Category: Life
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Bureaucracy: Belgium’s greatest export
I thought that I’d left all of the bureaucracy behind when I left Belgium earlier this year, but no. It seems that not content with foisting their arcane machinations on the rest of Europe, the Belgians have now set their sights on the global stage. On July 15th, a new law will come into effect in Belgium whereby any non-residents who work in Belgium for more than five days in any calendar month are required to obtain an L-1 LIMOSA declaration. Given that there’s an extremely good chance I’ll be sent back to Belgium on a business trip at some… Read more
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Road – it’s all the rage!
This commute is killing me. A couple of nights ago it took me an hour and 40 minutes to get home from work. For a 20-mile journey, on a single stretch of motorway – the infamous I-10 (a.k.a. the Katy Freeway). That’s an average of 12 mph – which just shows that the police are taking the piss by putting up “65-mph” speed limit signs. And 12mph is an average. For the last 5 miles of the journey I was hurtling along at closer to 80mph. Yes, that’s over the limit, but I dare the bastards to pull me over and… Read more
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Raising the (Chocolate) Bar
For some reason I’ve got this real craving for Toffos. Unfortunately, being some 10,000 miles from the nearest packet, it’s likely to remain unsatiated. Despite globalization and the flattening of the world, some things just don’t seem to travel intercontinentally – and sweets (candy, snoep, what you will) seems to be one of them. Although there’s not much I miss about England, sweets are something I certainly do. Not enough to move back there, you understand, but enough to give me pangs of nostalgia. Or of hunger. It’s difficult to tell, this late in the afternoon. I spent several years in… Read more
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Tomorrow’s World Finally Arrives
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’m a complete whore for technology. I wouldn’t quite put myself in the nerd/geek camp (although some would) but I do love the good, practical use of technology. And with the convergence of a couple of new-ish technologies, I’ve finally turned my home into something that could have featured on Tomorrow’s World – albeit back in the seventies. It started with the recent purchase (as a 10th wedding anniversary present) of a new TV – a 50″ Plasma HD TV, which now hangs on the wall above the fireplace (where it doesn’t look… Read more
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Driver Safety
Last weekend I bought myself a new car (well, new to me – not brand new – it’s a 2003 model). It’s a small 2-door Chevrolet Cavalier LS Sport (see picture on the MobLog). I used to have a Vauxhall Cavalier last time I lived in England (14 years ago…) and this is nothing like that. This is actually a good-looking car, although the ‘Sport’ side of things only really extends as far as the spoilers, and it coming in a rather fetching “Sporting Yellow”. It’s a 2.2 liter engine, which sounds a lot in a small car by European standards (my… Read more