November 14, 2010

TNT postage stamps no longer display euro value

Filed under: Design,General by Branko Collin @ 1:34 am

So let me explain this snail mail thing to you. It is orders of magnitude slower than e-mail, and yet you have to pay for the privilege to use it. The way you prove you have paid is by attaching real-life stickers called stamps to your mail.

You can understand that with all these drawbacks I don’t use snail mail very often, and that it therefore took me a while to realise ‘they’ have changed the way stamps work. In June of this year TNT Post switched from euro denominated stamps to non-denominated stamps, following in the footsteps of many other European countries (see illustration).

TNT Post is the postal part of the former national PTT. Until last year it had a monopoly in the Netherlands on light mail. The rise of both e-mail and competitors has led to plans within the company to fire 11,000 postal workers, who in return have announced they will strike on November 16.

(Image: crop of a scan of non-denominated TNT postage stamps)

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November 13, 2010

Nothing

Filed under: General by Branko Collin @ 12:23 pm

OK, so I am told that this happens to all bloggers… I have no story for you today. Nothing. Zip. Bupkis. The great donut in the sky. Etc.

Maybe later today.

In the meantime, news about the Netherlands in English can be found at the following great sources:

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November 11, 2010

Homeless turned millionaire gives it all away

Filed under: General,Weird by Orangemaster @ 12:50 pm

Once former homeless man Jerry Winkler recently found out his deceased dad was a millionaire and that he had access to an inheritance, he decided to help the homeless instead of cashing in. In exchange for a say in the foundation bearing his father’s name, Winkler has decided to not lay any claims to the inheritance of some 3.5 million euro. One of his first projects will be to organise a Sinterklaas party for homeless mothers and their kids.

(Link: zibb)

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November 10, 2010

Cannabis scratch and sniff cards to sniff out illegal plantations

Filed under: Dutch first,General,Weird by Orangemaster @ 11:24 am

Contrary to the myths about the Dutch and marijuana, the authorities will let you own five plants even though it is technically illegal. Professional illegal growers usually have hundreds of them and then they really do give off a smell. To try and find these plantations Dutch authorities have apparently been handing out 30,000 scratch and sniff cards in The Hague and Rotterdam with a marijuana odour this week to alert citizens to what their neighbours may be up to. “Though it remains technically illegal, the Netherlands decriminalised the consumption and possession of under five grammes (0.18 ounces) of cannabis in 1976 under a ‘tolerance’ policy.”

Authorities believe there are some 40,000 illegal cannabis plantations in the Netherlands — hidden away in attics, apartments or warehouses. About 6,000 plantations are busted every year.
Of these about 300, each with between 600 and 1,000 plants, were uncovered in Rotterdam alone.

This reminds me of our posting about a German woman who complained that it “smelled like Amsterdam” at the neighbours. Another rookie myth is that Amsterdam has the coffeeshops and the pot, but in fact, pot, much like prostitutes, can be found throughout the entire country.

(Link: google.com, Thanks Greg! Photo by Eric Caballero, some rights reserved)

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November 8, 2010

Netherlands most gender equal country in the world

Filed under: General,Health by Branko Collin @ 12:41 pm

According to a report by the United Nations Development Program released last week, Dutch women are closest to being equal to men.

The UNDP measured gender inequality in 136 countries. After the Netherlands, gender inequality was the lowest in Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, and the highest in Yemen, Congo and Niger. Among the developing nations, gender equality is the highest in Burundi. The indicators used for measuring inequality were maternal mortality, adolescent fertility, parliamentary representation, educational attainment and labour force participation.

See also: Women have low impact on Dutch work force.

Link: UN Dispatch.

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November 6, 2010

Mr. Strubbe will keep using MS-DOS and Wordperfect 5.1 until he dies

Filed under: General by Branko Collin @ 7:30 pm

Consumer watch dog Consumentenbond interviews people that have ‘golden oldies’, devices that despite their age still function beautifully.

Mister Strubbe is still using an ancient PC with MS-DOS and Wordperfect 5.1 installed, which never causes him problems with hackers, which has no viruses, never breaks down, always works. But has Steve Jobs finally been able to convince him to make the switch? You’ll have to watch the video to find out.

Video: Youtube/Consumentenbond. Link: Sargasso.

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November 4, 2010

Homeless man finds out his father was a millionaire

Filed under: General,Weird by Orangemaster @ 1:15 pm

A former homeless man, Jerry Winkler, 28, recently found out who his real father was: millionaire Alfred Winkler from Bussum who died back in 1992. Apparently, his mother had an affair with the millionaire. Unfortunately, Winkler cannotprobably cannot lay claim to any inheritance, but the foundation his father set up will see what they can do to help him out money wise.

(Link: zibb)

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October 27, 2010

Female military forced to travel far to buy bras

Filed under: General,Weird by Orangemaster @ 1:35 pm
bra1.jpg

Women who work in the Dutch military are obliged to buy their sports bras from a sports good chain called Run Today. However, in the province of North Holland (in and around Den Helder) where most of the female military work and live, there is no Run Today, so women have to travel to Haarlem (about 80 km) or Groningen (about 154 km) to buy their two allocated sports bras for work. The women can also declare their travel expenses and do their bra shopping during work hours.

Marine commanders are upset about this because it’s a waste of time. How stupid is the Ministry of Defense? Let the women buy their bras elsewhere! Run Today, open a store in Den Helder, pronto!

And zibb, I also told you you’re a bit dumb for calling sports bras ‘lingerie’. Imagine if we called jock straps ‘sexy underwear’.

(Link: zibb)

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October 26, 2010

Environmentally incorrect Santa Claus cards

Filed under: Animals,General,Religion,Weird by Orangemaster @ 2:10 pm

I popped into the local cheap stuff store to see if I couldn’t score anything weird – it’s my idea of retail therapy. Just as I walked in the Dutch Christmas cards were already within reach and I had to see how bad it was. We don’t celebrate Halloween here in general, so once summer is over, Christmas and Sinterklaas paraphernalia hits the stores as early as September, a common gripe here, as kids no longer want to wait for December to get goodies from their parents.

Seriously, check these cards out. On the right, we have Santa Claus is petting (!) one of the most dangerous animals I know from my native Great White North. This is just beyond tacky, it’s environmentally incorrect and could mess up small children for life (sarcasm in place). It looks cute at first glance, but I jumped when I saw it. Have a good, hard look at what being mauled by a polar bear actually looks like if you dare, I know you want to.

On the left, we have Santa Claus with the entire white fur dangerous wild animal petting zoo: baby polar bear (Knut look alike), a very still rabbit (unreal), two wolves (surreal), a baby seal (mind blowingly improbable) and what I think is a hermine.

Have a white, über-Caucausian, environmentally incorrect yet cuddly messed up Christmas! If anyone wants to receive one of these cards, let me know I have eight left.

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October 21, 2010

Fresh Prime Minister Rutte to keep his other job as high school teacher

Filed under: Dutch first,General by Branko Collin @ 10:02 pm

Mark Rutte, the first liberal Dutch Prime Minister since WWI, has told parliament in a letter that he will keep a teaching position at a high school in The Hague.

Rutte teaches a two-hour sociology and civics class (maatschappijleer) to VMBO students at the Johan de Witt College. He won’t be remunerated for his second job, RTL Z reports. Rutte has moved his two-hour class from Friday to Thursday, as the former date would conflict with cabinet meetings.

VMBO is a practice oriented type of secondary school.

Queen Beatrix appointed Rutte and his right-wing cabinet last Thursday, brutally squashing hopes that the Dutch could take back the record for going the longest time without government.

(Photo by Petra de Boevere, some rights reserved)

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