Beautiful september morning in Amsterdam

This year we had an unusually hot july and an unusually yet august. And now we have a slightly more common very nice september. This is a picture from the back side of Artis - Zoo.

Light up with Diet Coke

Have been drinking to much Cola Light (diet coke' for US-ees) lately. Wonder if its any good for your health... You probably shouldn't combine it with Mentos, as this video shows:

The Dutch national public news broadcaster NOS reported that Cola sales have risen recently because of youths trying this at home.

"Yes, we have a talented cat..."

The video below really makes you wonder about the intelligence of cats, and maybe even more so about their level of awareness. And I thought cats were relatively stupid... On the contrary. Have a look at environment unfriendly flushing Gizmo:

Beijing 2008: Race For Tibet!

I wholeheartedly support the case for Tibet:

Beijing 2008: Race For Tibet!

"Help make the Beijing 2008 Olympics a catalyst for change in China! China has a historic opportunity to show the world that it is a worthy host of the 2008 Olympics. But time is critical and the countdown to the Games has begun. The Race for Tibet harnesses the energy of the Olympics and goodwill of people worldwide to call on China to: End human rights abuses in Tibet, and Directly engage the Dalai Lama to find a negotiated solution for Tibet. Join the Race for Tibet today!"

VENI-grant congratulation

I was happily surprised by a letter I received from the rector of the University of Amsterdam. If you click the image you can read it... well, if you speak Dutch. (For the few people out there who don't, it reads as follows:

Dear Mr. Grasman,

On behalf of the Board of Goveners I would like to congratulate you with your recently awarded "VENI-innovation impuls" application. The awardment of your application again shows that research that is conducted within our university is both nationally as well as internationally acknowledged.

I wish you good luck in conducting your research.

Sincerely,

prof. mr. P.F. van der Heijden, rector)

They even announced it on the UvA website, just like the research school and the Netherlands Science Foundation did. It made me realize that I didn't get anything like it from the Psychology department... Not even a single word from the very same person that brought flowers to congratulate Eric-Jan—whom I share a room with—with his VIDI-grant... Even when I expressed my surprise that apparently only VIDI-grant applicants received flowers... Don't get me wrong, I'm not at all bitter .