tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-100930742011-10-25T08:46:14.795+02:00JHMSnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1731100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-32527571341385617002010-01-29T13:15:00.002+01:002010-01-29T13:32:17.685+01:00

The makefile in the samtools package needs some minor modifications in order for this setup to work. Unpack the samtools source package and open Makefile in your favourite editor.Change the CFLAGS line to read:CFLAGS= -g -Wall -O2 -fPIC Depending on your system architecture you may want to make additional changes there. The above change is likely to be necessary to get the Perl modules to

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-12995648267262738222009-05-03T19:58:00.003+02:002009-05-03T20:14:00.402+02:00

There's a nice description on how to get access to Skype SMS on a linux system running a Skype linux client here. This guide is for Ubuntu, but it works for OpenSuse as well, with a tweak. After extracting skysentials an attempt to run this package will result in:/usr/bin/python2.5: bad interpreter: No such file or directoryTo get around this, open skysentials.py with your favourite text editor

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-85172313693325972582009-01-25T12:57:00.005+01:002009-05-03T20:10:59.732+02:00

The insanely long title is required as I've experienced that all mentioned items contribute to the issue of the whole setup not working. If you're using OpenSuse's 11.1 version of OpenOffice with an Nvidia (binary driver from the repo) TwinView setup and want to run a presentation on the external monitor you'll find it doesn't work. The multiple monitor section in slide show settings is grayed

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-37605686123267984102008-11-16T20:39:00.002+01:002008-11-16T21:00:51.043+01:00

So, a while back I mentioned that the dual boot configuration on my laptop was one of the signs of a war waging between Windows (Vista) and alternatives (currently Suse with KDE 3.5). Back then I wasn't impressed with a number of things, mainly:Suse: not all my hardware works straight away. An nvidia driver that didn't support my graphics card (too new) was automagically installed and caused by

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-615108992298567172008-11-04T16:02:00.002+01:002008-11-04T16:05:54.083+01:00

The Cell RSS feeds recently went AWOL. There's no longer a link to them from the new journal pages, but if the URL of the journal homepage is changed from http://etcetcetc/home to http://etcetcetc/rss a page giving a link to the RSS feed is shown. Whether the RSS feeds will work remains to be seen; currently some feeds appear to be even older than old (now removed) feeds.

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-43545180705548736782008-11-04T15:51:00.002+01:002008-11-04T16:01:35.611+01:00

Just posting this as somehow I couldn't find the info anywhere else and kodak has deleted all support information:The kodak EDAS290 imaging machine we use at the lab (with Kodak 1D software) was recently migrated to a new computer running Windows XP. Windows could see the camera, the camera works, but the software insists the camera is nowhere to be found. The problem and solution are as follows:

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-91113971732174474782008-07-24T20:02:00.002+02:002008-07-24T20:36:35.325+02:00

My thoughts on:US customs (entry) - I AM NOT A MEDICAL STUDENT!, other than that people are polite and efficient. Less questions asked than when leaving europe, just more often (4x, iso once).The US - Can I have an extra extra small please?US customs (exit) - So... where do I leave? Wait, I already left?That car commercial - It needs to look like a parking meter because otherwise people won't

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-41640124477884321902008-05-01T18:05:00.003+02:002008-05-01T18:11:50.704+02:00

... tables like this interactive coffee table? Yours for only $2000 here (or, if you like soldering, the kit costs $400 here, excluding furniture).

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-32373099721719968902008-04-25T12:56:00.003+02:002008-04-28T07:58:53.573+02:00

Regarding your recent criticism of the FIPR (here), I would just like to add the following:Regardless of what the agenda of the FIPR is, they do have a point that the Home Office advice does not prove the legality of the system. Evasiveness in answering to legality concerns is doing more damage than the FIPR can ever do on its own.The fact that an organisation is legit, does not imply that all

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-91285860958750519212008-03-24T13:55:00.002+01:002008-03-24T14:08:38.549+01:00

The old hoaxes/urban legends that were going around before the wide-spread use of e-mails occasionally resurface. This is one such example, which I quite like as it doesn't attempt to spread itself via fear, nor does it try to conn people out of their money. Hence a positive 'Hoax of the week' this time round. This version is a published one, to be found in the Armchair Anarchist's Handbook.

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-42074358841455572572008-03-12T16:48:00.003+01:002008-03-12T17:03:15.274+01:00

Other than the fact that I can't install most of the crap programmes that came with Vista (like Windows Media Centre, which is mixes up my CDs, has the wrong resolution, refuses to play most of my files and is just too cumbersome to work with. Or Windows Movie Maker, which I've never used, even on XP) and it still lacks sensible programmes (like a good stand-alone document viewer, I mean, if

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-78922984367499206502008-03-11T17:18:00.004+01:002008-03-11T17:42:44.056+01:00

The Vatican has announced that it is labelling more activities as deadly sins. (BBC coverage here). My personal favourite is, of course, 'genetic manipulation', as most biological research these days involves genetic manipulation of lab strains of bacteria (my field being no exception). An increasing amount of medicines is produced in GM bacterial strains, and the current path taken towards the

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-6481877586378507232008-03-02T20:19:00.004+01:002008-03-02T21:07:28.050+01:00

So, I have a new laptop! (the old one decided to become a constipated hairdryer, I've taken it to bits and I now know just how poorly it was manufactured. This means that it is extremely unlikely that I will ever buy or recommend and Acer system, as only positive thing about the quality of the system is that it's still better than the quality of Acer support).Windows vista home basic came

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-4550613671468450272008-02-21T11:44:00.002+01:002008-02-21T11:55:03.520+01:00

Well, anyone can call themselves professor, "Eminent Black British Human Rights Crusader" and "Undisputed Doyen of Medical Politics", set up a dodgy organisation, ask for loads of cash and sue the hell out of anyone who openly critises them. Of course, after being banned from practising medicine after, amongst other things, failing to administer blood-thinners to an emergency patient suffering a

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-10119169022070404972007-11-04T09:03:00.000+01:002007-11-04T10:33:11.664+01:00

Not that there are likely more parts to follow...There's a study entitled "Depression among Adults Employed Full-Time, by Occupational Category" over here. Very nice to see that 'Life, physical and social science' is near rock-bottom when it comes having been depressed between 2004 and 2006. The only happier bunch of people are those working in "Engineering, Architecture and surveyors". The last

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-42538037382650818912007-10-31T19:01:00.000+01:002007-10-31T19:43:05.700+01:00

Rant alert!So, as usual: we're all doomed. If it isn't that comet that's heading for earth and is expected to pass within lunar orbit in 2036 that finishes us off, it'll be our own doing in the form pollution beyond repair. Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't be watching the environment - I'm just not convinced that what's being done makes sense. The following are all thoughts on comments made in

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-34141179623684019522007-10-07T19:51:00.000+02:002007-10-07T20:30:15.405+02:00

It's inevitable that occasionally you'll run into the 'my belief is the only true belief because...' argumentation. The one I really don't get is (specific religion removed, as it applies to all):'The [insert name of holy scripture] wasn't written in one day, and has been printed millions of time [so it must be true]'.I think I'm finally getting a dose of religion: the one true religion is (in

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-18604011206525097542007-09-30T11:22:00.000+02:002007-09-30T11:47:45.178+02:00

So the quick-ish trip to the UK is over. Taking the bus from Canterbury to Oxford to Utrecht is perhaps not the quickest of routes, and means you don't get much sleep in the two days that you spread the journey over. Anyway, Oxford was still pretty much the same except for the fact that smoking is banned pretty much everywhere (good) and that I finally managed to run into the animal rights

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-32023428495020438502007-09-05T15:10:00.000+02:002007-09-05T15:16:39.810+02:00

New in the links: The Garden of Live Flowers, which succeeds the mad teaparty. As this blog does not have a feed, no recent articles preview is available. For your convenience all titles are now clickable (linked to the main page of the respective blog). To ensure that the list of articles is recent (if desired) hit Ctrl+F5 to refresh the page.

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-63532327387032619512007-08-31T11:54:00.000+02:002007-08-31T12:23:45.750+02:00

Okay, I'm back from the summer school so now there's time to get started on the TV shows that I used to watch when I was in England (1990-1993). Warning: I was between the age of 5 and 9, so this contains a lot of awful stuff. First off: (Game)shows.Perhaps the weirdest gameshow that I can remember was Channel 4's crystal maze. A bunch of contestants would run around a large set and complete

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-75071680443021767102007-08-23T08:51:00.001+02:002009-01-25T22:25:35.207+01:00

There's a (Dutch) e-mail going around that states that when you are forced by someone to withdraw cash from your account you should enter your pincode in reverse order. This supposedly alerts the police whilst still giving you your cash to avoid nastiness. NOT TRUE, it's a hoax. When even the NVB (Dutch banking association) denies it (here), you can be certain that it isn't so.UPDATE Jan 2009: If

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-57852150683200979432007-08-20T18:53:00.000+02:002007-08-20T19:08:44.902+02:00

In the first link list in ages:One brilliant prank here.One YouTube account (stupid game show answers) here.One of those annoying 'did you know...' films here, and the excellent parody here.Boring geek stuff... laptops with the Intel PM965 express chipset are listed with 2GB and 4GB max RAM. Which one is it? The chipset supports 4GB, windows 32 Bit supports 4GB (here), no wait, it doesn't it kind

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-55958500462941837822007-08-19T23:19:00.000+02:002007-08-19T23:39:09.320+02:00

The latter being the maximum price to be paid for the car that should be used. The challenge is to then spend only €150 on repairs and then drive the thing to Dakar to sell it off for charity. Always wondered about the people who do that. I met one of them today, and I think the things that shone through were enthusiasm, optimism and the drive to get things done. Anyway, good luck to them!

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-85180659703642252952007-08-17T18:10:00.000+02:002007-08-19T23:19:22.161+02:00

Or it least it seemed that way, only hitting ctrl-F5 displayed the newer posts for the other blogs in the sidebar. That's why I've set this page to not be cached, though I haven't tested whether this works. The implementation I use is the tag 'meta equiv="Pragma" content="no-cache"/' in the html header (between the 'head' tags) (single quotation marks used in the text in stead of brackets as I'm

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-13334706934160194872007-08-15T12:36:00.000+02:002007-08-15T22:05:11.255+02:00

Starting off in the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) (forests, hills, cake)......with some cities for good measure......and ending up in the mountains (and the rain later set in).

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-23773139098579989812007-08-15T10:08:00.000+02:002007-08-15T10:56:16.544+02:00

One of the more noticeable features of the province of Limburg is the small & narrow section linking the area around Maastricht to the rest of the province. This apparently has its roots in the formation of the province of Limburg from former Prussian lands (Some forms of Limburgian refer to Germany and Germans as Prussia and Prussians) in the convention of Vienna in 1815. At this convention land

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-22326803377633887532007-08-14T22:52:00.000+02:002007-08-14T23:16:15.319+02:00

...with cleaning up the site. Though I've lost my list of blogs. So if you feel you should be mentioned , let me know. I've removed some of the non-active blogs (the teaparty and nican nicuica), yet these will be replaced with the newer blogs of the respective authors as soon as I find out where they can be found. I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't been able to add the recently closed blog of

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-63978651294210554512007-08-13T16:48:00.000+02:002007-08-13T16:51:26.674+02:00

For the lone (or so) visitor who sometimes strays onto this near-abandoned site:Site maintenance and overhaul is planned for this month. Content maybe to resume thereafter.

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-59442611706029143792007-07-01T11:35:00.000+02:002007-07-01T11:43:08.488+02:00

So, quick update time:The internship that I've been doing is now grossly over-time, though that can be explained by: taking about two month's of courses during the internship, writing a thesis (1.5 months) somewhere in that period as well, and, as usual, report-hell. Still finalising the report. Did find a summer job to keep me busy at the same time. Yup, it's in the same lab. Just did the

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-51701579546494508832007-06-01T21:24:00.001+02:002007-06-01T21:26:22.341+02:00

Need I say more?

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-90943666984956302942007-05-09T15:22:00.000+02:002007-05-09T15:33:10.126+02:00

Nowadays on the web: Youtube, Wikipedia, Porn and Myspace. Will limit myself to linking to the first two.Youtube: Pablo Francisco - All about preview guy (apparently, the rest is good too, though I haven't checked.Wikipedia: Also available in Limburgs: li.wikipedia.org (straight to the page explaining Limburgs)Oh, and for the person wondering what that game with the weird bridges was, it was this

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-74351474834475453692007-05-03T14:07:00.000+02:002007-05-03T14:57:15.594+02:00

There's now the 'servicemeldpunt beta' for the science faculty. Yes, it is also called that in the English version of the mail and yes, I do think they mean beta in the 'testing' sense as opposed to the natural sciences sense, though they intended otherwise. Anyway, on day one someone wrecked the blinds (dark room quality), leaving six people in a dark office. Apart from the automated reply from

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-48718097301835539422007-05-01T15:33:00.000+02:002007-05-01T15:39:25.546+02:00

As I rarely find time to post anything, I'll start doing so hit-and-run style, i.e. type something short, forget to check the spelling and grammar, and hit 'publish'. Also means I'm limited to redirecting you to content somewhere else, such as:This is how it should have ended, which is watched easiest on you tube (though the site has better quality, it asks for installing DivX webviewer...), via

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-34451249822728692852007-04-30T15:31:00.000+02:002007-04-30T15:49:30.937+02:00

And once again I find myself trying to compose a (hopefully) sensible methods section in a research proposal. 'Sensible' meaning that throwing liposomes at it just won't do (thankfully I wasn't in that group at UC). The proposal is a little risky though, so the trick will be to write it optimistically. But then again, and I'm willing to wager that this comes as a shock to some, I've been told

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-35743294049528158972007-04-22T12:41:00.000+02:002007-04-22T13:03:59.888+02:00

As it's been a long time, just an 'I'm still alive' post.What I'm up to: putting the internship report on hold until I finish my Master's thesis, which will be a research proposal rather than a literature review. It seems more usefull than yet another larger paper (9 ECTS, six weeks full time).What Anna's up to: preparing to go to Oxford (MPhil Modern European History) for two years starting

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-7556283438755166272007-02-15T12:52:00.000+01:002007-02-15T13:06:11.602+01:00

...time flies (like an arrow, fruitflies like a banana; I know). And hence there's been no word here for a long, long time. Not that there is that much to actually write about - the internship is continuing at the usual pace, I'm not finding out what it really is that I want to do at the same pace (though there are a couple of place where I'm considering to apply) and hence most of it isn't to

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-42199545904486764602007-01-02T10:01:00.000+01:002007-01-02T10:46:02.005+01:00

First of all, happy New Year to anyone who may read this that I haven't spoken to yet. This post will mainly be about the FnF trip to the middle of nowhere - and hence feature sand, drunk people and things that don't work unless you actually were there.The whole event took place in a holiday park in Renesse, Zeeland in two 7-person houses. Of course we booked two adjacent houses, and of course

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-69634607731908928262006-12-14T18:02:00.000+01:002006-12-14T19:12:54.028+01:00

So I have a bad cold, which is even causing me to skip part of the working day. Thankfully, it isn't too busy at the lab anyway, though the pre-Christmas rush will kick in soon. Apart from that, not too much is going on.I also haven't been surfing the net too much - though my rare visit to the MS site did make me find an extra theme for WinXP. Yes, MS released something different than the WinXP

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-79526009663972667452006-12-03T19:14:00.000+01:002006-12-03T19:50:38.410+01:00

After hell breaking loose, hell breaking loose again and both of my previous operating systems deciding to burn in the fires of hell at the same time, things are getting back on track. Though I lost half the links and the other half is outdated, here goes:Elections: De zweefwijzer. Sound enabled.Elections: Another zweefwijzer. Slightly buggy.Random: 'Vereniging ter behoud van het Nietszeggende

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1003258336975327532006-11-14T18:57:00.000+01:002006-11-14T19:03:47.775+01:00

Okay, apparently Casema has trained monkeys and psychics working for them - they sent us the codes even before they cut us off - but not in a smart way: They sent it to the parents of the guy that lives downstairs, as they have the same name and initials, but a different address. The letter appears as an overview of the services on offer at this address, and even lists this address as both the

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1163166305335452682006-11-10T14:34:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:46:30.356+01:00

So, here's the full deal: My ISP, which is Casema (who now also host Orange), started denying that there was ever an internet connection at my address when my housemate called them to ask why our internet connection was no longer active. They would get back to us on that as soon as possible, (most likely) within 24 hours. >48 hours later they got back to us saying that we would just need to take

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1161945431599713652006-10-27T12:29:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:46:30.265+01:00

Erm, I currently do not have (legal*, 24h) internet access at home, as the modem is malfunctioning or the ISP is 'malfunctioning'. Seeing as I don't have access to the modem, or the ISP details, this is quite fatal blogwise. Not that too much was going on anyway... *It recently became illegal to connect to an accesspoint that you do not own or have been granted express permission to connect to

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1160725808768537402006-10-13T09:28:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:46:30.185+01:00

I think I'm now an outsider even in my Masters programme: everyone is linked to either the Bijvoet centre or the IB (Institute of Biomembranes) and hence has seminar days of those organisations. There are some vague links between the department that I work in and the IB, though only on a very limited level. Aparently the Institute of Environmental Biology is the place to be. Yup, I really have

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1160500209167544772006-10-10T19:09:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:16.212+01:00

Google has now bought YouTube, which apparently is a bad move: 'Moronic' video deal buys Google legal woes?. Anyway, whilst it still is active, here's a nice music video off of YouTube: OK GO - Here it goes again. That's all for now, on a course again, finishing of the exam of the other one, and hearing that my new internship has finally been approved by the board of examinations.Ow, and as for

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1159703097742957692006-10-01T13:23:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:16.101+01:00

Quick link round-up, mostly borrowed from the below blogs:In movie-related stuff:The biology of B-movie monsters6 steps to writing a fantasy blockbusterIn LEGO (ab)use:ASL's LEGO page (scroll down or click for example of Esher in Lego)In Space:Pretty picture (spacestation, more images here)In Nerd/Geek:Weird Al - White and NerdyIn Blogs:Project Rungay (for any project runway fans)Dom's Weird News

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1159470182814935482006-09-28T20:38:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:16.023+01:00

Okay, here's the quick update on the life and times of me: I've finished one internship (ah, still need to hand in one copy of the report) and started the next (Molecular Genetics - Model organism: Arabidopsis Thaliana (I'll do a post on it soon)). Well, started: after one week my direct supervisor left for 4 weeks, and my other supervisor just left for a week yesterday. Perfectly fine - I left

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1155907561655557252006-08-18T15:12:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:15.945+01:00

Time for the quick update on the life and times of me: I kind of finished my 9 (oh, wait, 11 month) internship, though I still haven't been graded. The core course of the programme I managed to get through with grades increasing each exam, as opposed to most of the other people who had decreasing grades. Weird, given the fact that my prior knowledge of the subject decreased with each exam at the

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1152698066753824352006-07-12T11:48:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:15.864+01:00

The NEF (New Economics Foundation) have calculated the Happy Planet Index, in which HPI score is defined as Life Satisfaction X Life Expectancy / Ecological Footprint. To cut to the chase:"On a scale of 0 to 100 for the HPI, we have set a reasonable target of 83.5. This is based on attainable levels of life expectancy and well-being and a reasonably sized ecological footprint. Today, however, the

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1148675120490409072006-05-26T22:17:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:15.721+01:00

...but predictable. The CEI has released a number of 'commercials' on carbon dioxide emissions. The catchphrase is 'they call it pollution, we call it life' Now, this weeks quiz questions include:How many fallacies are there in all three commercials together?What is actually the worst line of the lot? (not counting the one mentioned)Anyone else agree that these adds are actually more frightening

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1148326414138875112006-05-22T21:32:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:15.636+01:00

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1148229452879822012006-05-21T18:20:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:15.543+01:00

But those can wait. Dropping in a few quick links instead:The simpsons on evolution: Simpsons episode on evolution.Making Ice-cream, the quick way: Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Recipe.

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1146679899507262402006-05-03T20:03:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:15.440+01:00

Slightly overworked, basically working fulltime at the lab, whilst preparing for my final talk until 23:00 every evening, so no time for, well, anything, except some therapeutic ranting. Definitely no time for: my bike being funny and breaking down before I even left the neighbourhood (but some nice bikerepair shop that repaired it in 30 min whilst I did some shopping, at least I think the guy

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1145391336615661002006-04-18T22:10:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:15.364+01:00

...and no, I do not have a demonic PC (Weeble & Bob - Blog)But there is a new flash that's decent. Uses a couple of styles, half of which I don't like, yet still: The Beatles - Glass Onion.Thinking about picking up the pace on the blog again...P.S.: I am still alive. I think*.*Okay, maybe thinking is a bit ambitious..., something approaching that then...

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1140982737341841752006-02-26T20:34:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:15.289+01:00

The site will not be disbanded, yet activity is likely to cease for a while.Availability via e-mail and IM networks remains unaffected.

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1140545031528386412006-02-21T18:58:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:15.212+01:00

As my laptop is still a bit on the hot side (though taking it apart and putting it back together again did help somewhat), it's time to dismantle the thing, add a new thermal compound between the processor and the heatsink and hope for the best. So if you don't see any updates over an abnormally long period, I screwed up. Though I'm quite positive; the instructions start with: 'Don't put it in

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1140266912314491412006-02-18T13:18:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:15.126+01:00

Times have been busy, with the first presentation of what I've been up to on my internship being the main culprit. That, and the fact that I shouldn't try to leave the lab early, as this doesn't seem to work - it only leads to me leaving later. So after letting some more people in the lab find out that I can nearly be concidered bilingual, everything is back to 'normal' again (including the noise

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1139081633587000832006-02-04T20:04:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:15.049+01:00

Those anoying web adds (the ones that the Firefox adblock extension doesn't catch because you haven't updated the filter) that look like a window, but aren't, look stupid and are dead wrong, as they refer to stuff that your system doesn know about.What I personally like most is seeing that things can be done differently, whilst some concepts stay the same. The upcoming new windows version

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1138826005652031642006-02-01T20:59:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:14.971+01:00

That's it, I'm lost. I think I've lost all timeframe reference and feel like my mind is in 6 different times at the same time. Apart from that, I feel (relatively) sane and my health is (relatively) good. This week has already seen a few healthy discussions that fall under the category 'what the **** am I doing here? again?' that actually do help. A little. In perpetuating my lack of direction. I

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1138137211392971212006-01-24T21:39:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:14.905+01:00

...in the dark. Literally. The joy of developing film in a darkroom. For some reason, in the first round, my vision didn't adjust. Though an accurate simulation vision-wise of me nearly blacking out, I didn't know the room I was in so it didn't take me long at all to walk into a table. Last week was even more fun, as my blood pressure apparently wasn't at all well - who needs to remember what

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1137964990406938992006-01-22T22:10:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:14.829+01:00

...I keep my family on a need to know basis. Give them a little information, and they presume their own version of the rest*. The most recent illustration of how much trouble this saves me was this weekend. It's very interesting to know that I'm very smart (according to my grandmother) for not doing such a stupid thing has having a girlfriend, as not only am I a bit young for that, it would be

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1137534832925894522006-01-17T22:44:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:14.749+01:00

but my stress levels went through the roof and are still rising.I'm not going to bitch, hence the positive points are:Anna is returning. Soon.I've started a new sub-project at the lab, involving cell culture.I've found a trick to solve the problem that the access-point loses touch with the cable modem upon a (frequent) provider glitch. Old solution: 'simulating a power failure', as the AP is in a

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1136746670623039682006-01-08T19:32:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:14.636+01:00

With one of the more expected developments of the rest of the decade being space tourism. Off course, with such nonsense going on as four year olds being dangerous terrorists and therefore on the no-fly list (or misunderstandings as outlined descirbed by the BBC in ''babies hit' by terror flight ban') there are already calls for security measures on this form of travel, naturally headed by the US

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1136481091986388242006-01-05T18:02:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:14.537+01:00

For some reason, people (some estate agent) trying to sell the downstairs floor don't get the following facts:I'm doing an internship in a hospital lab; I don't do 'bereikbaarheid' and definitely not mobileI can't just take time off on a whim; let me know a week in advance, not 22 hours.I can't 'let you know' if you don't pronounce your name clearly and don't leave a number.I rarely have time

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1136119350020345682006-01-01T13:35:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:14.460+01:00

Okay, anybody reading this has presumably reached 2006. Congratulations, just keep on counting.More hopefully soon.

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1135708170891293982005-12-27T19:16:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:14.363+01:00

...survived the family, which caught up with me for my Graduation and Birthday and for Sinterklaas and Christmas. All of them having completely the wrong idea about what I'm doing as somehow they can't think beyond fixed, narrowly defined static jobs, such as analysing blood samples, if I'm to name the most scientific example. No hints or queries as to whether there's some girl I'm after, maybe

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1135322316680461612005-12-23T07:54:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:14.273+01:00

When talking about measures to prevent crises, there are a lot aspects to look at. Yesterday there was a lecture on models of how an influenza pandemic would progress and how there could be a chance to stop one, if a number of conditions are satisfied (want more info? let me know). What struck me is that a number of measures that can help cost a lot of money, whilst an equal number of measures

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1135272732683558092005-12-22T18:24:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:14.177+01:00

I seem to remember (no access to the previous post from where I am now) that I mentioned something about physics in the original post, but I can't really be sure. Anyway, whilst figuring out some biology stuff, I just had to stuble upon particle physics at some point, inevitable, as the subjects are so very closely related... Anyway, I guess the only field where the following naming is used,

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1135064819233804522005-12-20T08:39:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:14.105+01:00

A while back I posted a list of 'interesting' protein and gene names. I missed one that is getting a few scientists into trouble: POK erythroid myeloid ontogenic gene, also known as Pokemon gene. Seeing as it has role in cancer, a number of blogs etc. came up with the headline 'Pokemon causes cancer'. In other words: Nintendo is suing. (Just google it, the report shows up on a number of places,

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1134929493952118112005-12-18T19:05:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:14.021+01:00

Quick trip to the lab, you're heading back, nice quite streets, no traffic chaos. Perfect moment to hit a pedestrian at speed. Somehow, I'm wondering how the guy managed not to see me. First he walks through a red light, then he somehow fails to see me and two other cyclists (all of us had lights on) and steps onto the bikelane right in front of me. Okay, so I managed to stop, with combination of

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1134503326716895222005-12-13T19:58:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:13.931+01:00

...or maybe not. I'm still debating whether I should be worried about that exam that's coming up. For some reason my brain keeps on planning around it. Planning: Before: workdiscussion, final lab work for the week. After: (immediately) host borrel, (immediately) department Christmas dinner. Friday: Lab cleaning. Saturday and Sunday: getting health insurance - as my current insurance ends January

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1134326294334721112005-12-11T19:03:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:13.835+01:00

And we're off to a flying start. Articles to read, protein names to dread (erm... X-box associated protein? I choose to believe that that has nothing to do with certain electronic devices), powerpoints to study, etc. etc.Well, with the added 'fun' of having two girls of about my own age at the door asking how much thought I gave the future and more importantly, god's role in it. Scary stuff: I

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1133984701272143842005-12-07T20:30:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:13.752+01:00

Yes, one week to go and already trying (not succeding) to remember stuff. Though I have to say that Depeche Mode, the remixes 81-04 is working brilliantly (or was, it did increase my attention span). The other conclusion: learning this stuff is bad for your health (or maybe that was because I was already a little under the weather). Also, your language skills don't improve too much. Then again,

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1133904345057874072005-12-06T21:59:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:13.681+01:00

There's nothing so depressing as a climate conference. A few of the very good reasons why are outlined in a blog by Amanda Haag over at Nature.com. Also, in another article, another look at the US is taken. Of course, it would be surprising if something positive would be said - but that isn't likely to happen. Instead, when talking about methyl bromide (insecticide, but also one of the large

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1133715005504948862005-12-04T17:04:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:13.604+01:00

So that's 100 posts in about 11 months. Could be worse I guess.I'll spare you the rants, I'll try and link to a few things, I'm brining up the wishlist that I promised a while back, even though it'll be January by the time I get round to celebrating my birthday.Anyway: there's yet another breakout clone available in flash - to waste your precious time in exam week. So is this game, once you get

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1133295700299059882005-11-29T21:05:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:13.532+01:00

...First of all, I'm erasing yesterday from my memory, so nobody go there, please. Second of all, most of this post will be in Dutch, as the masterpiece that came in the post is just too good (and I'm too lazy to translate). If you don't do Dutch, you can opt to watch some budgies singing about chocolate. For the rest, this an actual advert that came in today:[Quote starts]Mr. HAYDAGroot

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1133021946247474522005-11-26T16:52:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:13.464+01:00

If you thought that all the nerds do physics, think again. I'm preparing a presentation for my masters' course; it's about a paper about some research about drosophila (a.k.a. fruit-fly). Now all the clinically insane people in life science hang out in cell biology, or so it seems, whilst the nerds do drosophila stuff (more whole-organism and more likely to be developmental biology related work).

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1132686213923638412005-11-22T19:54:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:13.395+01:00

Alright, alright, I'm back in this country, where 'this' is the Netherlands. Why I left the UK is still a bit of a question, but let's not go there. Currently I'm on through to Woerden for one night, trying to organise a drink for my masters' programme, trying to pay people, trying to get coursework done and generally not really succeding in those things I'm trying. In general the lesson of the

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1131968021293479152005-11-14T12:03:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:13.314+01:00

After losing count of the amount of times my passport was needed at Schiphol, two metal detector securtity searches and a eventually a one hour flight, I got off the plane and was welcomed to England by, of all things typically associated with the place, drizzle. Nevertheless, by the time I had my luggage (checked, checked and checked again, just everything and everybody else in the baggage claim

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1131661964291568412005-11-11T12:00:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:13.245+01:00

In Flanders' Fields the Poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,That mark our place: and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.We are the dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved and were loved, and now we lieIn Flanders' Fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe;To you from failing hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1131560345116813412005-11-09T19:07:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:13.164+01:00

At least, that's the first thought I had upon opening my mailbox. Apart from the majority of e-mails concerning the next Friday meal (soon, very soon, I can see the uni spam-filter starting to protest), there's one from the programme coordinator, In which he says that from a reliable source he knows that me and a girl form the programme would be willing to organise at least one borrel (and

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1131301387622351792005-11-06T19:12:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:12.883+01:00

The following lyrics of a Matthew Good song are not being used as a statement reflecting me personally. I do, however believe that another person wil find that it may very accurately reflect his/her situation if seen in the correct light. In the odd-chance that you may read this - I hope it somehow helps. Apologies to the rest for not posting properly - this has priority.Here by my side, an

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1130879120257481732005-11-01T21:29:00.000+01:002006-11-10T14:42:12.813+01:00

First of all: my apologies to those people that I should be mailing (K., A., and the rest of the world). I'm just not finding enough time.The same goes for finding links - I'm running one of the Beta versions of firefox, and I'm too lazy to get things like flash working, so I'm using IE and paying the price. I'm finding out how many commercials there are on the web, and also how many of them seem

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1130182201120427252005-10-24T21:17:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:12.660+01:00

So, off to the lab to do, well, not much. Yesterday I started some work (took 1.5 hours, accompanied by a high pitch wail from one of the access verification points stuck in access denied mode, a broken waterbath and nobody to help resolve these issues as it was Sunday) which required another hour of work today, so enough time to go to the accountants and arrange matters. Apparently I'm now

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1130089730207052802005-10-23T19:08:00.001+02:002006-11-10T14:42:12.581+01:00

My other machine is a...Actually, I'm letting it go through a couple of identity crises at the moment. Though it's old(er) and unreliable I can say that testing different OS's and distributions are fun. So far:Windows ME. Final verdict: Absolute ****. Probably the worst version of Windows out there. Has something against Internet Explorer and is the main reason that I ditched that and went to

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1129658237482889762005-10-18T19:54:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:12.382+01:00

The list of blogs linked in the sidebar has increased somewhat. If I'm missing anyone, please feel free to tell me.As my birthday (Uhm, still need to plan the party, this may once again become a UC gig, though), St. Nick, etc. etc. is coming up, I may link to a wishlist as well soon. Though I need to think of things to put on it... Maybe I'll just set up a different blog (not monitored) and let

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1129573524476131052005-10-17T19:35:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:12.286+01:00

The Lab: Okay, I have inserts in the plasmids. My comment last week was: lets wait for the sequencing - there's still enough that can go wrong. Like a skipped base pair in the beginning of the sequence. So the short of it is - most of the sequences are useless for expression.The Street: The main shopping street, right round the corner, has seasonal decorative lighting spanning accross the road

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1129452857419587852005-10-16T10:41:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:12.215+01:00

A short history of the file you can see (two posts ago): As said, I went to the Kröller Muller museum some time ago. They recently opened a work by Krijn Giezen, called 'Kijk uit'. The museum site isn't very helpful, or well designed for that matter, but the sponsor has a bit more information in Dutch here. From the top of the stairs I took a series of 20 pictures that I then sent through

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1129362148247922182005-10-15T09:38:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:12.143+01:00

I promised a few people to link to the new commercials of a well-known soup brand. I checked the times (clock is visible when a cup is handed over). (5.11 Mb MPEG-1 each).16:01 Nuclear Powerplant16:02 Airport

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1129226412042461842005-10-13T19:57:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:12.068+01:00

I'll have some fun with this later. Apologies to those without flash. Loading sometimes takes a while (100kb).

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1128882060947790292005-10-09T19:49:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:11.979+01:00

As for actual paintings, the following are two that I actually took the effort to take a picture for. The first one is a van Gogh, which is strange in my case, as I'm usually not such a fan of Vincent.The painting is actually hung in a reasonably modern frame (not shown) which actually works well with it. In general, a frame seems to be able to complement a painting, or absolutely ruin it, even

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1128863368976827692005-10-09T14:59:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:11.902+01:00

Now, the reason I had a camera on me last time I was at UC was not because of Hermans' farewell do, but rather because I was heading home and a day at the Kröller was planned. It is a shame that the museum is being renovated, but was still nice to go there. The really good thing about the Kröller is that photography is allowed (as long as you don't use flash), so I can post two pictures later on

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1128663941895502382005-10-07T07:41:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:11.817+01:00

No, I'm not turning this into a cooking blog. Just wondering why anyone, especially a certain brand of meat-free protein source, would call a product a roll (even in Dutch), when it's still clearly a sausage. Okay, most veggie sausages are awfull - but has this lead to a widespread trauma amongst vegetarians?P.S. Actually, come to think of it, the product description in itself would be a bit

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1128626804583434702005-10-06T21:07:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:11.726+01:00

Sometimes I have the feeling that I have just as much sense of what's going on as I have sense of what's in my soup at the UMC. Which is worrying. For the soup, that is.In the meantime, posting here seems to be somewhat more limited. Maybe its just the fact that I don't have much time to find interesting things (though I guess I never really had that). The labwork is not that interesting to write

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1128016188433106662005-09-29T19:22:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:11.638+01:00

Rules and Regulations:Apperently, according to the small letters on one of the many random forms that I have, my large internship needs to take place within the faculty of Biology. Regardles, I just received a letter (misspelt address, misspelt supervisor name) saying that it had been approved (as an 'external subject' i.e. not part of the faculty of Biology), so at long last bureaucracy is not

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1127666349813876502005-09-25T18:05:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:11.538+01:00

Time flies! Seeing as I'm off to the lab between 08:15 and 19:00 (approx., inlcuding transit and shopping) and I'm doing reading outside of those hours, I'm not here that often. I've also been located in Amsterdam for some of the remaining time, but as my reason to be there just moved to Exeter, that'll no longer be the case. Que planning to leave for England (again). Maybe I should also start to

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1126548567625987622005-09-12T19:48:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:11.468+01:00

Don't get me wrong, it was quite nice. Filled in a form, and another form, and another form and [...] and figured out I'm not VMT certified (soon to be solved), got a badge [that needs to be worn in sight whilst on the premises], a locker, etc. etc. The first PCR has been done, I've got a bench spot and a reading spot, I know where to find stuff and I even have half a shelf in the freezer. Now I

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1126163119465152172005-09-08T09:02:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:11.390+01:00

I changed around a setting by accident which basically removed all the linebreaks in all posts, making some of them a bit annoying to read. The setting is back to what it should be, but some of the more recent posts may have become broken as a result. Apologies to all those digging in the archives.

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1126105865591917222005-09-07T17:03:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:11.303+01:00

I quite like the big church that I can see from my room. They're nearly done restoring it to it's former glory (look carefully and you can just make out the scaffolding). It features more in the view than the picture would suggest - in the way my room was made to look larger on that panorama picture, I took this picture in a manner which made the church seem smaller. For good measure, to bring

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1125936552560752042005-09-05T17:16:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:11.223+01:00

Or, at least, that is what they say. So far, in just about every internship related thing I've heard that line (comes into play when discussing a UC background ). As long as the theory is fine (note)(hide) [Given the fact that up until now people are explaining fairly basic things as if they may be a bit difficult, that shouldn't be the problem. At least the last guy that I spoke to asked if I

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10093074.post-1125577074944409372005-09-01T14:13:00.000+02:002006-11-10T14:42:11.130+01:00

And a very distorted view of the room. It looks about 5 times larger than it actually is.The site is under limited maintenance - I'm changing the linked blogs section. Any additions? Let me know! Maybe I'll also weed out some code artifacts, or maybe I'll re-implement them. Anyway, I've got to run...

JHMSnoreply@blogger.com2