As you can read in many of my posts, I drive a motorbike. It’s a bigun! A BWM R1100GS from 1997. 80HP, 97 Nm torque, 240 kg (dry!!) and 840 mm seat hight.
Probably a bit too big for a first bike, but I like to travel with it, and this is the ultimate traveling bike. Perhaps you’ve seen the long way round (or the long way down, which was the sequel)? This bike is the predecessor of that one.
Anyway, during driving lessons in Holland (where I got my license last year) there is a lot of emphasis on bike control. The idea being that you’re going to get into situations where you’re range of options is going to be extremely limited, so you’d better feel like the bike is an extension of your body, or you’re going to end up as a red stain in the highway.
This video shows a driving instructor-friend of mine (and a fellow GS driver) demonstrating how it’s supposed to be done… Don’t try this at home ;-) )
Thursday, 8 October 2009
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Brilliant answering phone message
A school in Australia has apparently had enough of certian parents who are blaming the failure of their kids to perform adequately on the school.
They now have a new message on their answering phone.
Enjoy!
They now have a new message on their answering phone.
Enjoy!
Monday, 21 September 2009
Sex Offender 2
the more I think about it, the more Im deeply troubled about the plight of Helen Goddard
Im just going to throw out a few thoughts. They wont be fair (not claiming to be either), they wont be balanced. They should be thought provocing. thats all.
1) as long as I read about under 16s stabing each other in gang related crime, I think the police & justice should stop worrying about a 16 year old having consensual sex.
2) I mentioned that I feel the parents are the only ones who are benefiting from the conviction. that seems pretty harsh, doesnt it?
Well, lets re-examine the facts..
a) prestigious school in central london. child prodigy teacher etc.
Conclusion: wealthy parents.
Much more so that the parents of for instance Shakilus Townsend (randomly picked case). he was murdered in London. Every month someone underaged is murdered in London.
conclusion: root cause of teen killings not yet found. More work needed. (but they are too busy convicting someone of having underaged, consentual sex!)
So are we back to class justice? A small crime to a rich kid merits as much attention as a big crime to a poor kid?
3) At what age do kids in the UK on average have their first sexual experience?
Lets assume 16. (and I think that’s quite conservative, I lost mine when I was 12…).
In what percentage of this, is the partner 18+?
Id say more than 5 %. Especially if you accept that girls are more mature than boys at that age, and that having a adult boyfriend with a car (or at least a license) would be pretty handy. Being above the 5% threshold makes it (in scientific terms) significant.
So in convicting this girl for something which a significant portion of us have done ourselves, we’ve just made a sham out of justice. Would you (if you're one of the significant 5%) consider it fair or desirable if we went back to the partner you lost your innocence with, and chucked them in jail for it?
4) What harm is coming to the daughter? Does that justify the harm done to the teacher? And is this "justice" removing any harm? Who is feeling better now? (the pare..)
Who are we serving here? Cause there is someone paying a high price, so we’d better make pretty damn sure we know that its doing some good…
dont get me wrong. Im not saying the teacher should walk away scott free. She had an intimate relationship with a pupil, and thats not ok. Trust etc damaged, school rep hurt, not a clever or good thing to do, and some consequence should be attached to it.
But this seems more like a case for a reprimand, losing a job and having a damaged reputation. Perhaps a fine would be in order (seems too much to me already).
But JAIL???
Really, we think that in our society, someone who does this should be sent to JAIL?? For 15 months??
Im just going to throw out a few thoughts. They wont be fair (not claiming to be either), they wont be balanced. They should be thought provocing. thats all.
1) as long as I read about under 16s stabing each other in gang related crime, I think the police & justice should stop worrying about a 16 year old having consensual sex.
2) I mentioned that I feel the parents are the only ones who are benefiting from the conviction. that seems pretty harsh, doesnt it?
Well, lets re-examine the facts..
a) prestigious school in central london. child prodigy teacher etc.
Conclusion: wealthy parents.
Much more so that the parents of for instance Shakilus Townsend (randomly picked case). he was murdered in London. Every month someone underaged is murdered in London.
conclusion: root cause of teen killings not yet found. More work needed. (but they are too busy convicting someone of having underaged, consentual sex!)
So are we back to class justice? A small crime to a rich kid merits as much attention as a big crime to a poor kid?
3) At what age do kids in the UK on average have their first sexual experience?
Lets assume 16. (and I think that’s quite conservative, I lost mine when I was 12…).
In what percentage of this, is the partner 18+?
Id say more than 5 %. Especially if you accept that girls are more mature than boys at that age, and that having a adult boyfriend with a car (or at least a license) would be pretty handy. Being above the 5% threshold makes it (in scientific terms) significant.
So in convicting this girl for something which a significant portion of us have done ourselves, we’ve just made a sham out of justice. Would you (if you're one of the significant 5%) consider it fair or desirable if we went back to the partner you lost your innocence with, and chucked them in jail for it?
4) What harm is coming to the daughter? Does that justify the harm done to the teacher? And is this "justice" removing any harm? Who is feeling better now? (the pare..)
Who are we serving here? Cause there is someone paying a high price, so we’d better make pretty damn sure we know that its doing some good…
dont get me wrong. Im not saying the teacher should walk away scott free. She had an intimate relationship with a pupil, and thats not ok. Trust etc damaged, school rep hurt, not a clever or good thing to do, and some consequence should be attached to it.
But this seems more like a case for a reprimand, losing a job and having a damaged reputation. Perhaps a fine would be in order (seems too much to me already).
But JAIL???
Really, we think that in our society, someone who does this should be sent to JAIL?? For 15 months??
Sex offender??
Today I read that a female music teacher (26) was sentenced to three things.
1) jail (15 months!!!)
2) humiliation and the subsequent social troubles
3) she's being placed on a sex offenders list.
Now what would this horrible person have done to deserve this punishment. After all, murderers, gangsters and rapists frequently get punishments only a factor 3 higher...
She had an affair with a 16 year old student.
Thats it.
The student admitted initiating it, admitted liking it, and admitted that the whole damn affair was consensual. So who exactly are we protecting from this awfully harmful teacher? The girl, who lost her innocence before her 18th?
Ok, please raise your hands if you remained a virgin untill you were of age please... Ah, you sir, in the back, congratz!
Or are we protecting the conscience of the parents. Those poor heartbroken parents who were so attentive that they didn’t notice anything for half a year? But now they can say that "they stood up for their daughters’ honour!"
Quite frankly, if i were the daughter, Id feel awful. Someone I had a love affair with (i.e. someone I had/have warm and intimate feelings towards) is ending up in jail (15 months amongst rapists, thieves and murderers!!! she'll get out in 2011!!), seeing her career, name and privacy destroyed, and is hurt to the bone.
Now we have two options.
1) The daughter is heartbroken. She feels guilty, has lost a lover, doesn’t feel supported in her choices and has been "cut down to her underage size!! "you do what I say dear girl", says dear, loving Dad." etc etc. Who the hell does she think she is making decisions (at the frightfully young age of 16. Which is also when people are expected to be able to choose their career path for the rest of their lives...)about who she shares her OWN body with?
That’s for the judge, the law, and her parents to decide, surely?!
Must be a pretty traumatizing experience for a 16 year old, or not?
2) She's not feeling that way. In this situation that would, in my book, make her a bad person. If she can through her choices contribute to another’s pain and misfortune without feeling bad, she's not the kind of child Id consider a "nice or good kid", and I wouldn’t think much of her upbringing either!
So, who did we help here?
Society. They have a clear conscience now that they've punished this "deserving" bad doer!
The parents. They too can rest assured that although they haven’t spared a thought for the long term effects on their daughters mental health (a guilt complex won’t help her succeed in life. A cuddle on the other hand might), the neighbours know that it WASNT THEIR FAULT!!
And that’s what this is allllll about. The parent can walk down the street with their heads held high, at the price of two young ladies piece of mind.
Helen Goddard, you are in my opinion guilty of stupidity, bad judgment and a lack of self discipline. But none of those things are a crime. You are being made an example out of, though the means of this unjustified and disproportionate punishment.
I feel sorry for you.
1) jail (15 months!!!)
2) humiliation and the subsequent social troubles
3) she's being placed on a sex offenders list.
Now what would this horrible person have done to deserve this punishment. After all, murderers, gangsters and rapists frequently get punishments only a factor 3 higher...
She had an affair with a 16 year old student.
Thats it.
The student admitted initiating it, admitted liking it, and admitted that the whole damn affair was consensual. So who exactly are we protecting from this awfully harmful teacher? The girl, who lost her innocence before her 18th?
Ok, please raise your hands if you remained a virgin untill you were of age please... Ah, you sir, in the back, congratz!
Or are we protecting the conscience of the parents. Those poor heartbroken parents who were so attentive that they didn’t notice anything for half a year? But now they can say that "they stood up for their daughters’ honour!"
Quite frankly, if i were the daughter, Id feel awful. Someone I had a love affair with (i.e. someone I had/have warm and intimate feelings towards) is ending up in jail (15 months amongst rapists, thieves and murderers!!! she'll get out in 2011!!), seeing her career, name and privacy destroyed, and is hurt to the bone.
Now we have two options.
1) The daughter is heartbroken. She feels guilty, has lost a lover, doesn’t feel supported in her choices and has been "cut down to her underage size!! "you do what I say dear girl", says dear, loving Dad." etc etc. Who the hell does she think she is making decisions (at the frightfully young age of 16. Which is also when people are expected to be able to choose their career path for the rest of their lives...)about who she shares her OWN body with?
That’s for the judge, the law, and her parents to decide, surely?!
Must be a pretty traumatizing experience for a 16 year old, or not?
2) She's not feeling that way. In this situation that would, in my book, make her a bad person. If she can through her choices contribute to another’s pain and misfortune without feeling bad, she's not the kind of child Id consider a "nice or good kid", and I wouldn’t think much of her upbringing either!
So, who did we help here?
Society. They have a clear conscience now that they've punished this "deserving" bad doer!
The parents. They too can rest assured that although they haven’t spared a thought for the long term effects on their daughters mental health (a guilt complex won’t help her succeed in life. A cuddle on the other hand might), the neighbours know that it WASNT THEIR FAULT!!
And that’s what this is allllll about. The parent can walk down the street with their heads held high, at the price of two young ladies piece of mind.
Helen Goddard, you are in my opinion guilty of stupidity, bad judgment and a lack of self discipline. But none of those things are a crime. You are being made an example out of, though the means of this unjustified and disproportionate punishment.
I feel sorry for you.
Friday, 22 May 2009
fietspech
van de fiets gedonderd...
Jaja, ik was gister wel, en niet jarig.
Wel jarig, want ik was dus echt jarig. Niet jarig, zie onderstaand.
was de stad in aan t fietsen, toen m'n trapper met een luide knal afbrak!
Niet dat dat zo'n probleem was, maar het stuk dat nog op de fiets zat, heeft zich heel knus in m'n been genesteld... AUCH!
ziekenwagen werd door erg vriendelijke omstander gebeld, drukverbandje erop (de slagader was namelijk goed aan t spuiten), nog even een emmer water over de stoep (erg nette ambulance broeders) en op naar de EHBO.
Daar in een bed geparkeerd, en na twee uur, kwam de doctor eindelijk.
flinke winkelhaak erin, 19 hechtingen, en best pijnlijk.
Was om 2 uur thuis, na wat officieel nu de slechtste verjaardag ooit was...
scroll naar beneden als je tegen bloed kunt, en klick op de plaatjes voor de "full size"...
Zucht, en ik had vandaag nog wel een vrije dag...
Jaja, ik was gister wel, en niet jarig.
Wel jarig, want ik was dus echt jarig. Niet jarig, zie onderstaand.
was de stad in aan t fietsen, toen m'n trapper met een luide knal afbrak!
Niet dat dat zo'n probleem was, maar het stuk dat nog op de fiets zat, heeft zich heel knus in m'n been genesteld... AUCH!
ziekenwagen werd door erg vriendelijke omstander gebeld, drukverbandje erop (de slagader was namelijk goed aan t spuiten), nog even een emmer water over de stoep (erg nette ambulance broeders) en op naar de EHBO.
Daar in een bed geparkeerd, en na twee uur, kwam de doctor eindelijk.
flinke winkelhaak erin, 19 hechtingen, en best pijnlijk.
Was om 2 uur thuis, na wat officieel nu de slechtste verjaardag ooit was...
scroll naar beneden als je tegen bloed kunt, en klick op de plaatjes voor de "full size"...
Zucht, en ik had vandaag nog wel een vrije dag...
Sunday, 18 January 2009
Sleeepy sunday
Hmmm... a sleepy & lazy sunday... I havent changed out of my bathrobe yet, and its two already! Niceness. I think I needed a day like this. Just another half hour like this & than I'll go have a shower & get ready to do what I planned. After all, I have a full tank of gas, a vague destination, a bike which hasnt been used anywhere nearly enough yet this year, and (luckily) a waterproof suit.
Me gonna go ridin!!!
I havent got a clue where I'll end up, the idea is to head for the little roads around the "Utrechtse heuvelrug". I might visit a friend or two when Im there, but perhaps I'l just keep riding instead. We'll see.
Have a nice sunday everyone, Im heading out!
Me gonna go ridin!!!
I havent got a clue where I'll end up, the idea is to head for the little roads around the "Utrechtse heuvelrug". I might visit a friend or two when Im there, but perhaps I'l just keep riding instead. We'll see.
Have a nice sunday everyone, Im heading out!
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