November 21, 2014

App shows outdoor markets with fresh produce

Filed under: Food & Drink,Technology by Orangemaster @ 11:23 am

Screenshot_2014-11-21-10-59-12

Since 18 November, the app ‘Buitenmarket’ (‘Outdoor market’) created by Vandemoortele, a European food products manufacturer headquartered in Gent, Belgium, has been available for free through the Google Play Store to find fresh produce near your location. It lists food such as beef, pork, chicken, grain, honey, pears, apples, dairy, vegetables, and miscellaneous foods. The app is in Dutch only.

I’ve installed it and enjoy the look and feel of the app, but there’s nothing really in Amsterdam (pic), although I could always get on my bike. You can click on an icon and find out more about a market, their opening hours, etc.

One review mentions that the app is missing many places. The app is either not quite finished, which is usually the case, or has only added certain venues with a criteria we know nothing about. I would use this app if I were in another part of the country and wanted to see if I could grab some local produce, and for that I’m keeping it on my phone.

(Link: www.emerce.nl)

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November 20, 2014

Comedian’s failed photo gag about black boy going viral

Filed under: Photography by Orangemaster @ 10:58 am

Zeeman-folder

Dutch comedian Guido Weijers stirred the pot on Facebook recently by placing the photo of a small boy advertising bear and ape cuddly toys for Zeeman (bargain items chain), with the ape cropped out and the words “ape or bear” left in.

By cropping out the ape Weijers tried to make a joke about why such a photo hadn’t been addressed in the Zwarte Piet discussion, comparing the boy to an ape. His joke fell flat and he spent some time writing apologies. He’s managed to piss off Zeeman (surely), the casting agency (probably), the mother (absolutely), and anyone including the Dutch courts who think Zwarte Piet is a relic.

When the boy’s mother saw the cropped version of the picture, she said it felt like her heart stopped and asked Weijers to remove the joke, which he refused to do. On a Dutch news show, she calmly explained that her son is in a very nice advert (his first photo shoot), and an adult has created an image of her son as an ape. “He’s five years old, he can’t defend himself and he’s proud to be in that picture,” she said clearly relaying her emotions.

Weijers apologised in a letter to the mother, saying he had no idea the joke would go that far, which is very lame considering he posted it online. The mother is considering pressing charges against Weijers.

(Link: www.parool.nl, Photo: Zeeman)

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November 19, 2014

Police monitor people buying tools

Filed under: General by Orangemaster @ 10:32 am

screwdriver

In and around the city of Ede, Gelderland, several DIY chain stores have decided to film anyone buying tools such as big screwdrivers, chisels, crowbars or lump hammers under suspicion of being potential robbers. Once you’re on film with your new tools, the cops look at the footage to see if you’re a robber that matches their files (ha, pun).

Besides being a potential privacy breach, this is a useless strategy. Webwereld and surely other sources have listed the stores doing the filming so robbers can either take from a toolbox instead of buying new tools or just go to another store. Even better, hop over to Germany or get the missus to do the shopping for you as I bet the cops will only look at men on the film. A Dutch white female pushing a pram should do the trick.

(Link: webwereld.nl, Photo of screwdriver by Noel Hankamer, some rights reserved)

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November 18, 2014

Ramon Bruin creates 3D effect drawing on paper

Filed under: Art by Orangemaster @ 6:11 pm

Ramon Bruin

Dutch illustrator Ramon Bruin creates 3D drawings that really look as if they were computer-rendered but then on paper. His 3D drawings are made with a technique called ‘anamorphosis’ that adds a 3D element when Bruin inserts a finger or hand into the drawing to bring it to life.” Bruin says that this depth can only been seen from a certain angle. He also experiments with light, and with the correct light it looks like the drawing comes off the paper.”

Check out a short video of his works:

(Link: www.techeblog.com, Photo: Ramon Bruin)

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November 17, 2014

Willem van Genk’s crowded cities

Filed under: Art by Branko Collin @ 11:56 am

leninggrad-1955-willem-van-genk-small

Willem van Genk was an artist from The Hague who focussed on the ‘dynamic chaos of the city’, as Michiel Morel calls it: “crowded cities with impressive architecture and train stations filled with advertisements; threatening platforms with trains as monsters; meandering streets and squares with monumental cathedrals”. (Shown here is Leningrad, 1955)

Van Genk, who lived from 1927 to 2005, suffered from schizophrenia and paranoia. His inability to keep to deadlines quickly sidelined him in a society centred around the pulse of the steady job. In art, too, he was considered an outsider who followed no tradition except his own.

Check out Morel’s article. It’s in Dutch, but it has many examples of Van Genk’s work. If you’re in New York, the American Folk Art Museum is exhibiting Van Genk’s paintings, drawings and so on until 1 December.

(Link: Trendbeheer)

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November 15, 2014

Dutchman has Bitcoin wallets injected in hands

Filed under: Gadgets,Health,Technology by Branko Collin @ 1:44 pm

bitcoin-key-fob-btc_keychainAmsterdam-based entrepreneur Martijn Wismeijer had two NFC chips injected into his hands earlier this month, The Telegraph writes.

The chips are to act as encrypted Bitcoin wallets. Wismeijer is the owner of Mr. Bitcoin, a company that distributes and operates ATMs for the currency.

Wismeijer told The Telegraph, “Most doctors will not want to install the implant so a body manipulation artist (preferably not just tattoo artist or piercer) will be your next best bet. Make sure they work according to strict hygiene codes and know what they are doing.”

Parool adds that Rockstart in Amsterdam (a start-up accelerator) hosted an implant session yesterday where one could have a sub-dermal NFC chip injected for about 130 euro. Wismeijer told the newspaper that currently about 2000 people have such implants.

It’s not clear from the articles whether Wismeijer uses the chips to store Bitcoins, keys to unlock Bitcoins or something else.

Check the Telegraph for a video in which the question “does it hurt” is answered. Too scared / don’t want to? Martijn Wismeijer told Parool: “They were the biggest needles I’ve ever seen.”

(Photo by BTC Keychain, some rights reserved)

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November 14, 2014

Sharp rise in euthanasia of psychiatric patients

Filed under: Health by Branko Collin @ 6:38 pm

euthanised-psych-patients-24orangesLast year 42 people with a psychiatric disorder were euthanized in the Netherlands.

This is a sharp increase from 14 deaths in 2012 and is in fact more than all euthanasia deaths for psychiatric patients combined since euthanasia was legalised in 2002.

According to Edith Schippers, the Minister of Health, the increase of deaths is caused by a greater willingness of psychiatrists to grant a patient’s request for euthanasia, De Correspondent writes. The committee that checks euthanasia deaths for due care expects the numbers to settle at this level. Several doctors questioned by De Correspondent believe there was a taboo on euthanasia in the field of psychiatry that is now slowly ebbing away.

The six criteria for due care state, amongst others, that sufferers must be of sound mind and without hope of getting better in order to be euthanized. These criteria make it extra difficult for sufferers of psychiatric disorders to have their wish for euthanasia granted.

Some of the problems that are either unique to psychiatry or just more prevalent than in other fields of medicine:

  • The death wish can be part of the disorder.
  • Patients are often younger, making it harder to determine that their situation is without hope.
  • Psychiatric disorders are rarely lethal and treatment, even if only palliative, is often possible.
  • Conditions like depression can make a patient’s own estimate of their chances more pessimistic than warranted.

See also: Dutch death clinic working at full capacity.

November 13, 2014

The ‘country’s most amusing bus driver’ sacked

Filed under: Automobiles,Design by Orangemaster @ 7:00 am

Bus, Enschede

Shandrick Elodia, the ‘most amusing bus driver of the Netherlands’ from Enschede was sacked recently for safety reasons. By sacked, I mean not rostered anymore to work, as he didn’t have a permanent contract.

“Are you ready for the ride of your life?”, he would ask depressed passengers and then chat on the microphone and play music like Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and Tom Jones’ ‘It’s Not Unusual’. Everybody loved this guy, but he was way too much for his employer.

At some point, Elodia needed something more challenging and wanted to do something about all those sad faces boarding his bus. He once startled an old lady by wishing her a nice evening on the microphone and kept going from there.

Sure, Elodia should have followed the rules (only greeting people) and just done his job or quit and find something else — he is the first to admit that. Elodia has a degree in industrial design, and according to him, his global vision of ‘making poverty cool’ ended up spilling over into his work as a bus driver. “When you’re poor, you have to make due with rubbish products. When I drive up in my happy bus next to some guy in an expensive Mercedes, he sees how much fun the ‘poorer’ people are having and wishes he was in my bus.”

Since Elodia has been on television (in Dutch), work offers have been pouring in.

(Links: www.nrc.nl, www.nieuws.nl, Photo of Bus in Enschede by Daniël Bleumink, some rights reserved)

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Jorryt van Hoof breaks Dutch poker record in Vegas

Filed under: Dutch first,Sports by Orangemaster @ 6:57 am

Poker player Jorryt van Hoof from Eindhoven finished third this week at the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, beating last year’s seventh place scored by Dutch trailblazer Michiel Brummelhuis. Now the highest ranked Dutchman ever in this event, Van Hoof goes home with 3,8 million USD (over 3 million euro).

Although Van Hoof prefers playing PLO (pot-limit Omaha) cash games, he still surprised many by having made it to the ‘November Nine’, the nine players who get to participate in the WSP. In fact, Van Hoof even started out as the chip leader.

After being eliminated Van Hoof tweeted ‘Thank you all for the amazing support, I truly appreciate it! It’s been one heck of a ride and a unique experience’. First place went to Sweden’s Martin Jacobson and second place to Norway’s Felix Stephensen.

(Links: www.ed.nl, www.pokernews.com, Photo by Jam Adams, some rights reserved)

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November 12, 2014

Dutch online pop-up music store with freebies

Filed under: Dutch first,Music,Online by Orangemaster @ 11:09 am

red vinyl

Dutch record label Black Hole Recordings has opened an online online pop-up store where people can get free tracks, ringtones and the likes by paying with a tweet. Started on 11 November, the pop-up store will be online for 30 days. Follow Black Hole Recordings on Twitter at @Blackholerec by placing a tweet with the hashtag #paywithatweet and the article you want, and it will be sent to you for free. You’ll get a direct message about you purchase.

Black Hole Recordings claims this is a world first and sells music and merch from artists such als Ferry Corsten, Tiësto and New World Punx.

(Link: www.entertainmentbusiness.nl)

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