Wall Street of flower trade

Have you ever wondered why a flower costs that costs 50 cents today costs 5 EUR on Valentine’s day? Why roses cost more than tulips (below), or why tulips cost more than gerberas? Simple matter of supply and demand, you would say. But who sets these prices? How? When? Where?

Last week, we drove to the [...]

Random notes on Singapore

3quarksdaily has a well-written piece on Singapore.
It is true that changes are afoot in a nation that – after the Asian Financial Crisis, and the terror caused by the spread of SARs – realised its government could never offer it complete protection. The bargain for freedom from want in return for silent cooperation was [...]

The Solution

The grand solution to all our problems lies in the human race comprehending the concept of time.
I can prove it, if only I could spare the time.
Fracturing time may have been the biggest human error of all times. Could anyone not agree with Plautus when he condemned that “wretch who first . . . [...]

Bandages for the weary

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
- W.H.Davies
Happy Easter, and hope you had a good break.
I know you didn’t ask, but yes, I had a good break too. I had not looked forward to a holiday as much as I had to this one, for a very [...]

Amsterdam sold for $50,000 - and shipped for free!

(Click on image to enlarge)
Reuters reports:

The detailed re-creation of the European city was put up for auction starting at US$20,000, but the property with acquired outright with a single bid at the higher price by eBay user nedstede2769. The identity of Amsterdam’s new owner, who is based in the real-world Netherlands and has no eBay [...]

What if Microsoft (re)designed the iPod package?

Check out this video…

You know you live in Amsterdam when..

…you turn to your local weekend “events around town” and find these -
SATURDAY 31 MARCH
Sex: Open Wallen Dag
Everything you always wanted to know about prostitutes but were afraid to ask. Yep, it’s Open Wallen Dag again, so today all Randy Andies have a legitimate excuse to head for the Red Light District. That [...]

Multiple careers: Are you relishing your side dish enough?

An essay on the increasingly popular phenomenon of simultaneous multiple careers

Deny it all you like, but most of us lead multiple lives. Not in the schizophrenic way, but in the “One person - Many interests” kind of way.
Gone are the days in which one person could be slotted into one career - the [...]

Friends supermarket : Soul mates on sale

Am I the only who finds it disturbing that people would “buy” friends? Whats next - soul mates on sale? Buy2-get1free pals?

Bidding started at $2,000, with the winning bid…hitting $2,125.
…That’s what one bidder got by purchasing someone’s MySpace.com account for more than two grand late last month. The seller claims to have more than 100,000 [...]

On writing

A Eulogy to a deserted friend
A meandering river,
that knows not where its headed.
It twists and turns
at every little rock and rift,
headed somewhere,
no one knows where
Not even me,
though I hold the pen.
A gentle wind
that whispers.
Thoughts that were
always there, but never
heard before
Caresses with love
and wonder, all
who care to listen.
A burning fire,
fueled by ardor or amour.
Often writing in [...]