September 29, 2015

New type of butterfly spotted in the country

Filed under: Nature by Orangemaster @ 11:34 am

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On September 28, the association that has time to watch butterflies announced that the southern small white (Pieris mannii) of the Pieridae family has been spotted and photographed at Fort Sint Pieter near Maastricht, Limburg. Hardcore butterfly enthusiasts knew this day was coming, as this species was slowly making its way north.

The big question was whether it would show up in Belgium or the Netherlands first. The cosmos amusingly forced a compromise by having a Belgian man discovering the southern small white in the Netherlands.

According to Wikipedia, the southern small white is usually found in South Europe, Asia Minor, Morocco and Syria.

(Link and photo: natuurbericht.nl)

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September 27, 2015

Money for dogs exists! It is used by Dutch customs to train sniffers

Filed under: Animals by Branko Collin @ 11:22 pm

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This fake bank note is what Dutch customs officers use to train their sniffer dogs for detecting large quantities of cash.

According to the customs’ Facebook page, where we found this photo, “we’ve been using special training bank notes since 2014. The ink and paper are the same as those of real bank notes, so that the dogs are still able to make a positive match.”

The customs department uses fake money because some of the training sessions are performed in the wild. Using large amounts of real money would be risky in those cases.

(Photo: Facebook / Douane Nederland; link: Vice)

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September 25, 2015

Around the world in 80 days on an electric motorbike

Filed under: Automobiles,Sustainability by Orangemaster @ 12:20 pm

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In a race inspired by French author Jules Verne’s book ‘Around the World in 80 days’, students of the Eindhoven University of Technology are getting ready to go around the world in 80 days on an electric motorbike. On October 1st, the students will unveil their new design featuring a battery that can last twice as long as existing electric motorbike batteries.

The entire point of the trip is to prove that sustainability is an option for the future. Find out more about the the 80 day race here. As explained by team member Texas van Leeuwenstein, electric mobility sometimes has a dull image and they really want to kick that out.

Here’s an interview with Van Leeuwenstein, explaining the work on the prototype leading up to the race:

(Link: www.omroepbrabant.nl, Screenshot: 80dr.com)

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September 24, 2015

Classic 1974 Dutch police Porsche to be auctioned

Filed under: Automobiles by Orangemaster @ 12:50 pm

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On 9 October a 1974 Porsche 911 Targa will be up for grabs to the highest bidder at Bonhams’ Zoute sale in Belgium (and not the Netherlands, as the source claims). The classic car used to belong to the Algemene Verkeersdienst (AVD – traffic cops) and was one of the few European states to use the Porsche for motorway patrol. They also had their own uniforms, white instead of the usual blue and orange helmets (see short photo session video).

According to Autoweek, before the Targa model was available, the AVD used Porsche 356 cabrios, but the 911 Targas remained in use through 1993 when the unit switched to Volvos. The AVD preferred the Targa model to the 911 coupe as it allowed for a greater range of visibility and officer passengers could stand in the car to give traffic directions in emergencies or while moving slowly.

This car was restored with as many original parts as possible and is known as ‘Alex 12:85’. It is expected to fetch between €98,000 and $143,000.

(Link: autoweek.com, Photo: Bonhams)

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September 23, 2015

Another batch of 3D printed shoes by United Nude

Filed under: Fashion,Technology by Orangemaster @ 1:04 pm

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In 2013 3D printed shoes by United Nude were unveiled during Paris Fashion Week, and this time ice block inspired shoes have been recently launched during Vogue’s Fashion’s Night Out in Taipei, Taiwan. The shoes will be on display there until 28 September and feature a live 3D printing installation.

United Nude’s creative director Rem D. Koolhaas said that 3D printing allows them to experiment with new shapes much quicker than before without big development costs and for very small quantities. The shoes have eight-inch heels and were were printed on a CubePro desktop printer using plastic PLA filament.

(Link and photo: www.dezeen.com)

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September 22, 2015

Drone films Dutch cyclist on their merry way

Filed under: Bicycles,Technology by Orangemaster @ 12:14 pm

Drone enthusiast Paul Haerkens has captured himself cycling near Den Bosch, Noord-Brabant, filmed by his Yuneec Q500 drone camera in ‘watch me’ mode.

You’ll see Versailles-like miniature gardens, bollards stopping cars from parking on the side walk, flat trees, hints of traffic circles and very little traffic. The film will give you an impression of what a Dutch neighbourhood in the middle of the country looks like: no canals, no bike paths (!) and no bustle.

The catchy music is the intro music to Paul Verhoeven’s classic ‘Turks Fruit’ (‘Turkish Delight’), composed by heavyweight Rogier van Otterloo and performed by Belgian jazz legend Toots Thielemans, all three of which come highly recommended.

(Link: www.rad-spannerei.de)

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September 21, 2015

Cancer patient dies building app for fellow patients

Filed under: Health,Science by Orangemaster @ 1:07 pm
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Dutchman Frederik van den Broek who died last month of cancer was key in helping neurologists build MindApp, being dubbed as the world’s most advanced mobile-based app for cancer patients.

Available for Android and iPhone, MindApp will help users track and update appointments, manage their doctors and the quantities of pills they need to take, and much more.

Van den Broek said that he had received a printout from the hospital of all the appointments, medicine and information, but then lost the printout within an hour. “These things happen when you’ve lost a large part of your brain and your short-term memory has gone to pieces,” he explained.

According to neurologist Jaap Reijneveld of the Free University Medical Centre (VUMC) in Amsterdam involved in building the app, patients have a massively complicated treatment schedule, and this app will help them remember things and give constant feedback to doctors on the patient’s condition.

Find out more about what Van den Broek started MindApp in this video.

(Link: phys.org)

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September 20, 2015

Sleeping in a life-size sand castle hotel

Filed under: Architecture,Design,Dutch first by Orangemaster @ 9:27 am

Zandhotel

Inspired by European ice hotels, two pop-up hotels (‘zandhotels’) made out of very 1000 tons of compact sand have opened in Oss, Noord-Brabant and Sneek, Friesland, which are already fully booked for this year. However, you can visit the one in Oss until 28 September and the one in Sneek until 4 October during nearby sand sculpture festivals.

The hotel’s basic structure is made of thin walls, covered inside and out with reinforced sand for sturdiness, while basics such as the shower, bathroom and bed are made out of normal materials.

Some media are calling it a world first, we’ll stay in our sandbox and call it a Dutch first.

(Links and photo: www.lalibre.be, wtkr.com)

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September 18, 2015

Feel-good bicycle art from Utrecht

Filed under: Art,Bicycles by Orangemaster @ 10:21 am

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Since June someone in Utrecht has been going around putting eyes on bike saddles to make them look like birds of prey and give them names.

They have French, English and Russian names, some of which could be related to the Tour de France that started off in Utrecht this summer, others not at all. It’s making people smile and talk, like a feel-good art project should. The eyes do come off easily, but most people apparently leave them on.

The artists behind the stickers remain unknown and apparently they do fix their work if they see an eye drooping. However, one of their ‘creations’, Gino was tagged and taken away to ‘bike prison’ for being ‘illegally’ parked and they couldn’t fix that.

Will Gino ever get out? Stay tuned.

(Link: www.vogelvrijefietser.nl)

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September 17, 2015

Aggressive ice cream man bullies Dutch village

Filed under: Food & Drink,Weird by Orangemaster @ 4:08 pm

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The town of Maarssenbroek, Utrecht is being intimidated by the local ice cream man and the story reads like a creepy Halloween tale.

The ice cream man rings his bell at night, drives too fast and gives children ice cream to then push their parents to pay for it. He’s also been cited for a lack of hygiene and ringing doorbells of former clients. He even dares sell ice cream on Sundays, which pisses off certain folks who still think Sunday is actually mentioned in the Bible as a day of rest.

Some say it’s the people pissed about the Sunday who are fueling the discussion and make life difficult for an ice cream man trying to make a living, others including parents of ice cream interested children say the guy’s antisocial and has to go.

Why anybody would be selling ice cream in pouring rain with 15-16 degrees at the moment is beyond me.

(Link: www.rtlnieuws.nl, Photo of unrelated Dutch rocket ice lolly)

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