Drup: about the small adventures in life...

Full of shit

2011-12-18T15:22:00.000+01:00

Never have I seen this phrase been depicted so literaly

Dog poo bin: brimfull

Faces everywhere

2011-12-16T21:11:00.000+01:00

This slightly damaged toilet rol dispenser all of a sudden is bursting with personality...

What are you looking at..?

Piñata hiding..?

2011-12-15T07:27:00.000+01:00

Discovered this piñata hiding in a doorway.

Colourful lama-piñata

[ trying to avoid getting beaten up..? ]

Pieterpad

2011-12-14T20:04:00.000+01:00

More than 17 years ago, I walked the Pieterpad trail in the Netherlands. At the end there was a cafe where walkers could leave a note. During the honeymoon we tried to find that note again...

Found it! Proof that Mark and I where there!

We even left a 'ps' regarding the weather...

Mini-honeymoon

2011-12-12T21:45:00.002+01:00

After a wedding, it's time for a (short) newly-wed vacation...

Honeymoon hotel (Maastricht)

I'm married!

2011-12-10T12:22:00.003+01:00

Hüpf, I got a real official wife! :-)

Keeping the flowers fresh...

Delicious party cake, created by Drs. Koekenbakker...

And wearing a ring now...

[ even updated facebook relation status... ]

Thanks everyone for celebrating this with us (and for all the great presents)!

Toilet thief?

2011-12-03T08:05:00.000+01:00

Who took the seat? And why? Does someone in the office not like his chair..?

This toilet is staring back at you..!

There's Wally and Waldo!

2011-12-01T19:19:00.001+01:00

No, we didn't start naming our mice, just wanted to share I finally found them both. I always though Waldo was the US version of Wally but this picture proofs there are actually two!

Water cycling through one of Amsterdams many canals...

The X lift

2011-12-01T07:29:00.000+01:00

Who dares take this elevator..?

I took the stairs to be sure...

It's a whole family!

2011-11-30T19:25:00.001+01:00

Tonight we discovered two more mice, one was smaller then the previous two, so that one was was surely new!

Number 3 and 4...

Released them again (in another direction as the previous time) and reset the traps. Wonder what we'll find tomorrow...

We got him/her!

2011-11-29T20:03:00.000+01:00

This morning I heard a a scratching sound behind the curtain. When checking I found a mouse! Caught in a trap, nowhere to go. It looked cute and very scared, so I released it in the wild...

This is number '2'...

And when I got home tonight I heard another scratching sound. And when looking at another trap (we've got two) I found another mouse...

[ or had mouse one returned..? ]

Released this one (again?), this time making sure it was much further away...

Wipkip 2.0

2011-11-16T07:42:00.000+01:00

Normally springriders are boring playground devices that consist of a wooden animal fixed upon a metal spring. But this one is only for tough biker kids!

For Hells ~~Angels~~ Toddlers only...

Mouse hole

2011-11-14T08:03:00.000+01:00

Found it!

Hidden behind a pipe...

[ now to make sure it won't be used anymore... ]

Fishbowl?

2011-11-13T22:29:00.000+01:00

I've never seen fish swim in a pan before. Wonder if the owner dropped the glass fishtank and this was the only thing to hold enough water...

...or will he cook them later..?

Stop monkeying around

2011-10-31T08:01:00.000+01:00

You are a monkey, not a dentist!

Just stop it!

Off-road hearse?

2011-10-30T11:44:00.002+01:00

I was really wondering if there was someone inside, or whether is was used as a ski-box...

Maybe not as cool as this one...

Red skies

2011-10-27T22:21:00.001+02:00

Why do pictures always come out so much less impressive than the real thing...

Morning sky over Amsterdam

Happy Hallowuuugh!

2011-10-24T21:59:00.000+02:00

This is the most scary pumpkin for mysophobiacs ever...

Yuk, how moldy will this look at Halloween?!

Urban jungle

2011-10-19T19:48:00.001+02:00

It really is a jungle out there...

New king of Pride Rock..?

Cuddly toy..?!

2011-10-05T22:08:00.001+02:00

Reading the title will probably make you think of a cute bear, monkey, tigers or maybe a fluffy unicorn or an adorable mini-moose. But that's not what they offer kids to play with in the kindergarden next door...

Stuffed toy airplane?!

Rügen holiday (1/4)

2011-10-02T19:24:00.000+02:00

Just returned from a holiday on Rügen, a peaceful island off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea. Besides mainly German tourists, it has:

Perfect weather (all days were sunny!)

Incredible views (chalk cliffs)

New tastes (Waldmeister flavor wackel pudding?!)

Many hiking opportunities

4.5 km long beach resorts (every room with sea view)

Rügen holiday (2/4)

2011-10-02T19:23:00.000+02:00

The island hosts a vibrant collection of semi-exotic of wildlife:

Cute small snakes

Fluffy caterpillars (that liked to walk on handrails

Jellyfish (not to be confused with pudding!)

Burning squirrels

...but Segways are not allowed!

Rügen holiday (3/4)

2011-10-02T19:22:00.000+02:00

During the various hikes (Spaziergänge) we encountered a surprising variety of scenes:

Beaches (duh, it's an island!)

Mushrooms (never seen so many different fungi...)

Swamps

Forrests

Sunsets (at 19:00, September is not summer anymore...)

Rügen holiday (4/4)

2011-10-02T19:21:00.001+02:00

Besides flora and fauna, Rügen has some other stuff too:

Buildings in the sea (like Laketown from the Hobbit)

Pink castles (Jagdschloss Granitz)

Our hotel (in the forrest near Bergen)

Towers (with 360 island views)

...and a rodelbahn (you're never too old for this stuff!)

Mmmmmonkey

2011-09-13T22:22:00.003+02:00

Our office monkey learned a new trick, he can now mwwmmm mmwm really good mmmmmmmmurmelmw... :-)

Hard to drink tea this way though...

Open office day

2011-09-11T17:22:00.002+02:00

This weekend was open monuments day. This allowed me to have a first glimpse inside the building that will soon become the new office...

We will move to 1st, 4th and 5th floor soon...

Inside view from the hall

Floors still empty now...

View from the roof: Amsterdam skyline

The view down: Rembrandtsplein

Working monkey

2011-09-09T08:01:00.002+02:00

Took one of the monkeys to work. It now lives under my monitor and helps me with the spelling of difficult words...

and cheer up colleagues that need cheering-up...

Drunk bear

2011-09-08T20:56:00.001+02:00

And on the way back I discovered this animal sleeping it off on another bench...

Do brown bears have hang-overs too..?

Fat lion

2011-09-08T20:35:00.001+02:00

Found this beast sitting on a park bench this morning...

Is this how the lion king ended up..?

Baking bread

2011-09-04T21:23:00.002+02:00

Found a recipe for soda bread, bought the ingredients and baked it..!

...and then ate it...

Red skies

2011-09-02T19:22:00.001+02:00

I always forget, does this omen mean it will rain tomorrow..?

Looks nice in a threatening way

We have a monkey!

2011-09-01T22:02:00.002+02:00

After drinking this brand of tea for years and years, I thought it was finally time to have a monkey...

PG tips monkey!!!

Baking a cake

2011-08-14T12:47:00.002+02:00

Raining outside and hungry: perfect combination to bake a multi-layered cake!

Chocolate and orange cake with blueberry cream filling...

[ enough to feed a party... ]

Drilling a hole

2011-08-10T22:27:00.001+02:00

With all the massive amounts of tea I drink, I frequent the bathroom. To practise my aim, I started to target a specific part of the urinal deodorizer block.

At last: light at the end of the tunnel..!

Blue screen in German

2011-08-09T07:22:00.003+02:00

You would expect trams in Amsterdam to use a Dutch version of Windows on their systems, but the error screen proved otherwise...

Der blaue Bildschirm des Todes

[ hopefully this means the trams will soon run with German Pünktlichkeit... ]

Turtle tree

2011-08-07T10:01:00.001+02:00

Did I miss a hurricane or do turtles now-a-days roost in trees..?

We're not in Texas no more Toto...

Toilet accident

2011-08-06T08:21:00.001+02:00

I discovered it is possible to be too heavy for a toilet seat...

After more then 5 years of taking crap, it gave up...

So I had to buy a new one...

How Dutch can you get..?

Barbad-wire..?

2011-08-05T08:12:00.001+02:00

This is a classic example of a 'Clickety Click—Barba Trick' gone horribly wrong...

What did Barbamama do to get stuck on a fence like this..?

Milky(got a)way?

2011-08-04T08:23:00.001+02:00

This looks like the beginning of a lame joke...

Why did the milk cross the street..?

BBQ-bike

2011-08-03T21:50:00.001+02:00

When you think you've seen it all, you encounter this bike...

Will the owner cook and drive..?

Hadrian's wall

2011-08-02T22:24:00.005+02:00

I know what I did this summer: walking all 80 Roman miles of Hadrian's Wall...

[ summarizing the trip in 5 images... ]

Stunning views and a lot of wall...

Real English weather...

Enough adventure along the way...

Starting with full English breakfast...

...and ending it with sticky toffee puddings!

Grumpy eels

2011-07-09T16:10:00.001+02:00

Albert Heijn gives away special collectable cards with interesting animals. After opening my first package of 4 cards I decided not to collect them...

I don't like grumpy eels...

What's up with mango?

2011-07-08T08:14:00.001+02:00

Today I found a whole collection of mango flavoured tea. Either nobody likes it, or someone likes it so much that it needs to be hidden...

Secret stash of Mango tea?

Kater (2)

2011-07-07T08:02:00.001+02:00

It's really this cat's favourite place to sleep...

Falling asleep in the most comfortable flower pot... again...

Gollem fo(u)r beers

2011-07-06T22:24:00.004+02:00

Just look at the images! #beer #Gollem

Karmeliet

Gollem blond

Ciney

st Feuillien

[ everything fresh from the tap! ]

Giant fly invasion

2011-06-30T08:33:00.001+02:00

Hope this fly is not planning a world invasion, but as long as they are planning to stay is Siberia, I'm fine with it...

Guess they don't have a no-fly zone here...

Waste kitty

2011-06-29T07:13:00.001+02:00

Found this message on a pack of crips. I guess that threatening with actually killing a kitten would be more effective!

The Lays recycle kitten..?

[ oh, the ham-cheese flavoured crisp feature a recycle chicken... ]

Fat dogs not allowed?

2011-06-28T18:56:00.001+02:00

I wondered if this shop sign is aimed at a particular type of dogs...

Pot-bellied dogs may not enter...

[ does this also apply for overly obsese cats or pigs..? ]

Star-struck cactus

2011-06-27T08:08:00.001+02:00

Cause (still) unknown, but the big cactus is pushing up the daisies...
Since it was too big to dispose in one go, we had to cut it into smaller pieces.

And that revealed something special..!

Dutch weather

2011-06-26T20:29:00.001+02:00

It will be very warm the coming (two) days, but we had some stormy weather in the last few days...

Dark clouds gathering...

And when you are in between rains, beautyful things happen...

Rainbows!

Don't believe it...

2011-06-13T21:34:00.003+02:00

Today I saw a commericial of @GarnierFructis: #PureShine. It claimed to remove the dulling effect of calcium in water and make your hair shine...
The first thought that came to my mind was: they added a decalcifing agent to their shampoo, like Calgon...

Fructis pure shine = shampoo + Calgon..?

The second thought I had was: didn't dog (and cat) food do the same for their furr..?

Give your pet a shiny coat!

So, the next time you think my hair is looking especially shiny, I am probably eating dog food...

[ or added a Calgon tablet to my regular shampoo... ]

Big foot wrinkle

2011-06-06T07:22:00.002+02:00

Couple of days ago I discovered a big line on my foot. I'm not sure if there are any foot-palm-readers around that can interpret it, but I'm sure it must be something significant...

My big foot life line..?

Going Dutch

2011-06-05T16:52:00.001+02:00

Eventhough a constant wind tried to blow us the other way, we reached Marken to eat an icecream and cycle back again.

Feeling like a tourist in your own country...

And with the wind in our backs, we were home in no time at all!

What's this..?

2011-05-30T22:23:00.001+02:00

Sometimes you find pictures on your phone of which you have no idea what it is or why you took them...

What is this yellow thing doing on my phone..?

If anyone has an idea what it is, please let me know in the comments...

[ thanks in advance... ]

AAAHHHhhhrgg!

2011-05-24T09:07:00.003+02:00

I don't know why anyone would choose this text as their computer wallpaper image, but it got me wanting to humm a familiar tune all day yesterday...

Tu tu du du... Tu Tu du du du..!

Plant eats bike

2011-05-23T21:30:00.000+02:00

And I'm not talking about the black bike, it's the yellow bike behind it that is being claimed by mother nature...

Omnomnom...

Beer reflection

2011-05-22T17:55:00.000+02:00

Sitting on a terras and watching how the sun plays with your beer...

Life can be good...

AA-test

2011-05-22T11:55:00.001+02:00

To test how accurate my pedometer is, I decided to AA test them. One measured the steps of my left leg, another the steps of my right leg.

[ and I expected the numbers to be the same... ]

...but they were not...

I tested them multiple times, switching the pedometers to check if one was counting more or less accurately then the other. And everytime the results were the same: my right leg takes more steps then the left.

[ so I concluded that I must be walking in circles... ]

Day out...

2011-05-21T22:41:00.000+02:00

Seeing how glass is made and walking to Beesd, good way to spend your Saturday...

Leerdam, glass making city...

Robot 2nd life..?

2011-05-19T21:12:00.001+02:00

Is there life after a successful robotic role in Dr. Who..? Yes there is!

Exterminate... and recycle!

Smoke 'm out!

2011-05-13T21:05:00.000+02:00

They look kind of surprised...

Eels waiting to be smoked...

Bananabeast

2011-05-11T21:31:00.001+02:00

Sometimes you don't need a lot of effort to create a creature from a banana...

Ba na na Ba na na...

Brainless bunny

2011-05-11T19:13:00.000+02:00

After the headless chicken, it was time for a brainless bunny...

Chocolate airhead...

Another reflection

2011-05-09T08:01:00.000+02:00

It's still easy for me to be amazed with how playful light is...

What causes light to wrap this way?

Headless chicken

2011-05-08T16:01:00.000+02:00

It looks like not everybody likes the new McDonalds Happymeal figures from Rio...

Not so happy Nico...

This is no beach...

2011-05-08T12:09:00.001+02:00

Not every big sandy patch ends in an ocean...

Beautiful place to go hiking...

Kater...

2011-05-06T22:37:00.000+02:00

When I saw this cat sleeping it off, I finally understood why in Dutch we call a hang-over a kater...

But why fall asleep in a flower pot?

Dutch Mountains

2011-05-03T21:15:00.000+02:00

Who thinks the Netherlands doesn't have proper mountains hasn't been to Westpoort in Amsterdam yet....

Mountain of salt..?

These mountains do smell a bit funny though...

Shadowplay

2011-05-02T07:36:00.000+02:00

I like how light plays with objects and since the nice weather makes people not bring coats, new possibilities come to light...

Empty coat rack...

Queensday-tour

2011-05-01T17:14:00.001+02:00

Why spend the day in a crowded city when you can go outside and enjoy the sun..? Took the bike and the queen and cycled to the sea and back again...

Day fit for a king...

Hupf, Hupfer, hupfest..?

2011-04-28T18:04:00.002+02:00

Grammar explained on Wikipedia: the suffixes -er (the "comparative") and -est (the "superlative") can be used to distinguish the degree to which the modifier modifies its complement.

All I need to do is find a hupfest..!

New housing estate

2011-04-27T20:07:00.000+02:00

Was quite a surprise when we discovered a newly build house with 28 rooms indoors...

Rooms for hire..?

Thanks to a vacuum cleaner, this illegal build has been completely demolished...

Disadvantage of warm weather

2011-04-26T22:45:00.000+02:00

Sunny weather is a blessing for most, but somethings will always suffer...

Complete meltdown...

Advantage of warm weather

2011-04-26T22:41:00.000+02:00

Going for a walk and stopping for a refreshment...

And forgetting they serve half liters...

Car antenna hippo

2011-04-22T22:00:00.000+02:00

I never understood why you should have something on the end of your car antenna. But if you feel the urge to do so, please don't use any water dwelling mammals: that just looks silly...

Why a hippo..?

Bananart

2011-04-21T22:35:00.000+02:00

Couple of days ago I saw these amazing banana sculptures, made me want to try it for my self...

Beautiful banana art

But before I will turn into a new banana Michael Angelo, I'll start simple...

I'm not there yet...

[ Oh.., I ate the banana before I could start in ernest... ]

Wandering gnome

2011-04-18T18:23:00.000+02:00

Some time ago I reported about this little gnome with the search light. Today I found him wandering through the bushes.

Fairytale search party still going on..?

Not sure what the little guy is looking for, but all I could see where some cigarette butts and a piece of chewing gum...

[ I hope he finds it soon... ]

Anti-wobbling table dropjes

2011-04-17T18:22:00.002+02:00

This afternoon we enjoyed a hightea at le pain quotidien. The table was a bit wobbly so I was looking for a beermat to put under the shortest leg. To my surprise I saw someone before me had already taken care of this, but the thing used had slipped free...

It was a piece of licorice...

I just slipped this piece of candy back under the leg and the table was solid as a rock..!

Squeeze and squeeze

2011-04-17T13:16:00.001+02:00

Whenever I think the toothpaste tube is empty I manage to squeeze out a bit more. In the end the tube looks completely mangled...

Squeezed tubing...

Trying one more time...

Hooray: managed one more serving!

Now it's really empty!

Windowsill garden

2011-04-13T19:43:00.001+02:00

Our trip to Tuincentrum Osdorp resulted in buying a little green greenhouse. We now started our little indoor garden by sowing herbs: lemon balm, watercress, jalapeño peppers, cumin, sage, rosemary, coriander, basil, chervil, marjoram, lemon basil, chervil basil, parsley and more parsley.

Add water and wait...

Cesar Millan

2011-04-12T19:07:00.001+02:00

I might not be as good as the dog whisperer, but I had this carton dox behave very quickly!

I'm now its calm and assertive pack leader...

Depressed fire hydrant

2011-04-11T12:21:00.000+02:00

I can imagine being a fire hydrant isn't the most thrilling thing in the world, but this one really needs to be cheered up...

Always look on the bright side of life..?!

Where to go..?

2011-04-10T21:38:00.003+02:00

With the lovely weather outside, you just need to take a long walk outside. And to make sure we were going somewhere, we combined it with essential shopping. So we headed to Ikea on Saturday to buy candy...

Anyone need a new brush..?

And we visited Tuincentrum Osdorp today to buy a greenhouse...

Cubical shapes

2011-04-08T08:11:00.001+02:00

This morning I saw this beautiful (almost) square light reflecting on a wall...

3D reflection...

Radiator-sheep

2011-04-07T23:01:00.001+02:00

Found this creature grazing near the waste containers. Guess its owner no longer needs it to heat the house and left it there all alone...

Hope someone will take it home...

If you can't stand the heat...

2011-04-06T21:04:00.002+02:00

When you think you have everything for your kitchen, you might still be missing a creme brulee torch...

Fire it up!

We've got one now, but have a shortage of things to torch...

[ if you have any suggestions, please let me know... ]

New view

2011-04-04T08:09:00.000+02:00

New office, new view...

The Rijksmuseum...

Sticky toffee pudding

2011-04-03T20:21:00.000+02:00

Who doesn't love English desserts..?

Straight from the microwave...

[ the recipe is available upon request... ]

Celestial ceiling

2011-04-02T22:35:00.000+02:00

When I opened my eyes this morning, this is what I saw above me...

And visible from the comfort of my own bedroom...

Laughter in the kitchen

2011-03-28T19:49:00.001+02:00

Yesterday evening was another Quiet Night In. Had many laughs, a beer and some lovely homebaked cake...

[ and one video I just have to share... ]

Banana flavoured contact lenses

2011-03-24T23:07:00.001+01:00

Sometimes you hear things that make you wonder if you heard correctly. I had just that thing when I heard a colleague talk about she wasn't sure she had bought the correct banana flavoured contact lens fluid...

You never looked so tasty...

Of course I had heard wrong, connecting two separate conversations into one, but that didn't stop me from smiling...

[ who knows, maybe this is a great marketing opportunity..! ]

Road pizza

2011-03-23T22:02:00.002+01:00

I know many people have a completely different idea when hearing the word 'Road pizza'...

[ just 'Google image' it if you have no idea... ]

But this morning I found out the true meaning of the word, right in front of my door. No doubt that this is as real as a road pizza can get...!

I didn't check if it was still warm...

Please wash your hands...

2011-03-21T08:07:00.000+01:00

Talk about emotional design! This sink just stares at you. No way you will use the toilet and not wash your hands with this little guy watching your every move...

This is the cutest sink ever!

Spring!

2011-03-20T13:59:00.002+01:00

No, I don't mean the Dutch 'Jump' (see previous entry), I mean the beautiful weather outside! This is no time to sit indoors behind a computer...

[ or game console... ]

Our diner table tree is full of blossom...

Time to go outside for a walk...

And catch some colorful sun rays...

Jump like you mean it!

2011-03-19T17:13:00.001+01:00

Thanks to all my (ex)colleagues I can now make myself even more ridiculous. The Kinect I was given as a farewell present makes me do strange stuff in my livingroom...

And it takes pictures of you while playing...

Saying goodbye...

2011-03-18T13:26:00.000+01:00

I really enjoyed the farewell party @UI_com and Elsevier gave me last night. We should do that again sometime!!!
And the gifts, WOW, you really had me lost for words there...

Instruction manual for my new colleagues...

Thanks to you I will be able to eat my favorite chocolate sprinkles until mid-July 2011.

Guys, you shouldn't have, really...

I will definitely miss everyone of you dearly, and some even more than others! I'm sure the future of User Intelligence will be very successful, even when no one in the office will be complaininhg about ajar doors anymore...

UI: you rock! :-)

Time for a beer!

2011-03-17T18:30:00.000+01:00

The work has been done, time for a well deserved beer (or two)...

Beer o'clock for all..!

And if we can't have enough beers today, we'll have some more tomorrow...

Last day in the office...

2011-03-17T14:19:00.000+01:00

Today is going to be my official last day in the User Intelligence office. So much to do: I still need to find a replacement lunch coordinator...

Lauriergracht, I will miss you...

Things I will miss

2011-03-15T22:14:00.002+01:00

There are many, many things I will miss. The big and small things I thoroughly enjoyed during working hours which were somehow unique to the projects I was involved in. Here are just some examples...

Taking the stairs to and from lunch (17 floors)

[ and lunches in general of course... ]

Checking the progress at the building site

[ finding open doors that I could close... ]

Eating Piet piraat or K3 chocolate sprinkles

Luckily I will be able to start some new routines at my new job...

Office critters

2011-03-15T03:02:00.000+01:00

We used to have a mouse at the office that really liked to life INSIDE our copier-printer... That mouse left us at some point, but thanks to the Ikea we now have a real 'Gusig Mus' that pop-ups here and there...

Doing the accounts payable...

Eating our donuts...

Playing with the office plants...