hear a good lecture. The psychologic literature characterizes traits like extroversion using axes, a +/-
- [Views along the Norfolk coast](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/along-norfolk-coast.html) - I spent the weekend recharging along the coast north off Great Yarmouth, east of the Norfolk Broads. It’s both bleak and embracing in winter. Gunmetal blue roads reflect a clear sky, muddy waves stroke a deserted beach, spidery branches burst from ivy-covered tree trunks. It’s a quiet spot to listen to the wind, to curl
- [Moving the (million $) mountain](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/moving-mountain.html) - Arrived back in Maastricht on Monday, but immediately plunged into a week of work, prioritizing a few big jobs ahead of the social networks. It’s paid some dividends, a couple of big jobs are done. An elephant was the “Pitch and Prospectus” to raise money for a client. It’s the final push to get their
- [Planting the flag; defining a brand](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/planting-flag-defining-brand.html) - It’s been a bit of an embarrassment to have a business going for six months, yet not having time to establish the brand. Part of the issue has been the way that the consulting business crowds out the time to develop the product / service business. The other part has been trying to get a
- [A little overprotective?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/little-overprotective.html) - Wandering Norfolk, I was struck by the number of warning and advisory signs, posted everywhere. Uncommon in the Netherlands, they are usually only meant to prevent liability in the US. Throughout Britain, though, they take on the tone of a cautious parent. The British describe their national values as “kindness, politeness, and fair play”, sometimes
- [It won’t be long…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/it-wont-be-long.html) - Christmas decorations go up earlier every year in the US as retailers try to get a jump on holiday shoppers. So, too, with Carnivale in Maastricht. The pre-Lent celebration gets going in early February, but a few of the colorful decorations have already started to sneak into shop windows throughout the Wyck. It’s a nice
- [Here today, gone tomorrow…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/here-today-gone-tomorrow.html) - …the snow, the cold, and, now, the Carnivale camel as well. It’s been a busy week: I’ve been buried in writing all day, then off to dinner meetings three nights running. Not a good environment for keeping up with blogs and social networks. It’s been icy cold here too, miserable for scooting around on the
- [Purpose?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/purpose.html) - ‘Feeling a bit slow this week, and I felt like it showed in the blog post last night. A couple of dark pictures, a few sentences about biking in the snow, an obscure camel reference -- Without theme and drive, writing became ritual exercise. It felt purposeless. There are lots of good things that I
- [Libraries](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/libraries.html) - Google has set itself the task of digitizing all of the world’s books, sparking a continuing debate about the value of easy access vs. the rights of authors. I favor the compromise that compensates copyright holders generally while allowing access to out-of-print works, believing that more access to books is better than less. But I
- [Blogs of note and noteworthy events](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/blogs-of-note.html) - A light dusting of snow over the city this morning, not enough to impede bikers or hikers but enough to frost the buildings and streets. Intermittent parades briefly clog the streets, Carnivale celebrations beginning their happy occupation of the city. Another ray of sunshine this weekend was a note letting me know that I had
- [Snowy Sunday around Maastricht](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/01/snowy-sunday.html)
- [Perils of the morning commute](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/perils-of-morning-commute.html) - It was probably inevitable, but I had my first bicycle spill this morning. It was a slushy day, packed snow and patches of wet ice that didn’t seem particularly slick. I was bouncing along the cobblestones along a side street when I reached across to move my recycling bag from one hand to the other,
- [Stepping into the classroom](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/stepping-into-classroom.html) - I’m back in Cambridge (UK) for a few days, delivering a lecture and catching up with the students in the Medical Devices and Diagnostics course that I’m co-administering. It’s nice to be back to the University again, enjoying the conversations with people and the ambience of the institution. As I’ve gone through the process of
- [Doin’ the town](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/doin-town.html) - It’s always good to return to Cambridge: the city and the people are special to me and it’s a feeling of coming home to wander familiar streets and shops. There’s a bit of ritual to a visit. English breakfasts in the dining hall at the College, seated at long tables and striking up a conversation
- [Evolution](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/evolution.html) - Arrived at London Heathrow: a pretty efficient trip in from Cambridge this morning to catch the plane to Denver. I was exhorting the class to learn from their own experiences and those of others, noting how long things take and their own style of working. Ideally, they should find how to make good task estimates
- [Snow and planes and mp3 players](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/snow-and-planes-and-mp3-players.html) - I’m staggering across the American Midwest this week, buffeted by successive waves of winter storms. My entry via Minneapolis / Denver managed to avoid the storms that pounded Washington and Boston Friday. From the perspective of Colorado, it was hard to understand what the fuss was all about; a foot or more routinely falls and
- [Distractions](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/distractions.html) - The snow intensified last night as the storm flowed in from the prairies west of Chicago. Our hotel staff was buried in a wave of calls cancelling rooms because their planes to O’Hare were grounded, followed by a second wave of calls requesting rooms because flights out were being cancelled. “It all balances out,” sighed
- [Back to the Great White North](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/back-to-great-white-north.html) - ‘made it back to Maastricht, and wow is it *cold*. And snowy. And grey. It makes me wonder if I took a left passing through Atlanta rather than progressing on across the Atlantic as intended. I half expect to find the McKenzie brothers stocking up on Molson at the AH. The trip back was uneventful;
- [Carnivale weekend begins](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/carnivale-weekend-begins.html) - Carnivale takes off this weekend; the efffigy of the farmer’s wife will be raised tomorrow noon in the Vrijthof Square signaling the beginning of the celebration. Bands are marching over the icy stone bridge every hour, brass-bleats and drum-thumps through the clear cold air. I was taking pictures of the decorations and one reveler jumped
- [Valentines and Parades](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/valentines-and-parades.html) - Expatica published results of their new survey for Valentines day, revealing that a quarter of women move overseas for love (vs. 11% of men). It tops lifestyle choices, retirement, weather, and culture; no mention of whether it also bests “looking for work”. And a quick nod to the local best as well; we were all
- [Carnivale costumes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/carnivale-costumes.html) - Despite the weather, there were a lot of creative costumes in the parade this year. Political satire was less evident than last year, and good student entries like the Bob Ross Artists Guild were few and far between. Still, there was color, noise, smiles, and dancing: everything needed to warm a chilly February afternoon.
- [After the storms pass…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/after-storm-passes.html) - …Maastricht shows a nice early-morning portrait across the river.
- [Where has philosophy gone?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/where-did-philosophy-go.html) - I’m having a bit of a philosophical week. ‘not the sort of week where I wax philosophical, watching the rain fall while sipping tea, or one where I philosophically accept life’s torments. No, I’m in a mood to read some philosophy. I started back in graduate school, picking up Durant’s Story of Philosophy, liking the
- [Musing on class economics](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/musing-on-class-economics.html) - The floodgates have been opened and the Maas river has become muddy and swift as the winter runoff drains north. There’s a whoosh to the current this morning, tugging at the channel markers and swirling around the bridges. Floating birds are outpacing flying ones. I’ve been catching up with the news on banking reform; what
- [Just Be….](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/just-be.html) - …Playful, edgy, fabulous, real, trendy, happy: Holland. It’s a new promotional campaign, not for the Netherlands, but for the two Dutch provinces of North and South Holland. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and the Hague are part of the campaign. Weekly prize drawings that highlight various “authentic Holland” themes have been running throughout February, awarding, for example, a
- [Watching the Olympics](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/watching-olympics.html) - I’ve been enjoying the Dutch Olympic coverage on Nederland 1 this week; they do a pretty good job of sticking with events and summarizing results, although the commercial breaks feel long and repetitive. In Seattle, I used to watch the Canadian coverage because they focused more on events than on manufactured backstory; I like that
- [Whitecaps on the Maas](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/02/whitecaps-on-maas.html) - A major storm blew through Western Europe today. The teeth of it passed south of us through northern France and Germany, but I think the ‘eye’ drifted northeast pretty close to us. We’ve had absolutely howling winds here all day today. Windows blew out in the Crown Plaza hotel a block up the river and
- [Just be…comfortable?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/just-becomfortable.html) - When people ask me why I live in Europe, I often cite opportunities for work and leisure, the balance its brought to my life, the adventure of learning the language and making new friends, the travel and culture. I like the semi-urban setting in Maastricht, with specialty stores around each corner, music bars and cafe’s
- [Moving the nest](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/moving-nest.html) - Last fall, my landlord, a lovely 87-year-old matriarch, told me that it was time for me to leave. No problem with my behaviour, but she was worried that she might need a full-time caregiver some day and wanted the space where I was living. She offered a straight swap to the apartment upstairs, but it
- [On the apartment-go-round](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/on-apartment-go-round.html) - Today was the first day out on the hustlings, riding with the agent and seeing what the apartment landscape has to offer. I had been warned by friends that the market was tight: with the A2 being reconstructed through the center of town, scores of units will be lost to either side, so there’s going
- [Back in town](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/back-in-town.html) - …and back on line. Still hard to believe that a tech-y town like Cambridge isn’t better connected, but it remains a place with few public access points. In any case, it was a busy few days: first London, then Cambridge, for a mix of pitching, meeting, and apartment hunting. Generally successful, both funding and
- [Climbing the learning curve](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/climbing-learning-curve.html) - I have two ways of learning; guided immersion to come up to speed on a new topic and self-study to add increments to what’s already known. I’ve found that once I have a basic framework from a class, I can keep up with further advances on my own. If the gap is too large, dipping
- [Thursday’s bits and bobs from friends](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/thursdays-bits-and-bobs-from-friends.html) - A friend reminded me that the learning curve of my Nokia X6 echoes my affection for WH Auden’s play “The Ascent of F6: A Tragedy in Two Acts”. The mountain is haunted by the ghosts of each climber’s personal failings, and ultimately kills them all. Hopefully my smartphone is inert and benign, simply a tool
- [Linking out](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/linking-out.html) - All of the recent travel and business activity put me severely behind on my networking with the expat community, and enjoyed taking a day this week to catch up with the blogs and emails. I follow about 20 expat blogs in the Netherlands, and I appreciate reading the variety of experience and insights, photos
- [Hyperreality syndrome](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/hyperreality-syndrome.html) - A few weeks ago I went looking for a thread of modern philosophy and landed, fittingly, on postmodernism (Po-Mo). The ideas are fascinating, skeptical and questioning: it’s a provocative perspective. I particularly like the idea of “hyperreality”: the inability of consciousness to distinguish reality from fantasy. The idea is best illustrated by the Disney parks,
- [Op de radio](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/op-de-radio.html) - A high school friend, Al Grzybowski, called the other day and asked if I might be willing to do an interview for his radio show Al is a serial entrepreneur himself, having done work in drug discovery prior to his second act on the air, and it was fun to catch up with is
- [A bit of idle surfing](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/bit-of-idle-surfing.html) - I’m bound a bit closer to the apartment today; I’d hoped to take advantage of the warm weather to ride south along the river, but found that someone had vandalized my bicycle overnight. Nothing major, but they pulled the stem out of one tire and left me flat. It will take a day to get
- [Is Sarah Palin the modern Bacon?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/is-sarah-palin-modern-bacon.html) - No, there is a link, beyond Palin’s published fondness for bacon burgers… Francis Bacon, born 1561 in England, is considered the father of science. He was among the first to publish an experimental method for scientific inquiry, part of a total reconstruction of the sciences, arts and, indeed, all human knowledge. Bacon started from two
- [How complicated can it be?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/how-complicated-can-it-be.html) - My optician frowned into the computer screen: “It’s very complicated.” No, really, it’s just a lens that keeps slipping out of a cheap pair of reading glasses. ‘tightening a screw and a dab of glue? He sighed, reached for a screwdriver. “No, not that. It’s the lentenachtevening.” Lente I recognized: spring season, similar to Lent
- [Replacing the steeple](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/replacing-steeple.html) - De Basiliek van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Tenhemelopneming is one of Maastricht’s more ancient structures, dating back to the 11th century and crowned with twin towers that are a signature part of the skyline across the Maas river. For months, though, its been without the turret over the south steeple while the western side of the cathedral is reconstructed
- [Entrepreneuring with Expatica](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/entrepreneuring-in-expatica.html) - I happy to have been selected as the Expat Entrepreneur this week in Expatica.nl. It’s nice to be able to give them an acknowledgement in return: I have long subscribed to their RSS feed for local Dutch news in English, and consider them a reliable source of information and tips about life in the Netherlands.
- [Stepping back for perspective](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/stepping-back-for-perspective.html) - Today has been a tough day for solving problems. It’s not that the problems are inherently hard, but that they are intrinsically large. That means that they take time and fill the day, yet fail to close with a final solution. Riding along the riverbank in the early summer sun to take a break, I
- [Expat personality types](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/expat-personality-types.html) - Why do people seek out expatriate opportunities? I think that there are a lot of positive reasons: surveys often cite people wanting to experience foreign cultures, expand their travel opportunities, further their career or academic development, or just seeking novelty and adventure. A substantial number have married foreign nationals. Still, I have a nagging suspicion
- [Images of spring](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/images-of-spring.html) - The willows are budding, The speed traps are sprouting, The bicycles are in flower, and Dutch light glows through rainstorms at sunset.
- [Adventures in car shopping, Dutch-style](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/adventures-in-car-shopping-dutch-style.html) - The costs of renting a car to go back and forth to Cambridge are getting to be well in excess of the costs of buying a car, so I’ve decided to let the business invest a bit of cash in some mobility. Shopping for cars in the US is always an exercise in research and
- [Adventures in car shopping (Part deux)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/03/adventures-in-car-shopping-part-deux.html) - I continue to collect advice and experiences as I look for some new wheels. By the end of the weekend, things had converged to a Ford Fiesta, and a Renault Clio. Both are around 19K euro new, offer good “B” class emissions (very green, so the business gets a big tax credit), and good ratings
- [Small adventures in travel](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/small-adventures-in-travel.html) - I found a ghostly sitzmark on my back window yesterday morning. ‘never a good sign when a bird so clearly misjudges the flyway – I only hope it’s one of the many pigeons that are waking up earlier and earlier with each dawn. ============================ On my way through Schiphol this morning, I stopped to pick
- [Accidental businesses](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/accidental-businesses.html) - Out of the Netherlands and back in the US for a week, working and reprovisioning. Along the way, I caught a radio program that was describing the beneficial rise in “unintentional entrepreneurship” caused by the economic downturn. The rise in unemployment has put lots of skilled people on the streets. Without prospects, they start businesses.
- [What does your profile picture say about you?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/what-does-your-profile-picture-say.html) - A colleague and I spent the morning running through a list of people who might be able to help with a new project we were proposing. I didn’t know everyone, but I was able to do quick searches on LinkedIn and Google as we talked, getting background details and publication samples. At the end of
- [Another year gone by](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/another-year-gone-by.html) - A busy week in the US; a late flight back to the Netherlands. It was a challenge keeping ahead of things throughout the trip. The low point was grabbing a bite of dinner in a nearly empty Denny’s at midnight, finishing work on an academic paper due the next day in Rotterdam, and knowing that
- [Too old for Facebook?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/too-old-for-facebook.html) - Settling in for a long flight cross-country, I introduced myself to the person alongside, discovering that they were expert in consumer market research. We talked briefly about the best ways to reach people, whether methods differed between the US and Europe, how approaches should change along the Know-Like-Trust progression. Then, in the Financial Times, from
- [Voordeelurenabonnement](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/voordeelurenabonnement.html) - I may not be able to pronounce it, but this has been one of the best discounts going for the past year. The Voordeelurenabonnement is the NS “Off-peak discount pass”: it’s good for 40% off the price of all Dutch rail travel during off-peak periods. It costs 55 euro and is good for a year;
- [It’s complicated (ctd…endlessly)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/its-complicated-ctd.html) - I’m wrapping up a major re-configuration of my living arrangements leading up to a big swap of domiciles (domicilia?) and adding transportation at the end of the month. It’s been about six months since the notifications that forced all of the changes. My company in the UK was awarded a major (and much appreciated) research
- [Springtime under the volcano](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/springtime-under-volcano.html) - Airlines have cancelled flights across northern Europe due to the volcanic ash from Iceland (jokes comparing it to IceSave are already circulating). But it’s had no effect on our first, lovely spring day here in the Village by the Maas. The trees are finally budding, temperatures have soared, and everyone is out to soak up
- [It’s beginning to feel a lot like a Friday](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/its-beginning-to-look-like-friday.html) - Some days go better than others. I thought that things were coming together pretty well. Apartments located, car selected, lease arrangements in hand, headed out of the country to give a talk at a nice resort. By afternoon, my present landlord relayed that we had a contract and I couldn’t move until June 1, the
- [Tinkering with the AOW](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/tinkering-with-aow.html) - The Dutch Pension System is a three-legged stool, made up of the tax-supported Old Age Pension (the AOW), the employer’s pension plan, and private insurance savings. This is somewhat parallel to the American system of Social Security, employer’s defined benefit plans, and personal IRA/Roth savings plans. The AOW guarantees 70% of the minimum wage, currently
- [The volcano wins, but…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/volcano-wins-but.html) - Europe’s flight status map tells the story. Normally dense with planes, the weekend found the skies clear of clouds and planes except for the far south. I give credit to the Dutch pilots, actually taking planes up to test the risk and to collect some hard data to drive the decisions of when to start
- [Above us only sky](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/above-us-only-sky.html) - What a different world it would be if that kind of travel suddenly became impossible, or even unreliable, once again. Anne Appelbaum, Washington Post There is a flawless blue sky outside again today, not a cloud or a jet trail to be seen. The suitcase lies in the living room, half unpacked, awaiting developments.
- [On creating new content](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/on-creating-new-content.html) - The artists descended on Stenenwal this afternoon. It was a bit Gormley-esque. They lined the river, crowded the doorways, sprawled amidst pencils cases and paper pads along the cobblestones, Every horizontal surface was covered as they drew boats, sized up buildings, sketched the bridges. The style was varied, some used rulers and protractors, others slashed
- [The epithet of European style.](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/epithet-of-european-style.html) - Remember when “European Style” was something that was admired for its taste, refinement, sophistication, perhaps even a bit risqué and playful? Lately though, European-style has taken on a different meaning in the US. I first noticed it in the media, references to ‘European-style health care’ during the debates on the reform bill. Then I found
- [Local Colour](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/local-colour.html) - Walking around Albuquerque's Old Town center.
- [Seeking clarity](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/seeking-clarity.html) - I drove from Albuquerque to Santa Fe across Highway 14 yesterday, avoiding the broad, straight runway of Interstate 25. A cab driver suggested that the alternative route offered, maybe, ten minutes to the trip, but connected to villages, canyons, and passes that were much more typical of ‘real’ New Mexican landscapes. It’s an amazing place.
- [I think…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/i-think.html) - A surprising number of problems can be solved by having patience, being nice, and splitting the cost of getting what I really want. The process also teaches me the true value of what I’m asking for. After watching the documentary “This is It”, I think Michael Jackson was amazingly talented and passionate about what he
- [Living remarkably](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/04/living-remarkably.html) - A bunch of problems resolved today: apartments, lease car, business contracts, airline planning. None of them were life-threatening, but all required diligence, flexibility, negotiation, and time. Sometimes the process overwhelms the promise; things that should be easy are way too difficult and simple requests lead to inaccessible procedures. It can get discouraging, and I wonder
- [Live-Tweeting Queen’s Day](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/live-tweeting-queens-day.html) - Well, I tried anyway. Four things I learned from the demo: Check your link before starting, ditto for making sure the phone is charged, it’s hard to type-text from the middle of an active event, and… Queen’s Day in Amsterdam Rocks. Train already filled with orange teens, beer, laughter, more orange. I picked up
- [Adventures in car shopping (part trois)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/adventures-in-car-shopping-part-trois.html) - When last I reported… I’d found a deal with LeasePlan.NL on a blue Ford Fiesta, but Both my personal and business banks had turned down requests for financing. LeasePlan subsequently reviewed my business, requesting a copy of my plan and my incorporation but not my bank statements, and offered to lease the car if I
- [‘twas a lovely day…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/twas-lovely-day.html) - I’ll be in England this week, raising money for two startups and getting the miniature office / pied-à-terre finally established near Cambridge. Before leaving, though, there was an opportunity for an excursion down in the Ardennes on Sunday, hiking the Belgian hills. It was a fun time, despite the occasional rain and near-winter temperatures. Last
- [Opening Stone Bridge West](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/opening-stonebridge-west.html) - …or maybe it’s SB Central relative to the Maastricht and Seattle HQs. In any case, it would seem to be Barrington. Half of my current business centers in the UK. The costs of being a working visitor, including monthly transportation, lodging, and meals, are becoming prohibitive, so I been looking for an inexpensive semi-furnished
- [Riding Giants](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/riding-giants.html) - Stone Bridge Biomedical has been in operation since last May - ‘hardly seems that long. The accountants are preparing our annual audit and we’re picking a venue for the ‘We Survived a Year” party. It’s actually been a successful start and a wonderful experience; I value the creative and task control and the company has
- [Under the volcano, again…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/under-volcano-again.html) - I flew from Heathrow to the United States today, and, again, Iceland’s volcano intervened. Departure was delayed by more than two hours as the ash cloud blocked the route to Minneapolis, we were rescheduled onto a southern route that took nine hours rather than seven. How will we do deals and manage global projects if
- [From here to there](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/from-here-to-there.html) - I’m slowly making the adjustment, getting my mind out off the space of the British village of Barrington (left) and into the Pacific Northwest village of Woodinville (right). Okay, maybe not so much of a stretch. Apart from the scenery (and the language), though, there are real changes that I
- [Accessing overseas media content](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/accessing-overseas-media-content.html) - The Internet does a great job of keeping me connected to family and friends across the world. However, efforts to connect with various national media, from iPlayer to Hulu, run up against a brick wall of parochial indignation. I’ve worked through to a good solution (finally), and wanted to offer a brief tutorial to how
- [Saturday’s reflections](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/saturdays-reflections.html) - I’ve moved from Seattle to Boulder for a few days, attending the Heart Rhythm Society conference at the Denver Convention Center. It’s the major show for doctors who treat arrhythmic disorders of the heart, and it’s been fun catching up with the science and with colleagues. The Wall Street Journal greeted me with an editorial
- [Pitching across the UK](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/pitching-across-uk.html) - ‘been gone for a week, pitching for startup funding across various forums in the UK We have a good plan and fantastic people associated with the proposals, rights to innovative technology and a modest budget. Still, I don’t think that I can remember a harder job. When I was part of the corporate scene, ‘budgeting’
- [Back from my travels](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/back-from-my-travels-2.html) - I arrived back in the Netherlands this weekend to wonderful summer weather. The trees have full, the grass is lush, the cafe’s are bustling. It is wonderful to be back, I immediately took the bike out for a spin along the river to reconnect with the sun, smells and landscapes. I visited with friends, churned
- [Navigating new roads](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/navigating-new-roads.html) - Today’s note is a link to another blog post, but still mine. Amanda van Mulligan writes the Letter from the Netherlands blog, a literate and insightful series of essays on her experiences as a writer in Zoetermeer. She’s on maternity leave this month, and asked her expat readers to contribute guest submissions around the theme
- [Steps in moving the business](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/steps-in-moving-business.html) - Moving day is fast approaching; I’m due to pack up over the weekend, sign for the new apartment and take possession at noon on Monday, and move my archetypical “13 boxes of stuff” from the old residence to the new that same afternoon. A phalanx of phriends is on standby to grab boxes and convoy
- [Pedaling into balance](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/pedaling-into-balance.html) - One of the nice things about being self-employed is the opportunity to seek the right life balance, fitting the day’s necessary tasks alongside diversions that lift the soul a little. With the arrival of nice weather, the best temptations are all in the countryside. Especially when the day has been filled with sorting receipts and
- [Scenes from Saturday afternoon](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/scenes-from-saturday-afternoon.html) - There’s a bit of weather moving in, but the morning was sunny and the streets were full. The tour boats competed with the fishermen for space on the river… …and people stroll in twos and fours along the banks beneath the trees. The cafe’s are full, sunglasses and tank tops are everywhere… …and the apartment
- [A Corporate Quality parable](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/05/corporate-quality-parable.html) - “In Ulan Batur stories are told of the old days of central planning by people bewildered that they had once been part of it. In offices and workplaces comrades were required to keep a diary of what they planned to achieve each year. Supervisors would check the diaries religiously to insure that they were in
- [Ik heb verhuisd](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/ik-heb-verhuisd.html) - Of course, it rained… The big (and, for the moment, the last) move is complete. Everything got packed up over the weekend, probably 30 boxes overall in a tidy pile in the middle of the living room. About a third books, about a third clothes, the rest assorted kitchen, office, linens, and knick-knacks. Lots
- [Settling in](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/settling-in.html) - ‘dialing in today from ‘Stone Bridge Biomedical South, our temporary offices in the front window of the Vrijthof / McDonalds. When I need internet access in England, it’s the Starbucks; in the Netherlands, it’s the McDonalds (and ontbijt with my email…) However, when I have to do Skype, I’m dropping into the Annex: a friend’s
- [Settling into the neighborhood](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/settling-into-neighborhood.html) - The new office / residence is in the historic section of Maastricht, away from the familiar Wyck neighborhood that I’ve been living in. I still walk across the bridge to find familiar stores and services, but am also starting to explore the surrounding area. As noted, it’s flush with riverside bars and restaurants, all full
- [About the realty office…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/about-realty-office.html) - When I need to find a new residence in the Netherlands, I make the rounds of the local realty offices to see what is offered te huur (for rent) and te koop (for sale) in their windows. (I also cruise around the streets looking for rental signs in windows, but that is less efficient). When
- [In perspective and out of touch](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/in-perspective-and-out-of-touch.html) - This was movie week and, as is the norm in my generation, I find life’s truths being played out up on the big screen. I finally rented Up In The Air with George Clooney: I’d wanted to see it for a long time, anticipating personal connection and social commentary with my airborne lifestyle. I got
- [Working remotely](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/working-remotely.html) - I’m camped out at a friend’s house, milking their internet connection from their back yard table. It’s not a bad office-substitute, I like being able to make calls and take a stretch in the sunshine and fresh air. It feels like the days that teachers would move class out-doors, and we’d all discuss things Socratic-style
- [Coming together](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/coming-together.html) - I spend about half of each day working this week, the other half unpacking, shopping, arranging, pulling together the new apartment. It’s a challenge to move the goods in and the recyclables out each day; I’m learning to balance things on the bicycle to a degree that no American would normally do. It’s going well,
- [Expedition Sligro](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/expedition-sligro.html) - With the Dutch political establishment sliding right on advice of SE voters (Maastricht included?), it seems like a good time to abandon the election results and arrange a serious apartment-warming party. The weather is beautiful this morning, orange flags fluttering against a blue sky along Kesselskade, brisk breeze over the Maas. And a brisk pedal
- [Which is more important?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/which-is-more-important.html) - The Netherlands voetbal team takes the field in South Africa tomorrow evening to play their first match against the Danes in World Cup Group E. Kesselstrade is awash in orange flags and banners, and it will likely be a lively evening. A giant-screen TV was set up in the town square in Arnhem each evening
- [Trying the third ferry choice](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/trying-third-ferry-choice.html) - Now that I have a footprint in both the UK and the Netherlands, I have to get between them each month. One alternative is to take the Eindhoven – Stansted RyanAir flight: air fare, train at either end, and the bus connections usually add up to a six hour trip and over 100 euro cost.
- [The view from the other side…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/view-from-other-side.html) - …still includes a lot of voetbal… I’m a little sorry that I forgot to bring my oranje window flags to flutter along the top of the car as I whiz through the broad green hills of the Dutchy of Barrington. England – Algeria is tomorrow (the Brits should win), and the Netherlands will play the
- [Making the pitch; raising the funds](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/making-pitch-raising-funds.html) - On the pitch, Barrington Both of my businesses are in full fundraising mode, making this one of the most exhilarating and frustrating times in my experience. On the one hand, I’m able to stand in front of accomplished, insightful people and talk with them about my ideas and how to make them real. On the
- [Punting the Cam](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/punting-cam.html) - ‘Taking a weekend off from pitching the businesses: it’s been a full week and sometimes it’s important to just slow things down a bit. Cambridge has lots of traditions from earlier times that are made for that, and I always enjoy a push down the Backs. Punts are flat-bottomed wooden boats that are pushed along
- [Concert on the Cam](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/concert-on-cam.html) - And sometimes it’s nice to get the perspective from the shore. The Collegium Regale, a portion of the Kings College choir, gave their annual presentation on the river behind the iconic college on Sunday evening. It’s a good event: King’s is one of two colleges that use all male singers (St. Johns is the other),
- [Having presence](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/having-presence.html) - Machiavelli wrote that it’s better for leaders to be feared than loved. When I’m pitching to investors, though I’ve taken the opposite tack. Maybe that’s why I’m still pitching. I had a long conversation with a good friend and angel investor over dinner, talking about the difficulty of raising money. “We’ve secured matching grants, critiqued
- [It’s alles over Beesie](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/alles-over-beesie.html) - (Het is allemaal over Bessie) It started out fairly innocently. ‘just a new promotion at my local AH grocer, supporting the Dutch team at the World Cup (Hup!). The little furry beesie was kind of cute in a way…I got one for every 15 euros I spent on groceries, and collected all four colors in
- [Pitching through the week](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/06/pitching-through-week.html) - The pitch went well: I stepped away from the podium, stood straight, and assured investors that we were experienced, ambitious, and would execute the plan with their money. I did my best ‘Gates: We want your investment and participation. I stood and shook hands at our table all day. It felt good, and, at the
- [Time for a bar-b-q](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/time-for-bar-b-q.html) - It’s a longstanding tradition in the US that Independence Day weekend is made for bar-b-q’ing with friends and family. It’s generally hot and muggy throughout the country and everyone has a long holiday weekend, so folks go to the beach, fire up the grill, and share a hearty meal before the fireworks. The big football
- [A sense of space](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/sense-of-space.html) - I was listening to a BBC 2 program last night, recounting one correspondent’s adventures along Route 66, the famous US highway from Chicago to Los Angeles. All along the way, he marveled at how huge things seemed compared to England: the tall buildings, the wide parks, the endless roads, all emblemized by the towering Gateway
- [Tuesday’s garden of quotes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/tuesdays-garden-of-quotes.html) - No clever human being is so interesting that he can’t make himself more interesting still by acting retarded at random intervals. -Walter Kirn I’m at the point where all of my chips have been pushed onto the center of the table, betting that life’s hand that I’ve built up during the past year is
- [Sometimes I’m not exactly right…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/sometimes-im-not-exactly-right.html) - I certainly missed on my prediction about Germany playing the Dutch in the World Cup finals. Spain vs. Netherlands on Sunday night: I’m taking the ferry back on Saturday so that I can be in place for the big game (and immerse in the tropical heat wave washing over Maastricht). (Interlude: There was a new
- [Night of the Vuvuzela (not the waltz)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/night-of-vuvuzela-not-waltz.html) - I returned to Maasstricht late last night; the sky was lit up with thunderstorms and the midnight streets were filled with drenched refugees from the annual Andre Rieu concert week in the Vrijthof Square. Yet, even through the classical garb, soggy spirits, and tropical humidity, the vuvuzela rang out over the city. The horn, a
- [So, now life gets back to normal](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/so-now-life-gets-back-to-normal.html) - The thunderclouds rolled in from the south this morning, bringing a brief burst of rain and wind that scattered chairs and pedestrians. The temperatures moderated, the breeze shifted, and the sticky debris of a night’s celebrations washed from the cobblestones. But it was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it? ‘Like the Billy Joel song, yesterday
- [Rainy days and Mondays](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/rainy-days-and-mondays.html) - We have had two days with late afternoon ‘supercell’ storms blowing through Maastricht, of a sort I usually only see ont eh Great Plains back in teh US. Both produced intense rain and wind. headed north into the rest of the Netherlands where they topped power towers, broke trees, and flooded streets. It’s finally ended
- [The magic of Anchor Ties](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/magic-of-anchor-ties.html) - This is the view from my kitchen, at the back of my Dutch apartment. I look out across rooftops, taking in a few steeples and lanterns, tiled roofs and brick walls (and the bothel, out of sight to the left). And, over breakfast one morning, I started musing about the iron bars, some with curlicued
- [The local face of the financial crisis](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/local-face-of-financial-crisis.html) - The media and politicians have painted the past year’s financial crisis as a dance among giants. We read about banks that are too big to fail, trillion dollar government deficits, enormous TARP and stimulus packages, bailouts (or government takeovers) of pivotal industries. And now we are assured that the medicine is working, the economy is
- [Riding the Albert Canal](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/riding-albert-canal.html) - Sunday we rode around the Albert Canal, following the blue loop south of Maastricht outlined on the map above. We passed locks and had lunch in the little town of Kanne. It was a lovely afternoon. But the brief version ‘doesn’t really do justice to the day. Accurate enough, but needs some colour and narrative…one
- [Painting into the corners](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/painting-into-corners.html) - “You know, this won’t work for much longer…”, said the border control agent, riffling my passport pages. “Scarcely room for another visa stamp.” Even with the borderless advantage of the modern EU, passports seem to fill up quickly. A business trip a month, a vacation every quarter, regular trips to the UK, the pages get
- [The four-day work week](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/four-day-work-week.html) - I’ve long been accused of ‘living to work’. Nonetheless, I am a strong believer in value of having a 4-day workweek: I’ve lived it, and I (still) miss it. In the late 1980’s, I went to work for Physio-Control, a Redmond WA medical device company, then recognized as one of the nation’s 100 Best Places
- [Optimizing ferry fares](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/optimizing-ferry-fares.html) - I’m shuttling back and forth between Cambridge and Barrington, getting the rhythm and momentum of having one foot on either side of the channel. I still favor the Dutch side of the arrangement, but like the city mouse / country mouse contrast. There’s also opportunities to alternate busy meeting periods, where I scheme and deliver,
- [Associations while biking](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/associations-while-biking.html) - (…and a Random Office Art sighting.) I’m fortunate to have some great biking close to both apartments. I’ve written about the joys of the Albert Canal near Maastricht, and I took the ‘House bike’ out for a spin around the hills near Barrington. The 10% grades are killers (‘and good for me!’, I wheeze through
- [Inside / Outside](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/inside-outside.html) - ‘feeling a little bit punk today: I’ve been working pretty much straight through for a week, finishing everything on my URGENT! list. Now I’m into neglected things, catching up on old emails, and branding. Refining the purpose and public face of the business, the brand, is long overdue. During the past year, I’ve been trying
- [Lightly pondering the nature of narrative](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/lightly-pondering-nature-of-narrative.html) - IBM has developed a new form of artificial intelligence that is able to play Jeopardy (ref). The system, nicknamed Watson, has processed a vast assortment of text documents and had ‘learned’ the likely statistical associations between words and phrases. Thus, it ‘understands’ that a bicycle is often associated with Holland, Lance Armstrong, and training wheels,
- [The advantages of ruby shoes](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/advantages-of-ruby-shoes.html) - I was riding my bike this morning. listening to an analysis of the Wizard of Oz (two incongruous activities, to be sure), and heard a clip of Salman Rushdie reading from one of his early essays. Titled “Out of Kansas”, it reflects on the tension between “staying” and “leaving”, as played out in the song
- [Bobbing and surfing](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/bobbing-and-surfing.html) - A big difference between corporate and indie work is my exposure to waves. There are highs and lows of workload, ebb and flow of cash balances, rhythms of customer and supplier interest. And, like journeying out onto the open ocean in a small boat, I now feel waves that previously passed unnoticed beneath the longer
- [Does expatriate experience change politics?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/07/does-expatriate-experience-change.html) - Isabella posted her Dutch Top 20 over at A Touch of Dutch this week, her list of interesting observations on her expat experience. It’s a good set: I had no idea that the Dutch write their number ‘8’ different than we do. I was particularly intrigued by her answer number 13: “Since you've lived in
- [Skadefesten 2010](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/skadefesten-2010.html) - Since I don’t know enough Dutch to keep up with the daily newspapers, I’m occasionally, and delightfully, surprised by unexpected festivals. Such was the case last night: I came back from dinner with friends to find that my street had been taken over by Kesselskade Festen. There was a music stage, cheap beer, lots of
- [What if everyone learned Dutch?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/what-if-everyone-learned-dutch.html) - BBC Radio hosts a weekly segment during the Forum roundtable called “60-second Ideas to Change the World”. Recently, Dutch-born author Ian Buruma proposed that everyone should learn Dutch as their first foreign language, worldwide, no exceptions. His argument was that it has a rich literature, it is spoken by many people, and that nobody
- [Navigating the checkout systems](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/navigating-checkout-systems.html) - The Chicago Tribune recently published advice to travelers about paying for goods with credit cards in Europe. The prevalence of Chip and PIN systems has diminished reliance on magnetic card readers,they report, leading to situations where "In some of the smaller shops, some of the clerks are young, and have not used magnetic stripe cards
- [Village vintage car evening](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/village-vintage-car-evening.html) - It was getting to be past five and I was moving from closing the books to paying the bills. I dropped into Schwab to check an account balance, and was greeted with their latest Helpful Tip for my retirement accounts. Honestly, there’s little in this squib that' makes me feel good about saving, spending, aging,
- [Doing Duxford (IWM)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/doing-duxford-iwm.html) - Just down the road, away to the south and a bit to the west, is a hive of activity, a buzz of circling planes marking flat grassy fields nestled into the rolling Cambridgeshire hills. From the ground, dark Constable clouds meet Monet meadows at a distant horizon. There’s a hum of activity as tractors move
- [Ben ik 't’huis?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/ben-ik.html) - Ja, and it’s an easier question to answer than waar is t’huis, because almost anywhere is affirmative these days. I arrived back in Maastricht late last night after a busy week in the UK. There were design meetings with Industrial Engineering folks, sorting through the use scenarios and interfaces between the transponder component of the
- [Bikes (and art and boats)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/bikes-and-art-and-boats.html) - ‘getting back in stride with things in the Netherlands; it’s surprising how much slips by during even a week out of the country. I’ve been catching up with the government, switching my mind back into Dutch, and, of course, making peace with the bicycle. I miss riding when I’m away: I abandon the car willingly
- [Naar Valkenburg](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/naar-valkenburg.html) - Saturday was the last sunny day forecast for the next week, so it was delightful when friends asked about a bike trip out to Valkenburg. The city, formally Valkenburg aan de Geul, is a 16th century fortress town about a half-hour cycle ride east of Maastricht in the rolling farmland of South Limburg. It’s a
- [Costs of doing business](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/costs-of-doing-business.html) - Expats make mistakes. Sometimes it’s just that we take something for granted; other times we just don’t get it. And sometimes, it’s just that we’re in a hurry and not really paying attention and, well, things happen. My top eleven costly mistakes include: Locksmith – €10 Shortly after moving apartments, my landlord re-keyed the doors
- [Bummer](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/bummer.html) - The New York Times has published an article about efforts to curb drug abuse in Maastricht by closing the coffeehouses to non-residents – this seems to be my week for drug stories. I got stopped by a carload of kids asking the way to ‘Mississippi’ on Monday evening – I’ve been a resident long enough
- [On beyond the horizon](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/on-beyond-horizon.html) - I’m taking a long-overdue vacation next week, genuinely disconnecting from online- and business- responsibilities. It’s become painful watching the Europeans disappear on holiday for weeks at a time while I keep working through the summer. ‘Time for a break. Water or wilderness fit my mood, so this is going to be a sailing holiday in
- [Op Stockholm](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/op-stockholm.html) - Stockholm has always been one of my favorite cities, red walls and green copper roofs nestled across islands in the center of blue water and evergreen wilderness. I nibble Swedish game dishes in Gamla Stan, wander the many museums, ride the ferries, enjoy the people enjoying the brief summer. It’s a wonderful jumping-off point. The
- [Stockholm by night](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/stockholm-by-night.html) - Okay, off to the boat! Stockholm has been wonderful for a couple of days, ‘hope the weather holds in the Archipelago. A quieter night last night, too: the Classic American Car show that has been roaring through our quarter seems to have rolled on after the weekend. The cars were wonderful while they lasted though…
- [T’was a good vacation](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/twas-good-vacation.html) - Moored for the day at Findhamn, Sweden
- [Aspiration](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/aspiration.html) - Self-help sections of bookstores are crowded with two types of books: those promising a way back (with -ing in the subject: recovering, healing) and those promising a way forward (with –al in the subject: motivational, inspirational). At the far end of the latter lie the Aspirational guides to becoming who you aren’t. Yet. An insightful
- [Into the Archipelago](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/into-archipelago.html) - The ‘Archipelago’ is a wedge-shaped bay, filled with islands, lying between Stockholm (pink, at the left of the map) and the Baltic Sea on the east side of Sweden. Consisting of over 20,000 islands and shielded from tides and waves, it’s home to a lot of vacation cottages, nature refuges, and some of the best
- [Ports of Call](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/ports-of-call.html) - Three nights; three islands. The first was Uto. The yard assured us that it lie only six hours to the south, but sailing into a headwind left us with a large stretch of open water to cross as dusk fell. The harbor was not well marked, but we managed to spot it along the north
- [Tuesday’s Links](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/08/tuesdays-links-2.html) - Preface: No pix for a few days, sorry. While scrambling over the front of the boat while docked in Uto, the camera popped out of my pocket and into the Baltic. We recovered it and the memory card and battery were okay, but the camera is lost. At lease the salvage operation provided some diversion
- [Blowing around the Windy City](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/blowing-around-windy-city.html) - Work wrapped up with intensity approaching the three-day Labor Day weekend in Chicago. It was a productive week but a busy one, unusual, too, for being in an office again. I’ve been working from home and hotel rooms for a year, now, and having desks with colleagues nearby, all day, is a change. I ended
- [Washing down fudge with beer](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/washing-down-fudge-with-beer.html) - Living as an expatriate means adopting to local customs and manners, and after years abroad, those come to feel completely normal. Thus, it’s an effort to adopt home practices again (I still say Dank u wel to clerks and marvel that all the conversations around me are so understandable). But I’m finding that the best
- [Planes and Trains](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/planes-and-trains.html) - For the London Evening Standard, it was “Defiant Commuters beating the Tube strike.” For me, it was squinting through jet lag to say “What do you mean ‘I can’t get to Piccadilly??” The flight back to the Continent was great, I got bumped up because few fliers travel during the Labor Day weekend – seats
- [Squandering city life](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/squandering-city-life.html) - ‘visiting Chicago last week, I ended up with a free weekend and a rental car: a chance to go and do whatever I wanted. I spun through the suburbs, looked at my old residences, did a little necessity shopping, and dropped through a local Greek festival. It was empty and cheerless, overpriced food and windswept
- [Close, close, close](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/close-close-close.html) - Now that I’m back in Cambridge I’m spending almost every day this week in London. It’s been up early and down to the station for the early trains to the City, working in transit, angling for off-peak fares. It’s all for a purpose, of course. There are three major funding opportunities in the next two
- [Scarecrows of Haslingfield](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/scarecrows-of-haslingfield.html) - In the UK, I live in ‘The Villages’, rural areas encircling central Cambridge. Mostly small farming communities with venerable clusters of thatched buildings, they keep longstanding traditions and value their quiet ambience. Haslingfield is a good example, a cluster of homes around a central meadow, a big stone church, a butcher and a general store,
- [Sorting through business books (and minds)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/sorting-through-business-books-and.html) - I browsed the book tables last week, evenings in Chicago, looking for a diversion and insight. With business weighing on my mind, I cruised through the management and economics sections. Unfortunately, they are heavily dominated with single-thought manifestoes with single word titles: Blink, Bang, Think, Switch, Empowered, Zapp, Drive, Power, Nudge, Rework, and Linchpin. No,
- [Missin’ the Dutch vibe](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/missin-dutch-vibe.html) - I have to admit that I’m feeling ready to be back in the Netherlands again. It’s really nothing against the job, or England, or travel, or people. It’s been a good trip to Cambridge and the US, with some fun times, a lot accomplished, and a wonderful break up in Sweden. But I’m missing friends
- [Daydreams and Night Journeys](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/daydreams-and-night-journeys.html) - The London Business Angels pitch went well last night, and it looks like we finally hit our message and are gaining some momentum. Startup businesses fund their growth through a succession of investors. Initial costs are covered by founders and grants, then incubated through angel investors, before becoming big and successful enough to attract VCs
- [Selling the transmitter](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/selling-transmitter.html) - As a Vanderbilt Universtiy undergrad in 1972, I joined the campus radio station, WRVU, as a late night DJ. Yes, that’s me, Dashing Dave, holding forth from the south tower of Neely Auditorium on the 10-watt powerhouse ‘Rock of Nashville’. And, today, I got a note from the University asking how I felt about a
- [Autumn in the air](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/autumn-in-air.html) - Barrington’s town green is transformed this weekend. There are dark, leaden clouds overhead, filling the blue skies and blocking the sunshine. The bordering trees are getting a touch of color in their leaves. The white cricket uniforms that dotted the field every weekend have been replaced by yellow and red football jerseys. Autumn has arrived
- [Cambridge county fair](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/cambridge-county-fair.html) - Okay, it’s got Lardy Cakes and Perry Drinks instead of fried beer and cider, but there’s still lots that’s familiar in the fall festival now sprawled across Parker’s Piece in Cambridge. When the kids were growing up, we’d attend the big Puyallup or Evergreen State Fairs each fall. The animal barns were always their favorites,
- [Locking down Adobe Flash](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/locking-down-adobe-flash.html) - An article in the New York Times today revealed that Adobe Flash maintains separate storage for Flash, creating a rabbit hole for third party trackers to hide. The cache holds Flash browsing cookies and third-party applications, separate from the public cache used by IE and Firefox. Clearing the browser cache and cookies from your computer
- [Brits don’t love their bikes…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/brits-dont-love-their-bikes.html) - …the way the Dutch do. (but they still lock them, just in case.)
- [Swarms and flocks](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/swarms-and-flocks.html) - A University attracts Names, each seeking a public forum for their Ideas, creating a steady current of speakers through the lecture halls of Cambridge. The schedule is published online and I’ve decided to make the most of the chance to stir my thoughts and challenge my mind. So I arrived at Adaptive Networks and Bio-Inspired
- [Struggling to contain Utility Bills](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/struggling-to-contain-utility-bills.html) - It’s a fact that utility bills are higher in Europe than in the US. It seems the same in the Netherlands or the UK: water, gas, heat, phone service can take a big bite out of monthly budgets. For example, electric rates: UK Residential: 22.187 p per kWh (.35 per kWh) (2010 e-On Standard rate)
- [Missions to the middle kingdoms](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/missions-to-middle-kingdoms.html) - Wolfson College sponsored a talk yesterday by Sir Anthony Brenton, a retired British diplomat and recent ambassador to Russia. It’s always interesting to hear stories from people at the center of events, and Sir Anthony was eloquent about why the world needed diplomats, what ambassadors do, and how they flourished during the ‘Golden Age” of
- [Op de pier, dicht bij de zee.](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/op-de-pier-dicht-bij-de-zee.html) - Today’s art is Mondrain’s Ocean and Pier / Composition 10, one of many works that he did exploring this theme. The jutting pier is represented by the verticals at the lower center, while the texture of the water is implied by the contrasting reflections around it, receding to the horizon, with sky above. I visited
- [Building towards social networks](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/building-towards-social-networks.html) - I was talking with a colleague today who is preparing to take on a new role as editor of a bimonthly (every two months, vs. semimonthly, twice a month) journal. It’s been run as a traditional media product up to this point, paper stories mailed to subscribers. The new management wants to create a more
- [Configuring an idea(l) conference](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/configuring-ideal-conference.html) - I was talking with friends the other night about what makes a good research conference. There was a time when it was a big conference, filled with important people and companies all showing off their latest findings and innovations. It was a distant city, a nice hotel, good dinners, and visits by the corporate brass.
- [Scenes from Portrush](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/09/scenes-from-portrush.html) - ‘Enjoying a few days of remarkably sunny weather along the north Irish coast. It’s a beautiful area and a good chance to explore both the new geography and some new ideas.
- [A failure of imagination](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/failure-of-imagination.html) - When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is probably wrong. When I first began going to scientific conferences to present my graduate work, I could always count on questions from grumpy older scientists. These would be distinguished folks
- [The Troubles, old and new](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/troubles-old-and-new.html) - I had very little understanding of Belfast’s history before I made a day’s visit there. Back in the 80’s, I was vaguely aware of the rioting, fiery pictures in the magazines and the IRA to blame, so we were told. But I had little insight into the people or issues behind it all. Visiting Belfast
- [Rough and Tumble](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/rough-and-tumble.html) - Status: Dave did not have an easy time of things today We met with four of the six angel investors interested in financing our company, reviewing our investment proposal and progress towards our first product. It’s an in-depth discussion of our plans and budgets, challenging every assertion and assumption, rapid-fire questioning for several hours. The
- [Re-ex-patriation](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/re-ex-patriation.html) - August/September was my longest trip away from the Netherlands since I moved here four years ago. I hadn’t planned to be gone for more than a couple of weeks, but an opportunity, sudden time in someone’s schedule, a meeting, planning and training: one thing led to another, and time passed. There’s adjustment in returning, and
- [Doing my civic duties](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/doing-my-civic-duties.html) - My daughter sent me a video clip from the Amazing Race, a US television show in which pairs of contestants race around the world, competing for 1 million dollars. Along the way, there are various detours and challenges, and, in this one, a woman trying to slingshot a watermelon got hit in the face. She’s
- [House and home](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/house-and-home-2.html) - "A house is made with walls and beams. A home is made with love and dreams." The anonymous lines have been on my mind lately, lofting as I am between three residences. My imagined solution for the ‘empty next’ was to swap the big house rather than maintain it, perhaps for three smaller places on
- [Browsing bookshelves](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/browsing-bookshelves.html) - Dutch homes always have a collection of books, often placed on shelves near the front windows where they can be seen from the sidewalk. American houses tend to follow a British model, where books are in a separate study, off the public areas in a quieter part of the house. The Kettle’s Yard house had
- [Cold nights and warm drinks](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/cold-nights-and-warm-drinks.html) - There was a cold mist rising off the Maas this morning, drifting past my windows and between the piers of the St. Servatius bridge. Students bundled tightly against the damp chill, hunched over pedals on their way to school. I sipped a mug of coffee, warming and watching autumn arriving. As the weather cools, the
- [Maastricht colour](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/maastricht-colour.html)
- [It’s a process](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/its-process.html) - The fields and villages scrolled past the National Rail line, threads of mist still clinging to the grassy hills. It’s starting to really feel like fall across Britain now. Lines of trees glow yellow and orange against the blue morning sky; the BBC is predicting frost overnight. The pivotal funding meeting a week ago had
- [A week of ideas (and product trials)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/week-of-ideas-and-product-trials.html) - Heading back on the road for ten days, first with a presentation at the Acute Care conference in Copenhagen, then back to the US before heading back to the Netherlands. Well past the 100K airmiles threshold for the year, ‘wondering what delights await me if I hit Diamond Level (Free Lounge Access, promises the website.
- [Updating my cardiac knowledge](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/updating-my-cardiac-knowledge.html) - Back on the road, and it takes it’s toll. The ‘week of ideas’ became a ‘week of silent contemplation’, working from early morning late into the evening in the UK, Copenhagen, and now the US. Sometimes life gets ahead of good intentions. The European Society of Cardiology Acute Cardiac Care meeting was in Copenhagen last
- [Constructions in Copenhagen](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/constructions-in-copenhagen.html) - Unfortunately, I didn’t get into Copenhagen to enjoy the city: I usually try to get one night at Tivoli gardens and visit a restaurant along the inner harbor, at a minimum. The Gardens are a wonderful blend of music, flowers, rides, and food, especially good on midsummers night when the witches are burned as traditional
- [Peterborough Cathedral](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/peterborough-cathedral.html) - The East of England has several great cathedrals, raised above the Fens centuries ago and lovingly embellished across the years. I’d heard a lot about the Peterborough’s Cathedral, but it’s an hour outside of Cambridge, too far for a casual outing. But, when Amazon inexplicably left a book for me to pick up there, it
- [Deadlines and checkpoints](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/deadlines-and-checkpoints.html) - The computer has (again) suffered a glitch, with the operating system choosing to ignore the wireless card. I can still run the internet off a LAN wire, but it means working offline for a while, then running to make a connection to upload and download, then disconnecting to rejoin the office. Sony is chewing through
- [Health insurance choices](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/health-insurance-choices.html) - The linkage between having a job and having health insurance is much stronger in the United States than in the Netherlands. As a result, the process for buying insurance from the free market becomes very distorted. First, there is the cost distortion. When I worked for a corporation, my family health plan cost $400 per
- [You’re connected…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/youre-connected.html) - … maybe more than you thought. I tend to segregate my social networks, creating small walled gardens of friends and colleagues around different purposes. So, for example, Facebook holds personal friends, while LinkedIn is for professional colleagues. There are probably half a dozen services that I populate with different kinds of content (status, text, photos,
- [Seeing the sights at Schiphol](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/seeing-sights-at-schiphol.html) - ‘A new-record 24 hours on flights from the US to Heathrow this week. 50 mph winds in the midwest forced flight cancellations and delays: the ticket agents advised me to hit the phones to Delta and see if I could get more help than they could give. A routing through Canada and the Netherlands turned
- [The wisdom of Sahlman](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/wisdom-of-sahlman.html) - More cash is better than less cash. Cash sooner is better than cash later. Less-risky cash is better than more-risky cash. NEVER run out of cash. Back in Cambridge for a few days, autumn settling in (above). Its the usual whirl of meetings before headed back to the Netherlands at the weekend. I’ve pinned the
- [Cambridge autumn](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/10/cambridge-autumn.html) - We had a sunny fall day in Cambridge yesterday for the Festival of Ideas. The day was really too nice to spend much time indoors listening to lectures though. The fall colors only come once a year and last for about a week.
- [Making cheap calls from Europe](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/making-cheap-calls-from-europe.html) - Disclaimer: I am giving my own account of these services, and have not been asked for nor compensated for my comments. Overseas calls, especially from mobile phones, are hugely expensive in Europe. Tariffs are generally in the 1 GBP (1.2 Euro) per minute range, and may include additional fees for network access. I recently discovered
- [Shoots of new growth](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/shoots-of-new-growth.html) - The Great Recession has been hard on Maastricht as it has over much of the US and Western Europe. There are a lot of storefronts for rent, a lot of ‘going out of business’ sales. A venerable chocolate shop two doors up from my apartment closed in October; a stationary shop where I bought business
- [Pneumatic chemistry in Markt Square](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/pneumatic-chemistry-in-markt-square.html) - It’s something that the average citizen of Maastricht sees almost every week, yet it links to something that they haven’t seen in over a century. And they connect through the now-mysterious medium of pneumatic chemistry. Around 1600, Jan Baptiste van Helmont, a Flemish chemist, determined that there were vapors distinct from atmospheric air, which had
- [A beautiful Dutch day](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/beautiful-dutch-day.html) - I used to listen to The Overnightscape, a podcast by a native New Yorker who recounted his daily adventures in Manhattan. One of his staples was a search for the Beautiful Breakfast, involving stops at a half-dozen neighborhood eateries to pick up various components. Similarly, a delightful day among the Dutch involves some roaming to
- [Skimming the trees](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/skimming-trees.html) - I’m convinced that the secret to business success is to stay alive long enough to find your audience. New business success is fraught with risk, seldom actually related to whether the underlying idea is any good or whether the technology will work. As I meet other entrepreneurs, I’m almost always convinced of their talent and
- [Can expats be intolerant?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/can-expats-be-intolerant.html) - I met some fellow-expats for dinner the other night: the US election was just past and the results were on everyone’s mind. It was a mixed group, Democrats feeling wounded, Republicans feeling vindicated. What surprised me was the intensity of the anti-Obama feeling among the conservatives, justified by demonstrably false beliefs about his heritage, beliefs,
- [Books on the nightstand](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/books-on-nightstand.html) - Although winter is in the air, I am only just catching up with Cam 60, the summer edition of the University’s alumni magazine. Big, glossy, and parochial, the quarterly issues are full of news only a ‘Light Blue’ could love, targeted to Cambridge’s wealthy elder audience of potential donors. “The Best Statue in Cambridge” and
- [Catching up around the neighborhood](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/catching-up-with-neighbors.html) - A misty grey morning in East Anglia – thick dampness rolls out of the fens and across the fields, diffusing the morning sunlight and coating the fields with droplets. The birds and bunnies hide, huddled against the chill; a light frost whitens the roof of the car. The coffee’s brewed, but the apartment’s quiet and
- [Is this window offensive?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/is-this-window-offensive.html) - A local clothing store in the center of the Old City in Maastricht posted this window t highlight their selection of winter clothing. It’s aroused a lot of comment, some think it’s a harmless bit of humor, others that its an offensive bit of public graffiti Coming off of a reflection on tolerance last week,
- [Internationaal Realisme](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/internationaal-realisme.html) - Franz Radziwill Bernd Schwerig Sigurd Kuschnerus… I sighed, the corner of my notebook filling up with names. There would be hours on the internet looking these folks up. But the works are just amazing: the subjects, the detail, the patience. Although I went to Rotterdam’s Kunsthal for the Munch exhibit (about which, more later), I
- [Why are Dutch women happy?](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/why-are-dutch-women-happy.html) - ‘An intriguing post over on Slate today: What Makes Dutch Women so Happy? The answer would seem to be ‘Part-time work’, which contributes to their overall balance and quality of life. This contrasts with the New York Times article on the same topic back in 2007, concluding that the secret was ‘Personal Freedom’. I’m not
- [The cost of connecting](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/cost-of-connecting.html) - Business travel is expensive. My goals are to be on scene, on time, and not to inconvenience my clients. As a result, there’s often little choice of dates, my hotel must be convenient to the site, and meals tend to be either very fast or very expensive. So I’m always looking for ways to better
- [Traveling among the Dutch](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/traveling-among-dutch.html) - I headed back to the US this week, business meetings, my daughter’s 21st birthday, the run-up to Thanksgiving. For the most part, it went smoothly: neither the holiday nor the terror alerts in Germany caused a noticeable increase in crowds or delays at security. I was hearing a lot of concerns about the new TSA
- [It’s beginning to look a lot like…](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/its-beginning-to-look-lot-like.html) - …winter. Dropped into Seattle last Saturday, and snow followed. It started this afternoon and has started snowing harder all evening. We’ve had friends drop in who couldn’t get home with the ice and traffic snarls on the roads, get a bit of warm drink and food, and then off into the snow again. The airport
- [Piled higher and deeper](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/piled-higher-and-deeper.html) - Some of us remember that as an old joke defining PhD, but in Woodinville, it’s the scene outside after a night’s snowfall. I’m on the plane back to the UK tomorrow, but got out with Wyatt (daughter’s pooch) for an early-morning walk. The snow collects int eh evergreens in endless patterns, and the early light
- [Back in Europe](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/back-in-europe-2.html) - I left snowy Seattle for, well, snowy Minneapolis, my first stop on the way back through London. The blue skies over the northern US contrasted nicely with the sculptured snow spread across plains and mountains below. Lovely to look at from 30,000 feed with a flat light. Still, it seems early: only November and a
- [Top tech surprises (and disappointments)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/top-tech-surprises-and-disappointments.html) - I recently heard a radio show describing the best unanticipated technologies: thinking back to what you expected of technology back in the 1980’, what has surprised and delighted you now that it’s 2010? It’s a great question: here’s my winners (and a few losers): Telecommunications: A computer that you can hold in your hand, find
- [Keeping up (almost)](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/11/keeping-up-almost.html) - Life has been a whirl since touching down at Heathrow last week. There’s been a pitch or presentation every day, hours-long telephone meetings, ever-growing to-do lists. and snow. The weather was unusual in Seattle, where three inches turned hills into ice-slides. It was expected in Minneapolis, where blowing snow obscured the runways. But it’s surprising
- [Winter around Cambridge](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/12/winter-around-cambridge.html) - A rare snowfall around the cities: Barrington and London: Markets and neighborhoods (bike riders undeterred, as in Maastricht): …and the Backs and Kings College:
- [ERC in Porto](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/12/erc-in-porto.html) - The 2010 Cardiac Resuscitation Guidelines were released a month ago, detailing the best thinking on how to save victims of sudden cardiac arrest. It’s a dynamic field: there are always new ideas alongside old ones, evidence pro and con, all working towards improving the dismal survival rates of out-of-hospital events (currently less than 7%). The
- [Changing seasons](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/12/changing-seasons.html) - The rain turned unexpectedly warm overnight, so I was able to wait for the 601 bus without shivering in Porto’s pre-dawn quiet. An air traffic controllers strike in Madrid, then rumors of snow in the Netherlands, put our flight in doubt but there were worse fates of staying another day in Portugal. Porto is a
- [Cannonball Run](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/12/cannonball-run.html) - On the map, it was a finger-length. The route strayed in spots, but generally arrowed west along motorways and flat countryside, bypassing cities. Not that it mattered, I’d likely be on the ring roads before (or after) any commuters were thinking of using them. In a word, easy. Just point the car, press the gas,
- [The Aachen Market](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/12/aachen-market.html) - Each Christmas, I take home a selection of seasonal pastries and crafts from the local markets. My mother’s side of the family is German, my father’s is British, so I end up making stops on both sides of the Channel for traditional fare. The Aachen Christmas Market, just across the border from Maastricht, is a
- [Hanging around Amsterdam](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/12/hanging-around-amsterdam.html) - I closed the apartment in Maastricht for the holidays and headed north, market lights behind and city lights ahead. A family friend discovered a free day between business appointments and we planned a day to see the Amsterdam; now the snow and rain ended leaving the happy prospect of sunshine for walking the city. The
- [Munch in the Kunsthal](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/2010/12/munch-in-kunsthal.html) - This instantly recognizable painting by Norwegian symbolist painter Edvard Munch is not on view through February 20 at the Kunsthal in Rotterdam. It does, however, capture a lot of the qualities of Munch’s work that I admire: the swirling colors, intense emotions, and haunted figures. Sometimes his portraits express difficult feelings so very clearly, other

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- [Privacy & Disclosure Policy](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/privacy-disclosure-policy) - (Adapted from Seth Goodin's Blog Disclosure, because it's a good idea to be up-front with everyone. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2004/12/blog_disclosure.html ) My goal in creating this blog is to share my ideas and hopefully create a conversation that will generate something more than we each started with. I write about what I find interesting and I think will
- [About Me](https://randomwalksinlowcountries.com/about-me) - (Updated January 2010) Background I grew up in the Midwestern US, developing early interests in science and computers, reading lots, spending summers canoeing in northern Minnesota and, later, living on a farm as an exchange student in Switzerland. Undergraduate work in mathematical physics at Vanderbilt University led to graduate work in biomedical signal processing, where

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