Pictures and a video from when Julian was here
Tags:amsterdam photos videoThis was at the performance art show we went to at Sugar Factory, “unTITled”:
I’ve also added two new albums of pictures — one from before Julian got here and one from while he was here to my Picasa web photos (http://picasaweb.google.com/derekraustin).
Pirates of the Pond
Tags:amsterdam graduate school video blogSo this past weekend was the “Eastside Weekend” in the province of Drenthe in the east of the Netherlands. It was an amazing time and uhh blue team is the best but also team wasabi is lekker :). Anyway, I’ll write more about it late, but here’s a video recorded on site of the epic water fight during the “build a raft” activity: Nicolas, me, and Franzi vs. Diego and James. Who won? You decide.
On an unrelated note, I met with Hans Westerhoff today, a professor of systems biology at VU who also works at the University of Manchester. We talked about doctoral program options, etc., which is particularly my priority right now since my Marshall application is due in about a week and then traditional graduate school applications will be soon to follow. He made an interesting comment about professional interest (what he works on as a scientist) and intellectual interest (what interests him in general). I’m now at the juncture of having to choose my professional scientific interest(s) out of my broader intellectual scientific interests.
In other news, I have the exam for my first class, the Portal Course, on Thursday morning; I got to see my friend Meredith last night since she was visiting A’dam for a few days for her birthday; and I might be hosting my blog with the VU as well.
Julian and Derek’s totally rad JOINT video blog
Tags:amsterdam video blogThis one is in an epic 5 parts!!~ Probably the coolest thing we’ve done is seeing Debussy’s La Mer and Beethoven’s 6th Symphony performed by the amazing Concertgebouw orchestra with a guest conductor. Completely incredible. The Van Gogh Museum was amazing, too… actually, we’ve been having a fantastic time and pretty much everything we’ve done has been awesome. Check it out!
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Part 5:
There’s a summary after the jump:
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1st ESN Borrel/Laundry Day
Tags:amsterdam video blogHey everybody, it’s been too long since I rock & rolled across your computer screens.
Part 1:
Part 2:
BTW, I forgot to mention there’s some random people (I guess from this building) playing cricket outside. I’ll be posting some more pictures soon, so stay tuned in to derekawesomeTV.
My first classes in Amsterdam… :)
Tags:amsterdam video blogDear blog,
Sincerely,
Derek
My Google Map of Amsterdam
Tags:amsterdam
src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=111130125229561358433.000437120e3dff7f7fca2&ll=52.331301,4.863853&spn=0.064225,0.074338&t=h&om=1&output=embed&s=AARTsJo7GEoAqPewwCy9Kh1SJmkP7LKPvQ">
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SATURDAYYYYYYYYYYYYY 1/9/07!!!
Tags:amsterdam politics video blogOk, the audio-video sync on this one is terrible. Although my laptop itself is quite fast and has 1GB of RAM, I like how Vista uses so many resources when nothing is open but my webcam that it desyncs my webcam. Really cool, and by that, I mean putting a new start menu on an old operating system, adding ghetto ipv6 support, and doubling the resource consumption is definitely NOT an upgrade. So, without further nerd rage:
Summary: Thurs I went shopping, bought gluten free bread, had fun with some friends; Fri made grilled cheeses with turkey, packages from home arrived, organized room and unpacked clothes; Sat went to Waterloopsplein and Albert Cuypstraat markets, bought vegetables and nuts, ate rotisserie chicken for cheap, came home and ate salad.
On the political scene, two Republican senators are retiring: long-time senator from Virginia John Warner (no relation to Mark Warner) is not going to seek re-election, and Senator Larry E. Craig of Idaho is stepping down Sept. 30th over being gay in public. On the Virginia front, at least, this offers an opportunity for both senators from Virginia to be democrats come 2008. Jim Webb, the junior senator from VA, and Tim Kaine, the governor of VA, are both democrats, and Mark Warner, a democrat and our previous governor, would have a very strong chance of election to the senate in my opinion. While I can’t foresee a huge democratic majority in the senate (i.e. at least 60 democratic senators, which would mean they could invoke cloture themselves and thereby basically control the senate), I think there’s definitely a strong possibility of a democrats retaining control of the senate and winning the White House.
Of course, if Hillary gets the nomination, who knows what hell will break loose come the 2008 election… Republicans hate her. As Jon Stewart said recently on his show: “Everyone talks about Hillary’s experience in Washington… are they counting her time as first lady? I mean, does being the wife of the President count as political experience?” She’s only been a Senator since 2001.