Cartagena de Indias - Tourist Trap?

Colonial cities in Central and South America are treasures for tourists and many have been undiscovered by tourism. Granada and Leon, Nicaragua as well as Cuenca, Ecuador, are some of the places where tourism hasn't taken over. Strolling through those towns will make you feel like you've entered a different world.

Cartagena de Indias in Colombia is a bit of a different story. Yes, it is a beautiful and very special place with ancient walls around an historic center with narrow streets, colonial buildings, romantic squares and colorful bougainvillea growing everywhere. Here's a key statistic for the downside: the tiny historic center of Cartagena de Indias expects to get nearly 500,000 visitors from cruise ships alone in the 2009/2010 season.

The mass tourism has turned the gorgeous town into somewhat of a tourist trap, complete with people trying to sell souvenirs everywhere you walk or sit, pricey boutiques, mediocre restaurants with pushy runners, the obligatory horse drawn carriages and taxi drivers who try to get more money for the short trips you might take.

If you're prepared to deal with those minor hassles and don't mind seeing hordes of slightly overweight elderly people (mostly Americans) who travel in groups, following a guide and take pictures of a butterfly that landed on the hat of a fellow cruise tourist, you will be fine.

Despite the mass tourism, Cartagena de Indias is worth a visit and you will remember the gorgeous historic buildings, squares and streets. If I were to go back I'd plan to stay in the historic center and just spend two nights, with one full day, walking around the town, drinking coffee and snacking on local delicacies.

Here are some impressions of the town:

Beach Scenes At Boca Grande, Colombia

Prepare to be assaulted the moment you set foot on Boca Grande Beach near Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. It is a physical assault, but not by gangsters or mobsters, instead by massage therapists looking to sell their services. They won't take "no" for an answer and will start massaging you even if you tell them to leave you alone. "Es un regalo" -- a present, they say. But before you know if you're getting the full massage and you will spend $10 or so being rubbed in with some cheap lotion. The massage isn't bad at all, quite good actually, but the assault is a bit of an experience.

The pushy massage therapists are just the start. Once you park yourself in a chair on the beach a veritable parade of peddlers will come by. You can buy sun glasses, towels, T-shirts, fruit plates, ceviches, full lunches, ice creams, beers, tours, smokes and more from your lazy position on the beach. It is quite comfortable to sit there, but don't think you will be left in peace for long. A tip, take a book and at least pretend to be reading from it and you will be left alone by the hawkers.

Here are some shots from the beach, taken by my dad "Latino" Benno

12 Scams of Christmas

Last week King 5 News (NBC) in Seattle discussed some of the scams cybercrooks are pulling around Christmas time. The segment was based on a McAfee pitch about some of the tricks we've seen online during the holidays. Many broadcasters around the nation and the world have paid attention to the topic, advising consumers how to be safe online while dealing with the stress of the season and trying to get the best deals for the wishlists they have to fill. The Seattle station interviewed me, the segment is below.

Christmas In The Park - San Jose

Last night I stumbled upon a pretty cool display in downtown San Jose. All of the park on Plaza de Cesar Chavez has been turned into a Christmas display complete with tons of Christmas trees, decorations, caroling and fake snow. Here's an impression taken with my Blackberry camera.

Sinterklaas en Zwarte Piet

Take a walk around the center of any Dutch city this time of year and you will run into Zwarte Piet and maybe Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet are the Dutch equivalent of Santa Claus and his elves. Actually, the jolly ho-ho-ho-ing overweight Santa is based on the Dutch Sinterklaas. The physical resemblance is also obvious, though Sinterklaas is a skinny tall man (like most Dutchies.)

Zwarte Piet and Santa's elves have little in common, except their task to support their Saint. Zwarte Piet is typically a white man in black face, dressed kind of funny. One story is that Piet got black because of all the traveling up and down chimneys to deliver gifts to kids. However, it also has links back to slavery.

There are people in the Netherlands who call for and end to the tradition of Zwarte Piet because of its political incorrectness. However, tradition is strong and most Dutch seem to want to keep Zwarte Piet part of the annual Sinterklaas festivities. Sint and Piet arrive each year by steam engine ship into a Dutch town, a nationally televised event. They both leave quietly after December 6 when all Dutch families have unwrapped their gifts.

Here are some shots taken this weekend in Haarlem and Rijswijk, Netherlands.

Two Zwarte Pieten walk through the Grote Houtstraat in Haarlem.

Zwarte Piet in a baker's store window in Rijswijk

Sinterklaas in the same bakery. The celebration usually includes lots of chocolate and marzipan.

Socialism

The corner of Stevens Creek and Winchester is one of the busiest intersections in San Jose, CA. The crossroads is the site of two of San Jose's major shopping areas, Westfield Valley Fair and Santana Row.


View Larger Map

Every weekend protesters come to the intersection carrying banners, advocating for peace, for a certain political candidate or whatever other cause. I have seen protests for and against gay marriage, for and against George Bush's administration and for and against Barack Obama.

On my drive home from work last week I saw one of the largest groups of protesters I have seen on the intersection, especially on a weekday. Most of the people were protesting for health care reform, but a few were against.

One sign had a faded image of Barack Obama with sickly reddish lips. Under the scary image was printed the word: Socialist.

Socialism in the U.S. is a bad word, even for those left of center. To some, folks more on the right, "socialism" is almost as evil as Osama bin Laden. Does that go back to fear of communism and the propaganda of McCarthy? It might.

Being from Western Europe this is all foreign to me. All of Western Europe is filled with Social Democrats and people are perfectly happy there, happier than most are here, if you follow polls and surveys like those done by the UN.

Socialism comes in many forms and isn't evil or by default anti anything that has to do with capitalism. There's a happy median that can and should be found. No country should leave its people perish without health care, especially the world's richest nation. The U.S. is still growing up and coming of age. Taking care of the people in the country should be part of that, instead of the old Wild West principal of every man for himself.

I pay taxes in the US. I am happy to pay taxes--and even to pay more in taxes--as long as the money goes to support things I can stand for. That would include health care for everyone and a good educational system as well as safe airports, public transit and good roads. It would exclude certain military operations or funding continued efforts by the US to remain the world's cop.

Adding a few socialist principles to the U.S. system won't upset the American Way or American Dream. It is an evolution, not a revolution. Try it, you might like it.

The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

As part of the San Francisco Documentary Film Festival I saw "The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia" last night. The documentary played in a large theater and the room was nearly filled to capacity. The audience audibly enjoyed the show, laughing, commenting, sighing at many points in the movie. I really enjoyed the look into the life of one extraordinary family in West Virginia. Unfortunately, I must say, too many people in Europe and outside of the U.S. think all Americans are like the Whites because of films like this and daytime TV shows like Jerry Springer. Still, as long as one realizes that this isn't the norm by any means, the movie is great entertainment as well as a reminder that some parts of American society are troublesome. Highly recommended.

Spun Out On 101

Rain in California means a mess on the roads. Right outside my office window is highway 101, the artery of Silicon Valley. The driver of this pick up truck is not having a good day, he spun out and lost a wheel and has been standing in the middle of the freeway, awaiting emergency services, for 10 minutes or so.

Best Fish Tacos in San Jose

This somewhat nondescript place on Bascom Ave in central San Jose sells the best fish tacos I've had. It is also conveniently close to home, lucky me!

The place, Dia the Pesca, is on a parking lot and serves out of a disguised "roach coach." They've turned the lot into a haven with planters and tables and chairs.

People rave about the place on Yelp. I concur wholeheartedly. I don't like the somewhat cheesy "Si Food" references they make though (and I do speak Spanish.)

Real Estate Sales Shenanigans

For the past few months I have been looking for a house to buy. It seems that the market has bottomed out, or may already be riding a small upward slope. Today I went to another open house, this one was different that any other I have been to.

The house is a three bedroom, two bath, 1200 square foot ranch style home on a 7,000 square foot lot with a decent pool in a West San Jose neighborhood, near Campbell. It is listed for $300,000, which is unheard of in these areas for a nicely maintained house. That's exactly where the catch is.

The house was open on Saturday and Sunday afternoon and it was a real circus when I was there on Sunday. Throngs of people clogging the halls, rooms and yard. The neighbors probably were upset as well since their quiet streets were turned into a parking lot with cars coming and going.

Inside the house the selling realtor--a short-tempered, middle-aged man dressed in a suit--was barely able to manage the crowd. He didn't really spend time answering questions about the property, instead he handed out forms and sternly instructed people to fill out initial offers on the spot, before 4 PM.

It seems the Silicon Valley housing market has gone crazy again. My current representing realtor, Chisholm Gentry, said he hadn't seen this type of gross underpricing of the house to get people in the doors in his many years on the job. "If you put it on the market for $1 it will sell," he said, noting that this tactic doesn't make sense even in the current market.

I wrote down an initial offer, but I don't really expect it will go anywhere. On to the next open house.

TV Interviews via Skype

In the past two days I have been interviewed twice for U.S.-based broadcast outlets via Skype. While the video quality isn't quite as good as when it is shot onsite or in a studio, it is sufficient and TV stations do use it. I've been told that Oprah has been doing Skype interviews for over a year now.

Video interviews via Skype make a lot of sense as they save the stations time and money. Traditionally the stations drive a crew out to the office or the interviewee has to go down to a local studio. This costs time and can cost expensive studio and satellite fees.

Now, for little money and time investment at all, KRON in San Francisco and 11Alive in Atlanta had a McAfee security expert on TV when they wanted it. I am sure this will happen more in the future. You can see the clips below:

11Alive, Atlanta:



KRON 4 San Francisco:

Farmers And Fishermen of Cambodia

Going to Cambodia is like going through a timewarp. Life has not changed for hundreds of years for many Cambodian families. Over 80 percent farm their own piece of land or fish. They own a water buffalo or other animal to help them (if they farm) or a simple canoe and some netting, or even simply a net and a bucket, if they fish. It is a very sobering experience to visit Cambodia and see the true simple life.

 

 

 

A New Monk Gets Dressing Lessons

How do you wear a robe? This newly arrived monk in Cambodia is taught how to dress.

 

Tuol Sleng Museum - Pol Pot's Secret Prison

Following up to the last post, here are some pictures of Tuol Sleng, the high school turned secret prison in Phnom Penh during the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s.

A cell in the VIP (very important prisoner) segment where torture happened daily.

The Khmer Rouge documented carefully who entered the prison. Practically everyone was eventually killed.

Cells for female prisoners on the second floor. Male prisoners were on the ground floor in cells without doors, but they were shackled to the floor.

A view from one of the school buildings/prison buildings to another.

The Ghosts Of Cambodia - Pol Pot's Victims

After touring Vietnam last summer, Cambodia was on the list this year. In Vietnam I saw remnants of the Vietnam war and some of the terrible pain inflicted on people there.

On the first day in the Cambodia I visited the Tuol Sleng Museum, a former high school turned prison during the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s. Then we traveled to the Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh where about 20,000 people were murdered in a gruesome way, many of whome were transfered from Tuol Sleng.

Visiting these places is thoroughly depressing, as you can imagine. The school/prison has furniture, blood splatters and torture gear on display in addition to many walls filled with photos of the people who were imprisoned there, tortured and ultimately murdered on the killing fields. The prisoners were accused of being intellectuals or against Pol Pot's regime.



The Killing Fields are another experience altogether. A monument contains the skulls of thousands of the victims in a tower of many levels, starting with the youngest and then up to adults. As you walk around the fields you see white bones peeking through the soil as well as teeth and victims' clothing. It is a very powerful and surreal experience.

I will soon add some photos.

Sights of the Livermore Rodeo 2009

General sights of the Livermore Rodeo 2009 -- A true American way to spend a Sunday afternoon, including a good dose of patriotism that included a gigantic flag and the singing of the national anthem.

People at the Livermore Rodeo

People watching is always fun and at a rodeo you see all kinds. Here some shots of people seen in the crowd, I especially like the young cowboys and cowgirls. Pink cowboy hat anyone?

Rodeo Pictures

Pictures taken at the 2009 Livermore Rodeo. The event was a great opportunity to try out my new telephoto lens for my Canon Eos 40D. It worked well, if you ask me. This is an impression of the horseback and bull action at the event. It is pretty tough to see how the animals are being forced to buck by using belts strapped on their lower bodies and by pushing them out of tiny gates. The crowds loved it though and I must say that I don't regret seeing it at least this once.

Bareback bucking

Barrel race, the one activity for women that actually looks humane towards the animals as well and is quite fun and exciting to watch as well

The bulls threw off their tormentors in rapid succession

Livermore Rodeo

Two friends visiting from the Netherlands heard about a rodeo in Livermore (30 miles from San Jose) and invited me to go along. Being a rodeo virgin, I happily accepted. I didn't expect all the comments from American friends and coworkers though when I announced I'd go to a rodeo. They ranged from animal abuse to a rodeo being entertainment for white thrash (or low class Americans.)

This commentary actually made me want to experience a rodeo more. So we went and I must say, it was an experience and it turned out to be a day of other firsts including my first funnel cake (tasty!), first two Bud Lights (foul) and the end of the day atop of Mount Diable (fantastic!)

Here's a photo impression of the rodeo. I had a good time, it being my first rodeo. However, I do feel for the animals and this is probably the first and only time I will go to a rodeo, until other visitors from abroad ask me to go see this original Americana type of entertainment.

My first Funnel Cake

Interesting people in the crowd

Future or former Miss Rodeo?

Tragedy on Queen's Day

This morning I woke up to the tragic news that a nutcase drove his car into the crowds celebrating Queen's Day in the city of Apeldoorn, Netherlands. News reports say four people have died and at least a dozen are injured. The incident happened just as the Dutch royal family passed by the location.


Queen's Day is a national holiday in the Netherlands on April 30. The country's entire population goes out and celebrates the Queen. The royal family each year picks a different city to visit on the day and is treated to traditional and new shows by citizens of the region. This is a nationally televised event. Everywhere else in the country people go out on the streets, have mass flea markets and celebrate with concerts, fairs and more.


My uncle Peike this morning sent me images from the Queen's Day celebration in my home town Haarlem. Happy pictures. He followed a bit later with sad images from Apeldoorn, including one showing a shocked Crown Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Maxima.

The Economy

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the economy is in serious trouble. Over the last week more ominous headlines have appeared, but the government of Barack Obama is also trying to come up with a fix.

U.S. companies slashed nearly 600,000 jobs in January, underscoring the deepening recession. The jobless rate has risen to 7.6%. A growing number of states are running out of cash to pay unemployment benefits, a sign of how far social-welfare systems are being stretched by the swelling ranks of the jobless in the deteriorating U.S. economy.

In California the state government has been struggling for months to come to agreement on a budget. There is a multibillion dollar deficit. On Friday the government forced more than 200,000 employees, or about 90% of its work force, to take an unpaid day off as the state, the nation's most populous, tries to save money amid the fiscal crisis.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered most state agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Corporations, to shut down on the first and third Fridays of each month. The unpaid furloughs will cost affected workers about 10% of their pay.

Meanwhile, Senate Democratic leaders struck a deal late Friday with three moderate Republicans on an economic-recovery package. The deal came after days of gridlock and is valued at $780 billion. It may bring some air to the economy.

While all this is going on, I am out in Truckee, CA, carving on the slopes and am readying for a whirlwind tour around the globe to Europe and Central America. I have told myself to keep spending, while also building a rainy day fund.

President Barack H. Obama

Where were you when Barack Obama delivered his inauguration speech? That's sure to be a moment in time people will remember for a long time to come. I was checking out of the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta where I attended a McAfee meeting.

Obama's speech was on display on all screens mounted from the walls behind the check-in desk at the large hotel, monitors in the hallways also displayed the new president. I apologized to the front desk staff for interrupting the speech to get my bill, but I had to go catch a flight. I walked through the Peachtree Center Mall to get to the Marta trains, it was all very quiet with many people likely in front of a TV where I couldn't see them.

While much less powerful than hearing it from Obama himself, I read the speech on my BlackBerry at the airport. To me, being from outside the U.S. and having seen the world go to pieces over the past eight years, the following passage was really powerful and actually gave me goosebumps:

"As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more."

Mr. Obama, I am looking forward to that change! In case you didn't see the speech, it is available here:

Sinterklaas

A week ago my niece Paula saw Sinterklaas in Tumbaco, Ecuador. Just yesterday I saw Sinterklaas in Palo Alto, Calif. That old man gets around! Oh, and one of Sint's helpers in Palo Alto was oddly familiar to me :)

Flu Shot, Ecuadorian Style

On the way to the neighborhood tennis court in Monteserrin, Quito, last week I saw a strange sceneon the side of the street. A young girl had her pants pulled down and was showing the world her bare buttocks. She was leaned over the knees of what looked to be a parent and somebody in a nurse's uniform was getting ready to give her a shot.

A minivan parked near the scene gave away what was happening. This was the public flu shot service. The van drives around neighborhoods and from a speaker on its roof the shot service is announced. If you want a shot, you apparently will get it right outside the car, on the sidewalk, in plain sight of whomever passes by.

So, just like in the U.S. the people of Ecuador have an option to get a flu shot. I heard it is free to most Ecuadorians, unlike for those in the U.S. who have to pay for it. At least they get some privacy for their dollars.

"Mine -- Taken by Katrina"

The fate of the animals left behind when Katrina hit New Orleans a few years ago is an often untold story. People who were forced to evacuate often were also forced to leave behind their furry friends. Because of the devastation many evacuees did not return, not for their belongings but also not for their pets. Animal rescue teams from around the country swooped in to save them.

Years after Katrina some of the evacuees have their lives back in order and have gone looking for their pets, which have since been adopted by new families. The stories of some of these battles for the ownership of dogs is told in a new movie: Mine -- Taken by Katrina. I got a sneak preview of this movie last week, courtesy of my friend Erin who is one of the makers.

I'm not much of a pet person, but it is a touching story nonetheless. One thing I can't help but wonder is why people would not be happy adopting a new pet from an asylum instead of fighting for a dog that they abandoned and haven't searched for in a year. There are plenty of pets in need of loving homes.

The movie isn't finished yet and the makers would love your support so they can complete their work.

Adventure Spa

I just spent a couple of days at Luna Runtun, a wonderful retreat perched high above the town of Banos, Ecuador. Luna Runtun describes itself as an "Adventure Spa," which means they organize activities such as horse back riding, mountain biking, hikes and trekkings, but also have a nice spa with treatments.

The adventure for me was a hike down into the town of Banos on the small "senderos" (trails) that lead from the hotel past a couple of crosses into the town. We hiked back up past the statue of a "Virgen."

Luna Runtun is a very nice place and it has high standards for Ecuador, with nice staff and very comfortable and clean rooms, plus hot springs with an amazing view. It is very high end, and the prices are similar to what you would pay in a Western country for a four star place.

My recommendations to make the experience even better: add binoculars to the guest rooms (which all have amazing views over the valley or to an active volcano) and make sure that bugs don't get into the food served in the restaurant.

Disgruntled Employee

Looking out of my office window late Friday afternoon I saw three helicopters hovering over a Santa Clara neighborhood just across Highway 101. I also noticed three Highway Patrol cars pulling over an SUV on the freeway and flashing lights throughout the office park area across the freeway from where I was sitting.

There have been helicopters before and I have seen many traffic stops and accidents, but this time something serious was going on. The helicopters hovered for more than an hour and made low sweeps over the neighborhood. Initially I didn't think much of it, but then I pulled up the Web site for KCBS, the local AM radio news station.

"3 Shot Dead in Santa Clara" read the headline on the KCBS Web page and a short article explained that a man hunt was on to find the perpetrator. This morning the story is a bit more detailed. The San Jose Mercury News reports:

"A recently laid-off high-tech employee opened fire inside the Santa Clara office where he used to work late Friday afternoon, police said, killing the CEO and two others and sparking a massive dragnet that spread throughout the area. "

So this is a recession or depression murder, perhaps a sign of more to come as people get laid off and get desperate instead of rational and work their way through the downturn. I must admit, this scares me.

President Obama!

Finally my European friends, family and acquaintances won't look at me with scorn when I tell them I live in the U.S. Now they will see hope and change, a new dawn for a nation that for eight years had to suffer bad leadership that has turned the world against it. I welcome President Barack Obama and am so happy that voters in America made the right decision.

Election Day

If you don't know that it is election day in the U.S. today, you've been living under a rock.

While it is election day, I don't get to vote. I am a loyal tax payer and a law abiding, legal permanent resident of the United States. Still, I don't get to vote. If I'd want to vote, I'd have to become a U.S. Citizen. That would mean giving up my Dutch citizenship--as required by the Dutch government--and I am not (yet) willing to do that.

I do vote in the Netherlands, but that doesn't mean as much on the world stage, obviously. Looking at where I'd cast my U.S. vote, California, it wouldn't make much difference on the national stage, since most Californians vote democrat. However, I would like to vote down (in the case of proposition 8) and support some of the endless propositions and initiatives on the California ballot, but alas.

In the Netherlands anyone who has lived there for more than five years gets to vote, regardless of nationality.

Indian Springs

For a friend's birthday last weekend I drove up Napa Valley to the small town of Calistoga. The friend, Carmen, had invited all her friends to come enjoy the hot springs at Indian Springs. Such a relaxing party was perfect timing for me, having just come from Las Vegas where McAfee put on its FOCUS 08 Security Conference. I haven't worked that hard before in my life.

Indian Springs is a small resort with a spa that has a cute garden for relaxing after your treatment. It is not a fancy resort, but reasonably affordable with great therapists and clean. I was expecting the hot springs to be more than one big pool (more like Termas de Papallacta in Ecuador) yet it was a fun experience and I can recommend a trip up there.

Perhaps better than Indian Springs is the drive up Napa Valley on Hwy 29 to Calistoga. It is a gorgeous trip passing through vineyards and underneath trees with changing leaves. My carpool partner and I stopped over in Yountville for coffee and pastries at Bouchon bakery. They know how to make a good croissant.

Bridge School Benefit Concert

It is a Silicon Valley classic, but for me it was the first time: The Bridge School Benefit Concert. This event, hosted and programmed by American Music Legend Neil Young, is held every year to support the a school for children with special needs.

Last weekend a few friends and I saw performances of, amongst others, Death Cab for Cutie, Sarah McLachlan, Band of Horses, Wilco, Norah Jones and Cat Power. Mr. Young himself closed the afternoon and evening.

Neil Young closes the concert. (San Jose Mercury News Photo)

I thought the concert was a lot of fun and the music, especially Sarah McLachlan and Death Cab for Cutie, was pretty darn good. But the reviewer with the San Jose Mercury News disagrees: "Bridge School Benefit Hits Low Point" was the headline in Monday´s paper. Well, if this was a low point then the other benefits must have been amazing! I´ll be back next year.

Third Presidential Debate

This third and final debate between Barack Obama and John McCain is the first in which I saw a clear winner: Barack Obama. I have been wanting to proclaim Obama the winner of the previous debates, but really I felt the previous ones were toss ups. Tonight the continued attacks that McCain launched on Obama and his repeated stories on taxes made me dislike him.

Being an immigrant, one with permant residency and who pays taxes diligently, I don't get a vote in this country until I actually become a citizen, so my opinion may not matter. Still, this is my blog and I will share my thoughts and if I sway one voter, that's great.

One of the questions that keeps bugging me is on McCain's plan for health care. He repeats that he plans to give everyone a $5,000 tax credit to pay for healthcare. That's all great for people who pay taxes, like me, but what about the low-wage earners who pay much less in taxes or the unemployed who pay no taxes at all? How are they going to pay for health care?

To me McCain's health care plan is a clear example on how he will take care of people who already have a good life and can afford healthcare today, it doesn't take care of the people who really need it. The same is true for the plans to reduce or cut capital gains tax, that's not something that will help the poorest people in this country.

It was a heart wrenching moment Saturday when a friend and I were walking down the street in Millbrae and saw an old lady sitting on a bucket on the side of the street, begging for money for food. She reminded both my friend and myself of our grandmothers and seemed truly down on her luck, needing to beg for handouts. We gave her a few dollars, bought her some bagels and a bottle of water. However, she probably could use housing and a solid health care plan much more than that.

Proposition 8

Skipping into the kitchen, holding a children's book, a young girl smiles: "Mom! Guess what I learned in school today. I learned how prince married a prince and that I can marry a princess!"


The scene fades to the background and a man in a suit, Professor Richard Peterson of Pepperdine University School of Law, appears and asks with ominous intonation: "Think it can happen? It has already happened." He then proceeds to talk about how children in Massachussets are being taught about gay marriage since that state allowed same sex unions.


The commercial goes on to state that gay marriage should not be legal because it should be up to the parents whether their kids are taught about same sex marriages in school. In short, whether gay marriage is legalized in California is a parental rights issue, according to this clip.


At risk of making my blog too political, I think this is wrong. The campaign against allowing people who love each other call their union a marriage upsets me and having this commercial and many and others like it pass by on my TV is revolting. I fail to see how same sex marriage has anything to do with parental rights.


A man flanked by his own three year-old girl even came to my door to lobby for proposition 8, which would ban gay marriage in California. Proposition 8 is on the ballot on Nov. 4, the same day people here will elect the next U.S. president. It was put on the ballot after the California Supreme Court decided that same sex couples should be able to marry.


If this is supposed to be the "land of the free" than some people are awfully worried about what others are doing with their lives and what label they get to put on their union. That shouldn't be anybody else's business.


Now, please let me vote to remove those awful ads, funded by some $25 million fund, from my TV. And if you're allowed to vote in California, please vote No on Proposition 8.

Pigeon Point

One of my favorite spots along the nearby coast is Pigeon Point Lighthouse. It is simply a gorgeous place to take pictures and take in the majestic California coast line as well as the Pacific Ocean. I went there again this past weekend with two visitors from Ecuador and discovered a spot I had not been to before. If you walk all the way past the lighthouse, there's a deck built on top of some rocks that lets you walk onto a platform over the ocean, it is truly beautiful and spectacular to look at the waves from there. Bring someone special and your day is just about perfect :)

Presidential Debate --> No Winner

Colleague Richard Cohn and I watched the first debate of the presidential candidates on Friday at my house and both of us didn't see a clear winner. Actually, we both felt the debate was too tame and I personally was disappointed that the candidates essentially refused to engage each other in debate, always relying on the moderator to run the show.

Right now I can't appreciate either candidate. I'd say that Obama is the better choice, but I am concerned about the position both candidates take on Russia and on NATO. Sure, this is a bunch of foreign policy stuff that many people may not care about, but in my eyes NATO is a relic of the cold war and should not be strengthened, instead you might discuss disbanding it.

The rhetoric on Georgia and other nations that border Russia joining NATO is scaring me. I do not want a second cold war. Imagine what would happen if Russia struck a similar pact with countries in South America (think Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile...)

While I know that Putin isn't democratic and has done terrible things in his country especially as it comes to the freedom of the press, I suggest the candidates in the U.S. tone it down a bit and go for diplomacy rather than aggression through NATO expansion. Also, the president of Georgia might be everyone's best friend in the U.S., but he's the one who provoked Russian action with help from the U.S., he should be reprimanded.

One Click Tennis

Tennis is one of the ways I try to keep fit and One Click Tennis has been a great help. In the past I have found tennis buddies on Craig's List, but that's a far cry from One Click. The Web site is like an old fashioned tennis ladder, but automated.

It is super simple, you advertise your availability on a calendar and One Click finds a partner of similar skill level who wants to play at the same time. The site has a great database of tennis courts and it always places you on a court nearby both players' residences.

Creator Z has done a fantastic job, each time I want to play the Web site finds me an opponent. Through One Click I have played a wide variety of people, young and old with all kinds of backgrounds. Silicon Valley is a true melting pot and One Click once again proofs that. Anyway, if you're looking for tennis partners in the San Francisco Bay Area, try One Click and for $50 a year I think it is a bargain, far less than a fitness club.

Judge Halts Def Con Talk

There's nothing incestuous about the drama unfolding at Def Con. Reporters in Vegas for the Black Hat and Def Con events are getting two for the price of one this year.

The Black Hat story was arguably a tempest in a teapot with journalist-on-journalist spying. What unfolded at Def Con today is the real thing. A judge in Massachussets barred students from the prestigious Massachussets Institute of Technology from presenting on a hack of RFID-based transportation tags that are used in Boston to pay for the local subway system known as the "T."

The undergraduate students had been scheduled to give a presentation Sunday afternoon in which they planned to describe "several attacks to completely break the CharlieCard," according to a CNET News.com report. The students also planned to release card-hacking software they had created, but canceled both the presentation and the release of the software.

Hacks of RFID systems used for public transit have become popular, possibly more popular than the passport hacks of the past years. In Europe the payment tags used in systems across the continent have come under heavy scrutiny from security experts. In my home country of The Netherlands, for example, the OV Chipkaart is said to have been compromised.

What all of this shows is that, once again, organisations are rushing to implement new technologies--RFID in this case--without fully considering the security impacts ahead of time. It is critical, now more than ever, to do a solid security review before commercializing any type of technology. I am sure that many of the "hackers" at Def Con and Black Hat could be hired for such services.

08-08-08

Today's supposed to be a lucky day that brings a lot of good fortune. If you believe in Chinese numerology it should especially bring fortune. So, a lot of couples are getting married today. I am in Las Vegas for Black Hat and Def Con and am literally tripping over newlyweds. In every major hotel I have seen the traditional white dress and guys in tuxedos. All 08-08-08 couples and none that I have seen are Chinese.

Tonight at dinner I also ran into a bachelorette party. The girls, about 8 of them, had all kinds of odd assignments. They had to get a guy to sign his name on one of their chests, they had to call a guy's girlfriend, they had to kiss a guy on his cheeck, they had to French kiss a guy, flash a guy and have a guy motorboat one of them. Of course these would all be complete strangers to them. Sadly Declan and I didn't get any of the real fun tasks ;-) However, we did get to watch one girl do the scene from "When Harry met Sally" and fake an orgasm in a restaurant. That was amusing.

Now, I am not so sure it is a lucky day today. I lost $60 playing Black Jack. What's up with that?

No Black Hat Without Drama

It seems the annual Black Hat and Def Con security conferences in Las Vegas just aren't complete without some kind of drama that reporters can sink their teeth into. However, the drama that plays out keep getting closer and closer to home for the journalist crowd.

Last year a TV reporter was expelled from Def Con for not being appropriately accredited and asking questions without identifying herself as press. The collective media jumped on the story of how their peer was cheating the Def Con rules and operating under cover in an attempt to do a story on hackers.

This year it was the reporters themselves who got hacked, by other reporters. According to the buzz around the Black Hat press room the sanctity of the local area network set up specifically for media was breached by a couple of French journalists who sniffed the network and were able to capture the apparent user credentials for reporters from eWeek and CNET.

"I feel personally violated," one of the reporters in question said later on Thursday night. This was after this year's Black Hat drama had unfolded to the extend of a press conference with lawyers from EFF and the ejection of the French journalists from the event two hours before it was to end.

I've attended many Black Hat and Def Con events over the years and have always distrusted the networks at the events. BYOI or BYOC is my philosophy (Bring Your Own Internet -- Bring Your Own Connectivity.)

I do feel for my former colleagues though. I've been hacked in the past and I am sure it will happen again and it isn't much fun when your data either disappears or gets put out in the open. The somewhat incestuous nature of the Black Hat dramas over the past two years is kind of odd though. What happened to the good old days of Michael Lynn and Cisco-gate?

Bergamo is top!

If you happen to be in northern Italy (say around Milano) you should make the time to also visit the lovely town of Bergamo.

While Milan is crowded with people on foot, bicycle, moped, in cars, buses and trucks, Bergamo is quiet and quaint. Bergamo is also ancient and very picturesque. You can stroll narrow cobblestone streets along buildings with thick brick walls and discover beautiful squares with historic churches and other buildings that it just gives you a sense of going back in time.

We were in Bergamo's upper city on a weekday and outside the summer vacation season and I think that's the best time to go, I predict that it gets pretty busy there with visitors in peak season. Still, the streets are narrow and many don't allow cars on peak visit days, so it should still be good.

Some pictures I took:

Oranjegekte II

So, the Dutch national team is stunning the world of soccer. Tomorrow they take on Russia in the semi finals of the European championship soccer. Normally I don't care about sports on TV, in the paper or on the radio (I only care about being active myself), but for the Dutch national team I will come out and cheer every other year--provided they qualify for the world or European championship. It looks like every Dutch man and woman, boy and girl will be wearing orange tomorrow. Here are some images of oranjegekte (orange craze) right now:

Oranjegekte

Or "orange craziness" has once again taken hold of The Netherlands. Stores are selling everything in orange and many Dutch people and businesses are showing their support for the Dutch national team by decorating their houses or stores.

This is all a prelude to the European Soccer Championships starting in a week or so. It is one of the few sports events I will actually watch on TV, so I am bringing back some orange wear and other items to wear to wherever the game is showing in the Silicon Valley area :)

Waking up to the smell of fire

This morning I woke up to the smell of fire. The winds have turned overnight, so it may be the Summit Fire that is burning in the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains. That fire started at 0530 AM on Thursday and has been growing bigger since then.

According to local news reports about 3000 acres have burned and the fire is now about 20 percent contained. I think that means it is somewhat under control, but not really. Hundreds of firefighters have come to battle the blazes and airplanes are dropping fire retardant on the flames as well.

This fire still is aways from where I live, so San Jose is not in any danger. However, people in the mountains have lost their houses and I my thoughts go out to them. (Still, this is a mini disaster compared to what's going on in China or Birma.)

Pricey New York

Work once again took me to New York in the last couple of days. When I arrived on Tuesday night I asked my hotel doorman for a recommendation, I was looking for good sushi. He recommended Sushi Zen, walking distance from the hotel (I stayed at the Muse, near Times Sq.) At the restaurant I opted to do chef's choice of sushi and sashimi, it seemed like a good food adventure.

The sushi was good and the service was excellent, but the tab was astounding! All in all my few pieces of sashimi and a few pieces of sushi along with miso soup, edamame and a beer set me back $150! That's way over my per diem. What can I say, this is New York. While I feel I didn't get my money's worth, it was a fun way to celebrate my 1 year anniversary at McAfee :-)

Pow Wow

Ever heard of a Pow Wow? In my dictionary it was always a quick gathering, discussion, between people. But last Sunday at Stanford it was much more. It was a big gathering of Native Americans (or as my cousin's husband Scott says it in his typical political incorrect way: "Indians, feathered not dotted."

Apparently Pow Wow's are a big thing and they happen across this country all the time. There was food, art, and lots of contests including dancing and best dress (yes, with feathers.) We caught the tail end of the Pow Wow after driving along the coast first, so next time one is nearby I'll try to get more of a full Pow Wow experience.

Wachinos

For the past week my second cousin from Pennsylvania along with her husband and three kids (2x 1.5 years old and 1x 3 years old) were my guests. It is quite an adjustment having so many people come stay when you're used to living alone :-) Needless to say my place needed to be baby-proofed and it was quite a mess at times (and loud too, those kids know how to SCREAM!)

It was fantastic to have the Wachinos visit and I was happy to see that the kids liked it here too. They hung out in my game room on two big red poof chairs or played in the backyard. (It has been very warm this past week.) Last Sunday we headed to the big trees at Big Basin, stopped for lunch at a Taqueria in Santa Cruz, saw the Pigeon Point lighthouse as well as the fishing fleet in Half Moon Bay. Some pics are below, other guests are welcome too!

Personal Shopper

If you're shopping for a number of outfits in one go, or even one outfit that matches nicely, and you're not keen on fighting the crowds at Macy's, Bloomingdale's or another large department store, here's something I highly recommend: Use the store's personal shopping service.

Before heading to New York (you can read all about that in an earlier post) I went to the Macy's Men's Store at Valley Fair in San Jose to get a couple of new business outfits. It seemed smart to buy some new suits rather than wear the same suits that I have had in my closet for weddings, funerals, christenings and other formal events.

But Valley Fair on a Saturday is not my idea of fun. The crowds, the people grabbing clothes, navigating from one rack of shirts, pants, suits, ties, shoes to the other in a large department store, it is not my idea of a good time. Let alone the searching for the right size, tracking down a store employee to find a size somewhere in the back. That's a nightmare!

The solution is the personal shopper, and it is free. My new best friend at Macy's knows my size, knows my taste and will pull clothes off racks throughout the store, go into storage rooms and bring me all things that I might like while I try it on in a comfortable dressing room. The personal shopper even has her own, large and quiet dressing rooms for the exclusive use of her customers. Now that's the right way to shop for clothes!

I actually had two helpers this time. My good friend Jessica (from power shopping 1.0) came along and helped pick colors and fits. I went home with three suits, four shirts and four new ties as well as a new pair of shoes. And all of this only took about two and a half hours. Macy's also was able to tailor my pants within 24 hours, I'll be back!

Annie Liebovitz

Photography is a hobby of mine and when I saw a photography exhibit advertised at San Francisco's Legion of Honor I felt I should go. I recently became a member at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, so this would let me benefit from that as well.

I came away with an experience that was much more than your average photo exhibit. I learned and got to know a true artist: Annie Liebovitz. Honestly, I had not heard much about her before I started researching the exhibition and friends told me she was a particulary famous American photographer.

Liebovitz's work has been published by Variety and other magazines and displayed in many locales. What left the most profound impression from the exhibit is that Leibovitz captured so many different scenes through her camera lens. She photographed birth, death, movie stars, weddings, wars, landscapes, politicians, family. The exhibition showcases pieces of all of this, the personal notes posted next to some of the photographs can make you laugh or cry.

The most impactful picture and caption for me was one of a bicycle lying on a street with a smear that looks blackish red. The scene has something eerie. Then you read the note and Leibovitz tells of how a boy was riding this bicycle in Sarajevo. He was hit by a mortar right in front of Leibovitz's car. They took him to a hospital, but he didn't survive.

Koninginnedag

Lang leve de Koningin! That's "Long live the queen!" for you non-Dutchies. It is Queen's day again on April 30 and Dutch folks around the world are celebrating. It isn't actually our Queen's birthday, which is in January, but we celebrate it in April in honor of the Queen's mother and because the weather is better in Holland in April. (Seriously, that weather comment is not a joke.)

I attended two Queen's day celebrations in the San Francisco Bay Area this week. There are tradtitionally three events Dutch people here can go to: 1) An adult party in a club in San Francisco hosted by the fabulous DJ Marcus 2) A kids/family event hosted by Juf Miriam who runs the regional Dutch school 3) A formal event hosted by the consulate with herring and jenever. I went to events 1 & 2, No. 3 is on Wednesday and I'll have to miss it.



The SF party was a blast, with Dutch music, loads of people wearing orange and Grolsch from a traditional bottle. The family event was fun too, I was amazed by the number of Dutch kids in the area. Juf Miriam told me there are now 60 kids enrolled in her classes and the party attracted about 300 people. Wow, that's different from the somewhat anemic turn our two years ago. Great job Miriam!

Decadent Sunday

I'll let these pics speak for themselves:

Art at Artesa

Karma in a living room

My weekends have been packed with fun :-) Aside from the BBQ and abalone you can read about below, I also went to a concert last week. Not a concert in a big hall, but one in a living room. Christel had made friends on Facebook with South African singer and song writer Karma and when Karma needed a place to play and stay in San Francisco, she asked Christel. Apparently these "house concerts" are getting quite popular and lucrative for artists, better so than playing in a random bar. Christel emptied out her living room and filled it with about 30 friends who each paid $15 and many of whom bought CDs. It was a fun concert, which also included Steph Taylor, another singer and song writer. Personally my favorite was Karma, whose voice and music appeals to me more than Steph's. Still together they made for a fun night out. You can read more in Dutch on Christel's blog, also about taking the two musicians on a tour of San Francisco's tourist hot spots.

Abalone

Last weekend was spectacular in terms of weather, so I threw the season's first BBQ in my big back yard. Friend Pascal had been diving off the coast near Fort Bragg (Mendocino) and caught some Abalone (all legal, not more than three and all reported.) So, we wanted to prepare this supposed delicacy. The first challenge was to get the abalone out of its shell. We didn't get very far. Apparently preparing abalone takes a long time and Pascal was wiped from diving and driving, so the animal went into a ziploc and the fridge.

Hello and Hej!

Hours after arriving in London I find myself in Norway! My hotel room isn't ready yet and I was in the mood for some breakfast. However, the hotel diningroom looks utterly depressing, so I ventured out. A stone's throw from the hotel is Scandinavian Kitchen where Norwegian music blasts from the stereo and a friendly waiter greets you with "Hej" -- I thought that was Swedish, but guess it is universal Scandinavian :-) Anyway, a fun place with WiFi to hang out, have a coffee and some rolls before being able to take a nap.

Welcome Home

I wanted to give a quick shout out to Ben (my dad) who just returned home to Holland after another five months in Ecuador with his grand daughter (and my niece) Paulita. Ben was blogging about Ecuador and Latin American politics (in Dutch) for the past tumultuous months and will continue to follow the situation in America Latina from Holland (which probably isn't as easy.)

Snow

Please pardon the radio silence, it has been a busy couple of weeks with little time to blog. I just couldn't resist posting this picture though, it came from my uncle Peike in Holland. On Easter Sunday he shot this out of his window and decided to go back to bed. I don't blame him. Snow in Holland in late March, wow. I don't think that's happened since I was a little kid. (I am headed to Holland soon, I hope the weather clears up a bit before then.)


Meanwhile I just came back from a fantastic four day break in Tahoe, skiing everyday under a blue sky with loads of sunshine. Spring skiing at its best. Here's a colleague doing a trick on his board. (We had a work ski day on Thursday, thanks McAfee!)

Murder Burger

Little over a decade ago a popular burger place in Davis, CA, was called "Murder Burger." However, when the business expanded and additional shacks were opened the name had to change. People weren't so happy with the original name. So now the place is called Redrum Burger, though there is no affiliation with Stephen King's "The Shining." Anyway, this is a cool place to stop by on the way to Tahoe. They have nice shakes and a great Ostrich Burger. (Veggie burgers are served too.) It is a real burger shack.

Croissants

Friday morning I stopped at Starbucks on my way into the office. I picked up a latte and the Starbucks version of a "pain au chocolat." The coffee was fine, but that chocolate croissant was horrible. No crunch to it at all, just a bland, sticky piece of dough with chocolate chunks stuffed into it. Disgusting. Friday afternoon I took off for France, via Germany as you may have read below. I arrived in Cannes on Saturday night and had two lovely breakfasts since then. Freshly baked croissants, perfectly crunchy, and strong cups of coffee. Both times with a view of the Mediterranean. Cannes is great, a true old French city with some nice narrow streets and beautiful buildings. Some pictures so you can see for yourself:

Unlock your iPhone?

Walking around Cannes I came across a cell phone store advertising unlocking services for GSM phones and iPhones. One might think that's illegal, but it isn't and this store is located on a main thoroughfare, right across from a police station. (For those unfamiliar with "locked" cell phones: mobile operators typically subsidize phones and to guard their investment lock the devices to their networks. The phones can typically be unlocked by entering special codes or tweaking the memory, a service provided by the unlock shops.)

Shuttle Nightmare Update

It took a while, and a threat to go to the media and consumer watch dogs, but South And East Bay Shuttle finally refunded me my $36 unused fare.

It was a bit funny. I sent a note threatening that I would take action and received a call a day later from the manager. She said that my refund had already been processed a week earlier and that she'd fax me the credit card credit slip to proof it. When I received the fax, the credit was processed that same day, not a week earlier.

I don't believe I would have received any refund without threatening to report the company to the Better Business Bureau, San Jose Mercury News Action Line and Consumerist.com. Also, the manager disputed my story and claimed there were several shuttles late that Sunday night that departed from SFO.

Well, I was the one out there for an hour and a half in the rain after midnight and I saw plenty of Super Shuttle vans, but only one South and East Bay van, nearly two hours after I first called them. And that van went to the East Bay, not the South Bay. I won't be taking a South and East Bay Shuttle anytime soon and recommend other travelers avoid the company as well.

The end of an era at CNET

In the past week CNET Networks announced that Jai Singh will leave the company. Jai was the founder/creator of CNET News.com and in the past couple of years was the overall editorial head for all of CNET's "red ball" Web sites including CNET.com, Download.com and News.com.

Jai started News.com back in 1996, when writers still used the word "nascent" along with "Web" and the bulk of the people around the world still had to discover the Internet. Jai was instrumental in making News.com the world's No. 1 tech news Web site. I was super proud when CNET hired me in 2005 to come work for News.com. Jai was one of the people I interviewed with.

It hasn't been easy for CNET in recent years. The "different kind of media compay" faces strong competition from sites such as Engadget, Gizmodo, TechCrunch and Valleywag, not to mention all the tech pages in traditional media such as daily news papers and magazines. CNET has been working to reinvent itself, with News.com in particular joining the blogging fray and broading its coverage much beyond the hard core tech it used to focus on.

I left News.com last year and had a farewell lunch with Jai. We talked at length about News.com's course and competing with the blogosphere. Jai and I didn't agree, but the lunch was amicable. It will be interesting to see where News.com and CNET head now. The battle for the company's board and the call from outside the organization to focus, once again, on pure technology are fascinating.

I will always love CNET, watch where Dan Farber directs News.com. Dan is taking over News.com from Jai as editor in chief. Have fun Dan!

Shuttle Nightmare

Beware of South and East Bay Shuttle in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sure, they're fine if you just hop on while you're at the airport, but whatever you do, never prepay a return trip.



Here's my nightmare, a note to their manager "Donia" trying to get a refund after not using a return. This was when I finally spoke to her in person early this week after calling at least three times and being promised calls back from the manager to handle the refund. When I spoke with her, she asked me to send a fax (talk about old fashioned.) Below is what I faxed and e-mailed:

"Hello Donia,

I'd like to request a refund of $36 to my credit card for an unused
prepaid return.

My reservation ID was "XXXX" and this was for a pick-up at SFO on
Sunday, Jan 6 for an arrival at 11.30 PM.

I was unable to use this return because there was essentially no
shuttle service at the time. I waited for an hour and a half in the
rain outside the international terminal in the middle of the night,
calling the dispatcher every 20 minutes because he promised a van
would be there in 20 minutes.

I let several Supershuttle vans to the South Bay drive by when finally
a South & East Bay Van did show up after 1.30 AM. However, the driver
was going to the East Bay (Emeryville) instead of the South Bay. He
said I could hop on, but it would be "a very long ride."

By now I desperately wanted to go home. I thanked the driver for
nothing and spent $140 on a cab, disillusioned with the service
offered by South & East Bay and with no other options available
(Supershuttle had stopped coming by then.) I learned that I should
never prebook and prepay a return in the future.

Now, I have called at least three times requesting a refund and have
been told each time that you would call me back to settle this. That
has never happened.

Since I spoke with you directly, I am now hopeful that you will be
able to rectify this and provide me a refund as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Joris Evers"

Well...There has been no refund and no call back from South and East Bay. If this takes much longer, I'll send a note to the San Jose Mercury News and ask their consumer advocate to get involved and give the shuttle guys some bad publicity. Maybe that'll do the trick. Geez.

Weeralarm

That's Dutch for "weather alarm" and its what's going out in California right now because the state is being hit by some major winter storms. That's good news for those who like to ski, since the mountains are getting a major dose of new snow. It is bad news for those who live in areas affected by wild fires, because torrential rain may cause mudslides.

It may be bad news for me since I am flying into SFO while the storms are on. There have been warnings of severe delays.

Motorists are consumed by a wave as they watch high surf near the Golden Gate Bridge
during a rain storm Monday, Jan. 4, 2007, at Fort Point in San Francisco.
(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

In Quito the weather has been fantastic the past few days with amazing views of the surrounding mountains. I've enjoyed playing tennis with my parents, playing in a park with my two year-old niece and shopping at the artisan market in the modern center of the city.

Last night, thanks to the recent availability of broadband Internet at home, I watched Dutch Comedian Youp van 't Hek with my mom and dad. We really enjoyed his latest show, available on Uitzendinggemist.nl for a limited time. (In Dutch tradition, TV stations air stand-up comedy shows on New Year's eve, they made those available online for us expats, thanks!)

Youp also talked about weather alarms. Apparently the Dutch weather agency has been issuing too many of those. A bit of rain now triggers an alert, Youp complained. My parents said its true!

(For those of you tracking the troubles in my gut, they've gone! :-))

Ano Nuevo

Un Feliz Ano Nuevo a Todos!

We burned the traditional Ano Viejo dolls at midnight in Tumbabiro, Ecuador, at the beautiful Hosteria Pantavi. The dolls represent a person disliked in the past year. The choice wasn't ours, but on the fire were Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and a person we couldn't recognize. (I am not a Chavez champion, I do agree with a lot of what he has done and disagree with many things as well. If you want to hear more, you'll have to buy me a beer.)

Masks for the Ano Viejo dolls on sale in Ottavalo.

Anyway, the ceremonial burning took place after our hosts at the hosteria--the very friendly Dutch owner Marjolein and her extremely courteous staff--treated us to a dance performance by an Afro-Ecuadorian group from Mascarilla, a nearby town where you can also buy some great works of art. (Soon to be on display in my home.)

I didn't participate in all of the New Year's celebrations due to the continuing problems after eating something bad on Friday, but was up at midnight to watch the fire and subsequent fireworks and wish everyone a happy New Year.

The New Year's trip was in succession to the tour of the Valley of Longevity. We stayed away for three nights, one in Otavalo at the Casa Sol (great rooms and architecture, but lousy food and so-so service) and two at the previously mentioned Pantavi. In Otavalo, known for ponchos, its animal market and its artisan fair, we also visited the Condor Park, a refuge for birds found wounded or otherwise in need of help before being let back into the wild.

Otavalo's market

At Pantavi I mostly rested and read Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential" while the rest of the group went for a hike in the blazing sun, shopped and swam in the pool.

All in all, a good start to 2008, especially now that my intestine starts to calm down as well.

Valley of Longevity

Legend has it that the people of Vilcabamba, Ecuador are among the oldest in the world. Locals assert that it is not uncommon to see a person reach 100 years of age and it is claimed that many have gotten to 120, even up to 135. The town is located in a lush, green valley, often called the Valley of Longevity.

Vilcabamba is frequented by backpackers. It is a bit out of the way for tourists who only have a few weeks to see Ecuador. One can wonder whether the backpackers who do come, come for the beauty of the valley or for certain plants that grow here, the consumption or smoking of which can take you to an entirely different world. (I spotted several smokers at our hostel.)

We spent Christmas at the Hosteria Izhcayluma which sits perched on a hillside outside the town. The location is great, with fantastic views. The terrain is very nice, with beautiful gardens and the rooms are comfortable, though basic. The food is good to.

The only downside I could find is that there isn't much Ecuadorian about Izhcayluma. The management is German and some of the staff is European too. The week we were there many tourists also were German, Swiss or American. Personally, I like to get away from the tourist crowd, this hotel ended up being the crowded tourist spot, especially the bar at night.

All in all, Vilcabamba and the gateway city of Loja are worth a week of your precious vacation time, especially if you like to hike and roam the streets of an old Ecuadorian city.

I was looking for longevity, but came home with the runs :-(

Wii hunt

I want a Wii! But the problem is that they are impossible to find. Online you may find one, but the you'll have to pay almost double the suggested retail price. In stores the shipments are sold within moments after they arrive. I don't understand why Nintendo can't supply enough Wii consoles so everyone who wants one for Christmas can get one. (Though maybe I do understand, the short supply obviously helps the buzz and free publicity.)

Wiis are so popular in the U.S. that friends with Wiis are throwing Wii parties. Also, I heard a piece on the radio about how Nintendo is marketing the Wii to the elderly. Several retirement homes have received free Wiis and Wii bowling tournaments are popular there. A Nintendo rep will explain the game to the players. As a result, seniors aren't just buying the game console for their grandkids anymore, they also want it themselves. "Let's go play Wii at grandma's!"

Anyway, I asked for a Wii in Ecuador. They're sold out here as well. I was hoping that perhaps the electronics stores in Ecuador would have some in stock since a $300 holiday gift is a particularly expensive one here. No luck for me. After the holiday shopping craze I might be more lucky. (Too bad I can't buy one in Europe, since the electric and video systems are different. I understand there is no Wii madness there.)

Zure Lappen

For the holidays both my grandmothers sent me gifts. One a nice card, the other zure lappen and a marzipan banana with an image of Sinterklaas. The card is universal, obviously, but zure lappen and Sinterklaas could be unfamiliar to some of you. So, see for yourself:


Zure Lappen are sour mini "rugs" that are very tasty, but also not that great for you. Sinterklaas is Saint Nick, he precedes the "ho-ho-ho-ing" man with reindeer who is set to visit houses across the world this week.

From Wikipedia: "Sinterklaas is the basis for the North American figure of Santa Claus. It was during the American War of Independence, that the inhabitants of New York City, a former Dutch colonial town (New Amsterdam) which had been swapped by the Dutch for other territories, reinvented their Sinterklaas tradition, as Saint Nicholas was a symbol of the city's non-English past. The name Santa Claus is derived from older Dutch Sinte Klaas."

I think I will have to share this Dutch candy with my colleagues. Some of them have already vowed never again to eat any candy I bring to work after I brought old fashioned Dutch licorice a while back.

Holiday Parties

It's that that of the year again. People are throwing lots of holiday parties. This year I plan to attend three. That means, two down and one to go. Last week I joined my friend Christel to the AR Edelman holiday party in a hip club in San Francisco. There was food, drink, a raffle and fun discussion, including updates on gossip related to Microsoft's executives.

Picture courtesy of Christel

On Saturday I experienced my first McAfee holiday party at the posh Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. There was food, plenty of deserts, drink and also a raffle. This party was bigger, as McAfee has substantially more employees than AR Edelman. There was also dancing, though I was a wall flower and socialized with colleagues and their partners.

I must say, the CNET holiday parties from previous years were actually more laid back and plain fun than the two I have been to so far. But I guess that's the difference between two corporations and CNET Networks, the "different kind of media company."

The upcoming week I'll be out at the Friends For Youth Holiday Social, graciously hosted by one of my fellow board members in her beautiful house in Menlo Park. This will be a small gathering, a pot luck.

It is a busy week, because on Saturday I am moving to San Jose!

Zipadidoo Thanksgiving

Pretty much everyone in the U.S. returning to work after the weekend this week was asked questions like: "Did you eat too much turkey?" or "Tired of turkey?" That's because last week was Thanksgiving and that means Americans get together with family and friends and eat, you guessed it, turkey.

(Two lucky birds don't get eaten though, the one pardoned by President Bush and the back-up "pardon turkey," I guess in case something were to inadvertently happen to the first one. Coincidentally, they named these turkeys "May" and "Flower" this year, a cute reference to the ship that brought pilgrims to this country.)

White House photo by Chris Greenberg

But I digress. The point is that I didn't have any turkey this Thanksgiving. Instead, I traveled to Nicaragua for a short exploration of a country I had hardly even heard about, except of course the bad stories about contras about a decade ago. There is none of that now. You might encounter the odd corrupt cop (who charged us $20 for allegedly turning without a turn signal), but otherwise the country is very safe and extremely well organized for tourism. (But you'll find that there aren't many tourists there, making it even better if you do go.)

San Juan Del Sur by night

In Nicaragua I met up with my dad who had flown in from Ecuador. We spent a night in San Juan Del Sur, a beach town that's big among surfers, and two nights in Granada, a gorgeous colonial town with great al fresco dining and architecture.

Granada

Our trip was packed with activities, including hikes along the edges of two active volcanoes (Mombacho and Massaya) as well as a cruise among Granada's islets in Lake Nicaragua, which coincidentally are the "babies" of the Mombacho because they were created by an eruption.

Parking on the edge of Volcan Massaya. Back-in, so you can get away quickly.

A highlight was a zipline tour along the tops of the trees in the dense forest on the slopes of Volcan Mombacho. Dad was a bit scared, but he survived and enjoyed himself. You can see (and hear) him coming down the last bit in this video :)

More photos and videos can be seen in my private album as well as on Ben's Latino Benno blog.

A Department Store With an Airport

I have always dreaded having to transfer through London's Heathrow, the world's busiest airport. My biggest complaint is having to take a bus from one terminal to another through something called the "Flight Connections Center." There you typically stand in a long line to go through security (after having gone through it before at the place of origin) and then you have to wait for the bus to take you to your connecting terminal.

Today, the security line was short, but the bus was overloaded with sweaty, coughing, smelly people. I'd much rather walk through the wide hallways of a San Francisco or Amsterdam airport.

After arriving at Terminal 3 I had to walk through small hallways with a crowd of people. The halls didn't have any windows, there were signs everywhere warning for uneven flooring and the floors were uncarpeted, that's because they are working on making this an "airport London can be proud of," according to signs posted everywhere as well.

Then I ended up in a department store, complete with the fragrance and make-up section. It is like Macy's in the U.S. I have been locked up in the department store for several hours now. You're not told a gate number until about an hour prior to departure. If you venture out to any gates seeking the peace and quiet of a waiting area not surrounced by shops, the scent of the latest aftershave or tons of restaurants, you're stopped and told go to back to store area to wait until a gate is posted.

So, while the shops may please a lot of travelers, I once again prefer SFO or AMS where you can choose to be in an area with shops, or in a quieter zone without that circus all around you. A good reason to avoid traveling through Heathrow in the future.

Jerk?

On the way to a fantastic Vietnamese/French restaurant called Bambou in London we passed this place:

Maybe for next time :-)

London

There wasn't a cloud in the sky this morning in London as I walked from Paddington through Hyde Park to meet an old colleague and current freelance writer for breakfast at the Wolseley. On the way, I passed this colorful piece of art in Hyde Park.

Later in the morning, on the way to lunch with a reporter, I had a chance to see London's ferriswheel and Big Ben and the houses of Parliament across the river Thames. Those landmarks are a good reminder that I am actually in London.

Road Trip in Arizona

I was very fortunate last weekend to be able to make a road trip through Arizona and a tiny corner of Utah. After spending Wednesday-Friday going back to school in Phoenix, I took the weekend to take pictures at the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. I did this using my latest toy, a Canons EOS 40D digital SLR camera. I had been looking to join the DSLR crowd for some time and finally took the leap. These are my first pictures.

Sedona, AZ, a town filled with art boutiques, but also Rollies Cameras, where I bought the 40D.

Sunrise over the Grand Canyon.

Crossing into Utah right before Monument Valley.

Straight from a Western.

NBA

Two truths about Americans and America: Americans like a show and in America (nearly) everything is a giant commercial.

Take professional sports, for example. If you think people go to sports game just for the sports, you're wrong. Also, commercialism is everywhere.

I've been to major league baseball games where the audience is entertained between innings by mascots and all kinds of games played with the audience. These games are typically sponsored by companies.

Last week I went to see an NBA game, a new experience. It was at the U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix where the Phoenix Suns took on the LA Lakers. There were the typical ads everywhere around the arena and shows whenever there was a time out or at the end of each 12 minute quarter.


The shows included barely dressed cheerleaders/dancers, drummers and acrobats jumping off a a trampoline in rapid succession, dunking balls in the basket after doing a flip. Games played with audience members included guessing the "Right Guard" (get it, Right Guard, the deodorant), taking a "lucky shot" on the basket from one of three different distances, with prize money increasing the further out the shooter went (sponsored by a Casino.)


In between all that the Suns lost to the Lakers.

It was a lot of fun and I recommend that if you visit the States, you go see a basketball game. It is much quicker than baseball games, which can take forever. Plus there is much more action going on in the game as well as during those breaks. If you're lucky, you will win a prize.

I also thoroughly enjoyed myself because of the company, the fun people at Henkel, including a 10-year-old smart ass :-)

Back to School

It had been a while since I saw the inside of a class room and actually was a student. More recently I have been the one teaching classes, rather than taking in information. But that's just what I did last week, when a colleague and I attended a three-day course on communications at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, AZ (near Phoenix.)

I had never heard of Thunderbird before, but it has won many accolades and people who got their degrees there speak very highly of it. (Though who in their right mind would bash their school, it would make their degree and education worth much less.) The campus is smallish and reminds me more of a U.S. high school than a place of higher learning. Still, the auditorium-style class rooms are nice and well-equipped and the care for their corporate clients is good, with fresh coffee, fruit and snacks continuously available.

This was the first time Thunderbird ran the "Leadership Communication" program. The class was small, 10 students, and the professors were very engaged and engaging. I really liked the content of about three-quarters of the program, which focused on stakeholder engagement, framing messages, communicating change and change management. The other 25 percent could be classified as PR 101, which the PR pros in the room already knew.

Still, it is always nice to be able to break away from everyday work and stake a step back and reflect. I enjoyed working through the case studies with the fellow course attendees and reading about the successes and failures of other companies. Also, I got to see my first NBA game thanks to the communications team at Henkel, also in the class. More on that in a later blog.

Fire season

Southern California is burning, again. In California that isn't really a surprise. We've got something here that's called "fire season." That means there's a time of the year when the brush on the ground is so dry that it will burn easily and when winds blowing from a certain direction will quickly turn a small fire into a huge blaze. These winds are called the Santa Ana winds.

This year, it is particularly bad though, at least so says the TV news. More than a dozen uncontained wildfires raged Monday across Southern California, threatening thousands of structures and forcing people to flee homes from San Diego in the south to Malibu (north of LA) to Lake Arrowhead (east of LA).

This photo taken from space Monday afternoon shows smoke rising

from the wildfires in Southern California. (Source: CNN.com)

According to CNN about 250,000 people have been forced to leave their homes because the fire is getting too close for them to be safe. The Qualcomm stadium in San Diego is being used as a shelter.

Every year these fires make the news and every year I get worried messages from relatives back in Holland asking me if I am ok. Yes, I am fine. These fires are all the way in Southern California. It would take me about 8 hours to drive to where the flames are, that's beyond Paris from Amsterdam.

A few years ago I was in San Diego when a major fire was raging nearby. The people I stayed with almost had to evacuate their home. I had driven down and got out of the San Diego area with a thick layer of ash on my car. Their house was ultimately not in any real danger.

Good luck to anyone who is in the danger zone and the fire fighters battling the blazes. My thoughts go out to those folks who did loose their homes.

Clouds over Mendocino

The only taxi driver in Mendocino knows how to take advantage of people who fly planes. If you jet yourself into the tiny Little River airport, the owner/operator of "Hey Taxi" charges you a $30 flat fee for a short ride into the picturesque town of Mendocino.


He gets away with it, of course. There is no other way to get from the airport into town. This is a simple matter of supply and demand.

Last week my friend Declan, his wife Milana and I used the services of "Hey Taxi" twice. We had rented a small Cessna and flew from San Carlos to Mendocino, which takes little over an hour. (If you drive, it is probably four hours.)


On the way we had fantastic views over San Francisco Airport, San Francisco Bay and the city itself. We also flew over Alcatraz, Angel Island, Sausalito and the Russian River. Mendocino itself was also nice, a town you could put on a postcard (and they have.)

Pt. Reyes Natl. Seashore

A colleague had told me Mendocino was the outside decor of Murder She Wrote. Angela Lansbury lived here, while the show pretended she was on the East Coast.


Mendocino is a pretty town with great restaurants and a gorgeous coast line. One thing we noticed was that the bulk of visitors fell into an age category above ours, geriatric.

In the afternoon the fog blew in from the ocean. A problem, since Declan doesn't have an instrument rating (yet). So we had to get back to the airport a bit earlier than originally planned to take off in clear skies. Still, a fabulously decadent day.

Late afternoon, returning over San Francisco.

Dallas Weather

Prior to joining McAfee I had never been to Texas. Now I am a regular visitor. What never ceases to amaze me here is the weather. On every visit I have seen the most amazing thunderstorms. You can be soaked in seconds and moments later the sun will be out.

On final approach last night the pilot said we'd have to be in a holding pattern for 20 minutes to avoid heavy weather at the airport. This morning a colleague reported that there was a major storm just a few blocks from downtown with flying patio furniture and tiles from a nearby roof as dangerous projectiles.

So, I am happy to be working in my hotel room this morning. I'll see how I get to where I need to be later this afternoon, probably a taxi instead of a healthy walk. Don't want to be hit by flying debri.

Rain

The drought is over. We had significant rain on Friday. This is good, because it means snow is falling in the mountains, but it is bad because it screws with the minds of California drivers. It is also bad because the infrastructure here apparently isn't build to withstand any rain beyond a few drops.

What am I talking about? Well, it rained most of the night on Thursday and it still rained on Friday morning. As a result, part of the 101 freeway near Menlo Park was flooded. About two lanes of the four-lane freeway could not be used and had to be "flared off" by the California Highway Patrol.

For those not familiar with the Bay Area, Highway 101 is Silicon Valley's main artery. I drive it every day from Burlingame to work in Santa Clara. And every day I encounter some traffic, though I wouldn't yet compare it to the constant gridlock folks in the Netherlands face.

Friday's mess, however, was worse. My 30 mile commute normally takes about 45 minutes door-to-door. It took double that on Friday, thanks to no drainage and thanks to California drivers not knowing how to drive on a wet street. People, it is not that big of a deal, just keep going :-)

Wii

People keep telling me how much fun a "Wii" is even for nongamers. So, today I decided I'd go and buy one. The same Wii evangelists also told me that Wii shortages are now history, that I should be able to walk into Fry's and get one, no problem. So, I walked into Fry's, Toys-R-Us, Target and Circuit City, looking for a Wii. I also went to big-name online stores to find one. No luck, Wii's are still in high demand. At Toys-R-Us they expect a shipment of 40 Wiis any day now, but the sales person said you have to be there when they unload to get one. "They will all sell out within an hour," he said. So, no game console for Joris anytime soon.

Oprima el Cinco Por Asistencia en Espanol

Call any major business or government service in the U.S. and the automated voice response system answering the call will ask you if you want to be helped in Spanish.

Typically a friendly voice in Spanish will ask you to push a number on your phone if you want to change the language. Also, public announcements in some airports, the safety video on some airlines and much more is done in two languages: English and Spanish. (Not to mention all the Spanish language ads, radio and TV stations here.)

The reason is clear, there are tons of Spanish speakers in California and in many other parts of the U.S. and businesses and government want to cater to that large audience. It makes complete sense.

But imagine a business doing this in the Netherlands, the country known worldwide for being open and progressive. It wouldn't work.

If the Postbank or ABN Amro would offer customers the option to do business in Turkish or Moroccan, it would cause a riot among Dutch people. It would cause a mass exodus of Dutch customers saying that the action is contra integration of immigrants. Everyone needs to learn Dutch, is the rule.

Silly.

Princess Cake

A friend and former co-worker introduced me to Princess Cakes. This has become my favorite cake in the U.S. I had a nice piece last week, the occasion was a work party and I took the opportunity to pick the cake and share the delight. It was a hit.


The original, I believe, comes from Sweden. It beats other U.S. cakes and pies because it is light and not ultra sweet. The traditional cakes in this country have a thick layer of frosting that will make your teeth fall out on touch and have you running for something to drink immediately because of the super sweetness.

I highly recommend getting or making a princess cake for your next party. Locally, Copenhagen bakery in Burlingame makes a killer Princess Cake.

Dolphins

You won't often find me being lazy on a beach. This year, I only did it once. Two afternoons some weekends ago I sat on Manresa State Beach near Santa Cruz, CA. It was part of a short camping trip with two Dutchy friends. One brought his surf board, the other brought super strong sunscreen (turning him into a zombie) and work. I brought Harry Potter and finished it.


It was relaxing to just sit and read, getting up every now and then to throw a frisbee or cool off in the ocean. But what really made going to the beach worthwhile was seeing dozens of sea lions and dolphins, right where the waves broke. So close by, almost close enough to swim with them. The surfers with their wet suits were actually right in between the dolphins.

One could briefly mistake the fin on their backs for a more ominous creature, but this definitely weren't sharks. Sorry, no good pictures of the dolphins. They were too small and too far away to spot with my little camera.

Labor Day Weekend

Today is Labor Day. Back home that's celebrated on May 1, as it is in many other countries. But, according to fellow Dutchy Blogger Christel, that date is associated too much with socialism, so the Americans picked their own date.

So, what do people to on Labor Day? It is considered to be the last day of summer. So, the tradition is to fire up the BBQ or go camping, or both. I had hoped to go camping this weekend, but didn't realize that this was perhaps the biggest camping weekend of the year (Memorial Day at the end of May being a good runner up), so all spots were taken when I tried to book.

That messed my plans up a bit and Christel and Cindy also had to make other plans. They opted to go to Calistoga and stay in a B&B instead. That's a nice way to spend the weekend, in the heart of the wine country with nice countryside and good restaurants and cute towns. Not too shabby at all, something that would be tough to match in Holland, or you'd have to drive to France. (Calistoga is about 1.5 hours north of San Francisco.)

I stayed home. Also nice, after having been on the road. Plus, I was able to do some work. (Yes, work on Labor Day weekend.) We have several deadlines coming up and those need to be met. Aside from that, I hiked up Montara Mountain with friend Michelle and joined her and several Stanford profs for a game of Settlers (Kolonisten) along with high-end pizza and beer.


On Sunday I took my new bike for a 40 kilometer ride along the San Francisco Bay. One problem: the tires are a little low on air and no U.S. bicycle pumps fit on the Dutch valves! Still, I was able to add some air using a small hand pump. The San Francisco Bay Trail is gorgeous. Along the way you see kite surfers and wind surfers as well as an abundance of birds. On the way, I stopped at Jamba Juice for an all-fruit smoothie.

And on Monday, I hit tennis balls with my friend Miki, had lunch in Palo Alto and looked at an apartment there. I will skip this one, even though the location is fantastic. It is a converted attic, which makes the ceilings very low. Also, the bathroom is tiny. The living room is on the small and skinny side, which (with the low ceilings) can give a feeling of claustrofobia. (Especially if you're tall, like me.) So I am still on the house hunt.

That's my holiday weekend. Now I have to do some more work.

Oh, and summer sure isn't over here. It has been very hot the last few days. Temperatures well into the 30s (celcius).

Boerejongens with a kroket

If you're Dutch you know what that headline means. It is food related and not a particularly good combination. Still, I had a pancake with "boerejongens" (raisins that have been sitting in a liquor for a long time) followed shortly by "twee kroketten met brood" (two meat-filled, cylinder-shaped, deep-fried mini-logs on bread.) It was great, especially since I had it on a patio at a restaurant in Holland accompanied by my closest family and with a cup of great Dutch coffee (though I wish they did free refills in Holland.)

You've guessed right, I have been neglecting my blog because I have been working on my waistline in another part of the world. Seriously, it is impossible to go home and not gain weight. All my friends thought I'd go fat in the U.S., the opposite is happening. My lifestyle here is pretty healthy, but when I spend time back in the Netherlands I end up eating appelgebak (apple pie), saucijzenbroodjes (bun with sausage), amandelbroodjes (almond filled pastries), patat met (fries with mayo) and much more almost on a daily basis. Being in Holland is almost like being in a candy store. (And I didn't even mention the beer!)


At least it gets compensated somewhat. In the 10 days that I was there I played tennis twice, went on a three-hour bicycle ride and a hike in the woods. Also, we strolled a lot through the lovely downtown areas of towns such as Kampen, Middelburg, Goes and, of course, Haarlem.

Now that I am back, I will also be able to enjoy riding a Dutch bike. It took a bit of effort, but I now have a Sparta bicycle in the U.S. With help from my dad, friends Michael and Anne Marie, Continental Airlines and a friendly cab driver here in San Francisco I was able to bring my Sparta home. I unpacked it tonight and rode it around Burlingame. It rides really well and made the trip unscathed!

There's too much to tell from my trip. Suffice it to say that it was fun to see the family and I was happy to be able to spend a day with my longtime friend Merel as well. Apologies to all my other friends, who I was unable to see. Most of the time was spent with family in Overijssel at Landal Greenparks de "Witte Bergen," that's why you didn't see me. I'll do better next time.

Bad rep for DEF CON?

NBC's Dateline may have gotten just what it wanted today when the organizers of DEF CON decided to "out" a reporter who had registered as a regular person, instead of as media for the annual hacker event in Las Vegas.

DEF CON organizer Jeff Moss (also known as Dark Tangent) climbed on stage in a packed room at the Riviera Hotel and Casino and announced to the crowd that an "undercover reporter" was among them. He stated that press is welcome at DEF CON, but needs to apply for special credentials and wear a different colored conference badge. "We like to know when we're speaking to the media," he said. (DEF CON does traditionally have strict media policies, such as not allowing reporters to film or take pictures at free will.)

Moss/Dark Tangent then proceeded to announce a new DEF CON contest: "Spot the undercover reporter." The crowd roared. He asked what should happen to the reporter if she was spotted, should she be ejected from the event? The crowd roared "Yes!"

What happened then shocked me. Moss pinpointed the reporter, an associate producer at Dateline NBC who was in the room. She was subsequently chased out of the room, out of the hotel, all the way to her car and off the Riviera property by about 150 overheated DEF CON attendees and the properly-badged media contingent at the show. (Okay, maybe she decided to leave the room herself first and was subsequently followed by a running mob, but what would you do if a large hall full of people had just roared for your removal?)

So, what did the hidden NBC cameras capture (if there were in fact any) and what did their reporter experience? They captured a large crowd of "hackers" in a dark room and most of them in dark clothing. These all roared to protect their elite club from the prying eyes of a reporter who doesn't want to be identified as such. Also, they showed the crowd will go through extremes to call out the reporter and chase her down to the parking lot and off the terrain. Quite a scary scene.

That's one great image for DEF CON and the security community at large. If the community and DEF CON had gone a bit mainstream in the past years and shown their softer side, now Dateline has the imagery to show the group as everything but welcoming. Maybe hackers are indeed a scary bunch of people with a lack of social skills? (That's at least what the NBC video could show.)

Analyzing this situation with my new PR hat on, this could ultimately be bad for DEF CON and the hacker community in terms of perception and public relations. Unless the folks at DEF CON planned it that way to show that the organization is still as bad-ass as it was reputed to be years ago--they turned this into a media stunt by inviting all attending, properly-registered journalists to come to the ejection ceremony.

We'll have to see if NBC decides to go that route.

Rain!

On may way into work, NPR told me about a historic event today in San Francisco.

For the first time in recorded history it has rained on July 18. How fabulous. I move from Holland to escape the Dutch weather, and it follows me here! It is even causing power outages in the East Bay (Berkeley, Oakland.)
One day of rain in the summer isn't nearly as bad as back home though. They had the wettest month of June in a long time, I heard, and July isn't all that much better. The last rain we had here was probably late April. (And a sprinkle today, no power outage yet in my area.)

Harry Potter vs DLP

At McAfee I hear a lot about Data Loss Prevention. It is one of those hot new areas in the security space, technology designed to help organizations keep their data secure. Information is your biggest asset, so it makes sense to protect it.

McAfee is the only big-name security company to sell DLP products, the others are still catching up. But while it may help a business prevent leakage via a USB drive or Web-based e-mail, I don't think a DLP product can help prevent the kind of leak being reported today: photographing every single page of a book and posting those pictures to the Internet.

Talk about a low-tech hack! That's what reportedly happened to the latest Harry Potter book. (Reportedly, because I have not downloaded the images myself, I am waiting for my Amazon.com shipment on Saturday.) It has to have been an inside job, since the book isn't out yet. No matter how tightly controlled the books are though, the circle of insiders has grown significantly as the book was shipped worldwide to retailers to sell to the Potter fans, who no doubt will be lining up starting on Friday. No DLP product will shield you against this kind of leakage. There won't be too much harm done though, I am sure the great majority of Hogwarts fans will still buy a hard copy of the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Toll

Shortly after moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2003 I signed up for FasTrak. That's the electronic toll tag for the bridges around the Bay. With FasTrak in your car--it comes with a piece of Velcro to attach to your windshield--you never have to wait for the toll booths at the bridges and you even get discounted toll at times. I still don't understand why not every single driver has signed up, FasTrak is free, you just have to prepay a certain amount of toll ($25) and it replenishes from a bank account or credit card after you go below $15.
That's what just prompted me to write about it though. Apparently the credit card I enrolled expired, so now FasTrak is threatening with penalties if I don't update my information. For that, I needed to go online and remember a PIN code I gave four years ago, YIKES! But with the help of my paper archive and some old FasTrak mailings I found out what the standard PIN is. I won't tell you, but it is pretty obvious and one may even see it as a security breach. Standard PINs like that aren't a good idea. I am happy though that nobody knows my FasTrak account number, even though the PIN is pretty easy to guess :-)

Delayed!

If I had a camera on me, I'd show you the long line of people in front of the United Airlines customer service desk here at San Francisco International Airport. It is nearly 10 pm on Tuesday night. I should have been up in the sky right now, on my way to Denver, but instead I, like all the people in that line, am still here.

My flight has been delayed. It was supposed to leave at 08.39 pm. Now it is predicted to leave just before midnight and I won't arrive until about 3 in the morning. Yuck! United decided to take the plane that was originally scheduled to fly to Denver out of service.

I have an idea why: the large plane was only about a quarter full, I could see that on the seat map when checking in. With that kind of load, it probably pays for them to wait for a smaller craft to be available or for a plane that needs to be in Denver anyway. So I and a bunch of other passengers get to wait. How wonderful.

This is the latest in my United delay experiences. Really, I have had it now. Next time I am booking Continental, American or Alaska Airlines. The last time I flew United was in late May, to Dallas Fort Worth. The flight was delayed three hours on the way in, and again I didn't arrive until about 2.00 a.m., the flight back to SFO also was delayed.

In early May I flew to Boston from SFO and back from Newark. Both flights were delayed at least two hours.

I am tired of sitting at airports wasting away hours that could be spent much better, like at a gym, on the tennis court, in front of the tv, in bed, or even at the office. Today, for example, I rushed to get a presentation done and printed this afternoon so I could bring it to Denver. If I had known about these long delays, I could have spent more time tweaking the presentation and printing it. Also, I wouldn't have had to race home from work, pack like a maniac and hop in a cab to the airport. All that stress, for nothing!

Thanks for ruining another couple of hours of my life United and for messing up my day tomorrow, since I will be half-asleep due to another unplanned middle-of-the-night arrival. I may have flown nearly half a million miles one United in my lifetime, I am choosing to fly other airlines from now on.

Sanctuaire

My friends Declan & Milana rented a fairytale type house on 29 acres of land in the middle of nowhere and invited me to enjoy it with them. I jumped at the opportunity. I am not one to skip on a weekend away. So, I am typing this using a satellite Internet connection, because this house is very well equipped, albeit far away from civilization.

To make the trip up a little more fun, I rented a red Mazda Miata convertible. (Great deal from Hertz, so I am not squandering money.) In the little red car I raced up 101 and through Sebastopol, past Guerneville (of Russian River fame) and to Cazadero. Then it is another 3.6 miles on a narrow, winding road, to get to this retreat.

Today (Sunday) is a relax day and we're staying close to home. The sun is out in force and the temperature is climbing. Soon it will be too hot to sit out here on the deck. The property has a hot tub (I am not going to be using that) and a creek down a hill (which has nice cold water, so maybe wading there is an option later today.)

On Saturday (yesterday) we headed to the beach at Jenner, a cute town on the Sonoma Coast on gorgeous Highway 1. While it was hot slightly inland, the coast was a frigid 60 degrees and windy. We chased some waves on Goat Rock Beach and had a mini picnic in the dunes, out of the wind, with banana bread and beer from Whole Foods.

At night I grilled some salmon, asparagus and baked some potatoes for dinner. Everyone also enjoyed the Thomas Fogarty Merlot, which I bought at the winery in the Sante Cruz mountains a couple of weeks back. All in all, another perfect weekend in California. Now I just need to do some work, instead of blog.

Wardens of the Web

No, I have not returned to CNET. That's a statement I had to make several times a few weeks ago when News.com ran a series I had written just before leaving. The pieces were part of a week-long special report called "Wardens of the Web." In it, I profiled the three top security guys at Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, the three biggest Web companies.

The Special Report was my farewell gift to CNET, so to speak. It was very fun to report and write, though I have to give a shout out to the editors at CNET who did a great job at making the pieces shine.

Google, Yahoo and Microsoft gave unprecedented access to me to report this piece. Their security heads typically shun the spotlight, but I was able to win their trust and get them to share their stories. While some folks have told me that I should have been tougher on the men and take them to task for not doing enough when it comes to security, I feel the purpose of these pieces was to profile them and show a piece of their world, rather than being critical. However, in the podcast that is also part of the series I do critically review the three big Web companies with a trio of security experts.


I recommend you read it and also take a listen to the podcast and also the podcast recorded by Robert Vamosi where he interviews me as a guest on Security Bites, our old show :-)

CNET is being bloggified

If you closely watch CNET News.com and CNET.com you must have seen some changes over the past weeks: CNET is being bloggified. (If that's even a word.)

Blogs are rapidly gaining in prominence on the tech Web site. One day this week the front page of CNET News.com highlighted three blog posts. While previously used for stories or short pieces that reporters and editors felt didn't really matter, blogs are now replacing the traditional short news story at CNET.

It is an interesting move in a rapidly changing online news environment where traditional outlets such as CNET feel the competition from bloggers. Joining the bloggers is one way to respond. ZDNET, also owned by CNET Networks, has been successful in doing so. Now CNET is going for it as well. (Earlier CNET launched Webware and Crave, a Web 2.0 and gadget blog, respectively.)

I wish my friends at CNET luck as they take on the blogosphere with the CNET blog network, a group of bloggers to add content to CNET's Web sites including News.com. The blog network was quietly launched last week.

Two weeks on the job

My blog has gone silent while I kept busy with a short break in between jobs on the East Coast, hosting my parents, camping for Memorial Day weekend and, of course, starting at McAfee.

The first two weeks on the job have been intense. A new environment and a new role for me, but also for the company. This means that not only do I have to get used to the new surroundings and responsibilities, but so do the people I work with. So far, I feel, this has gone very well. (This picture was taken at my desk at McAfee in Santa Clara, CA.)



For now my goal is to meet key people within the organization and come up with ways we can improve public relations at McAfee, become more open, transparent and raise the company's profile. It is a nice challenge that is already bearing some fruit. I can't say much about it publicly though. (That's another big change, my job as a reporter obviously used to be all about telling things publicly.)

My blog will be a personal journal, primarily meant for friends and family to get a peek at my life in the U.S. I don't expect to be writing much about work.

An alumni dinner with IDGNS

That's not a school, that's IDG News Service, the world's only 24-hour dedicated technology news wire.

I have many good memories from my years at IDG News Service, from covering large conventions with fellow IDGNS-ers in Las Vegas (Comdex, CES) and Germany (CeBIT) to working with some great colleagues in a virtual global newsroom.

The jet setting team landed in San Francisco this week for the annual IDGNS off-site meeting. Editors Elizabeth, James and Marc invited old-timers Elinor, Nial and myself to dinner. We had fabulous Burmese food at Burma Superstar on Clement Street, recommended by Elinor. (If you go, arrive early, it does fill up.)

Victory for journalism: McCracken back at PC World

In a move that's great for journalism everywhere, Harry McCracken is back as editor-in-chief of PC World. McCracken suddenly quit last week after a clash with PC World CEO Colin Crawford, who will now leave PC World and rejoin the management team at IDG, PC World's parent, as executive vice president for online.

McCracken resigned on April 30 after Crawford refused to allow publication of a story entitled "10 Things We Hate About Apple." The PC World veteran said that the story was pulled because Crawford was worried about the impact it would have on Apple advertising. The story is now running on PCWorld.com.

PC World is continuing its search for a new CEO to lead PC World and Macworld. Leaders with high integrity are encouraged to apply :-)

Power shopping

Because I am starting a new job soon, my friend Jessica offered to help me shop for some new clothes. She likes dressing up people, she said, and has done it many times before. So, why not, I thought.

The experience ended up being unlike any other shopping experience in my life.

It is a good thing we shopped on Monday night. That meant we had the stores essentially to ourselves. First we went to Banana Republic, which was pretty mellow, probably because it is not that huge.

But after entering the Macy's Men's Store at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto Jessica stormed all the racks. She methodically went from area to area looking at shirts and pants and would load my arms with whatever item she thought would look good on me.

The store attendants would empty my arms every now and then and start stocking a dressing room. I'd also grab a shirt that could look good on occasion and add it to the pile.

After scouring the entire ground floor of men's designer clothing, it was time to try some of the collection on. I remember stores with limits on the number of items you could bring to the fitting rooms. If Macy's has a rule like that, we definitely broke it. There were at least 20 shirts (long and short sleeved) and a half-dozen pair of pants (jeans and dress pants).

In a race against the clock--Macy's was closing in 15 minutes--I tried on all of the clothes and discovered that there should be more hangers and shelves inside the Macy's dressing rooms for people who shop like this.

A selection was quickly made by Fashion Judge Jessica and clothes were discarded or put on the buy pile. When at the register, with lights already being switched off inside the store and the doors being locked, Jessica asked me to try on one more shirt. I did, but it was see-through, so not my thing. (No time to try on undershirts.)

Several hundred dollars and a Macy's card membership later I was outside with a full Macy's bag and some free hangers. My wardrobe is now well stocked with new clothes.

Babies "R" Us

Saturday morning, 10.00 am, Redwood City, CA. I pulled up outside the Babies "R" Us just after it opened. Today I am being introduced to a special piece of American culture: the baby shower.

The event is this afternoon in San Jose, but like all such parties it requires bringing at least one gift. Colleagues suggested the gift should cost between $30 and $40. Since the mom-to-be's birthday was just a day before the baby party, I decided that a bigger gift was in order.

It was a good thing that I arrived early. The Babies "R" Us is cavernous! Luckily there was technology to help me out. A computer placed right after the store entrance let me print my friend's five page "baby registry." (They seem to have gift registries for everything in this country, and this time I was really happy they did!)

Next up was trying to find some items on the list in the store. A scavenger hunt! An entire wall full of diaper bags had me perplexed. They all seemed to be olive green in color and all of the Eddie Bauer brand. So I ambushed an employee busy stocking some other baby items and she helped me out. I found the bag, I found a mirror for in the car and a set of "receiving blankets," another new term for me.

The gifts were a hit. But even after four years here I haven't learned that one is also expected to put a card on the gifts, even if you give it in person--no surprise Hallmark is so big. So I wrote on the wrapping paper that the gifts came from me and slipped my friend the gift receipt (which otherwise could be placed with the card in the envelope--there's a purpose!).

I had heard of silly baby shower games like measuring the belly with toilet paper and tasting baby food. Sounded like fun, somewhat. But we didn't play any of those. Instead, we played a game of the price is right with baby items and charades with baby-related term.

Another game was a quiz with questions on American nursery rhymes. No surprise that I didn't know any of the answers. We also had a raffle, I won some cookies from Hawaii. Those will be shared at work this week :-)

It was a fun look into U.S. culture. I can learn to like these baby showers. Pizza and tortilla chips + dip were served as well as a giant cake with a thick layer of icing. (My teeth and I prefer Princess Cake with delicate marzipan as a topping.)

I ended the day playing Xbox 360 with some of the kids. They had a lot of fun beating me at all of the games, though I did beat a 6-year-old on a racing game.

PC World EIC Resigns

For two years I worked only a few feet away from Harry McCracken's office at the IDG building on 501 2nd Street in San Francisco. Harry has been with PC World forever, he's an icon and much-loved by the people who work on the magazine. But now he's gone.

From what I hear Harry resigned on Wednesday over a dispute with senior management at PC World regarding an online story about Apple. The story, headlined "Ten Things We Hate About Apple," would have irked a major advertised and was pulled.

"I spent 12 years at PC World; it's been incredibly good to me," McCracken told my colleague Tom Krazit at CNET News.com.

Wired's Kim Zetter broke the news on Harry's departure. She writes that IDG executive Colin Crawford told editors that product reviews in PC World were too critical of vendors, especially ones who advertise in the magazine, and that they had to start being nicer to advertisers.

I commend Harry. It takes guts to make such a move. He's taking one for the team and I hope PC World and IDG executives realize that editorial integrity is a big thing. If you let that go, your readership will find out and soon you won't have anyone buying your magazines or going to your Web site. After that the advertisers will be gone as well.

Earthquake!

Another one I didn't feel, though this one was probably closer than any previous temblors. According to the U.S. Geological Survey there was a magnitude 3.0 quake in Berkeley this morning. I'm in the South of Market district in San Francisco, near the Bay Bridge on the sixth and top floor of the CNET building. Some co-workers said the blinds were swinging. I didn't notice anything, sitting on my chair and typing away while listening to the Counting Crows. Maybe I'll feel the next one. (Being careful though what I wish for.)

Queen's Day

Every year on April 30 the Dutch celebrate the monarchy. The date was chosen because it is the birthday of the late Queen Juliana (1909-2004). This year the Dutch celebrate Queen Beatrix's 27th anniversary of her accession to the throne. Some are speculating that this may be the last Queen's Day with Beatrix on the throne. Her son, prince Willem Alexander, may take over as head of state in the coming 12 months as his mother turns 70 and may abdicate.

Personally, I don't care much for the monarchy. But it is a great reason for a party. Here in San Francisco some Dutchies got together on Saturday for an Orange bash. I missed it, sadly.

Queen's Day, or Koninginnedag, is mainly known for being the one day in the year that everyone clears out their attics and garages to sell whatever they don't want anymore on the street in a giant vrijmarkt. The night before is celebrated as 'Koninginnenacht' (queen's night).

My uncle Peike sent me this picture of Queen's Day in Haarlem. Thanks!