December 22, 2007
The alternative hit parade hit100.nl has published its second download CD selection, this one Christmas themed. Here’s how it works: they select the songs, you download them (perfectly legal in the Netherlands!), they produce a booklet, you print it and burn the CD. Done!
To me these CDs look like the hit parade CDs being sold in backstreet snack bars in Venlo in the 1980s. Those, of course, were illegal under Dutch law.
Tags: CDs, Christmas, copyright, downloading, publishing
December 21, 2007
Lifehacker’s Gift Guide 2007 for the suave and discerning geek of the noughties acknowledges that the best mods only go with the best bods, so it presents you with a pedaling device called the under-the-desk exerciser (sounds like a Christmas party to me!) to put under your desk or WoW station. But Booklog stands them up with its review of the 1990 summer edition of the Wehkamp mail order catalogue. The “teletrapper” exerciser was sold to an unsophisticated TV dinner crowd even back then, for an even hipper price (in guilders, with about 2 guilders to 1 US dollar).
As one person commented at Lifehacker notes, your desk needs to be higher than waist level, or else you will keep bumping your knees. Of course, if your desk is higher than waist level you’re just begging for RSI. One good solution for that is to get up every 40 minutes or so and take a five minute walk around the office. Once you’ve started doing that, you won’t really need a exercising device, though. Choices!
Tags: Christmas, exercising, life hacking, shopping
December 20, 2007
The Warmoesstraat is one of the oldest streets of Amsterdam and the gateway to the famous Red Light District. The street’s business association wanted to see the wares it sells reflected in its seasonal lighting, and therefore ordered the manufacturing of lights in the shape of condoms, handcuffs, magic mushrooms and so on. But it wasn’t to be: due to a construction error the light that would have been revealed tomorrow turned out to be too heavy to be hung.
The lighting idea was the result of a competition held by the business association and won by Toko 73 and Coolpuk, who also came up with a new logo. I also liked the idea of Carmela Bogman to use LED lights to create an understated, moon-shaped display that would bring visitors back to a darker bygone era, thereby underlining the age of the street—although the actual designs were a bit “Ot en Sien” (tacky).
Illustration by Toko 73 and Coolpuk.
Tags: Christmas, condoms, handcuffs, lamps, magic mushrooms, Red Light District, shopping
December 17, 2007
Apparently one or two employees of the Spaarne Ziekenhuis were surprised to find botox vouchers in their annual Christmas package. The flexible voucher allows them to get their teeth whitened, enjoy hair removal or just go for the botox.
A spokesperson for the hospital said only one or two of the 2,200 employees compained about the voucher. The rest of the vouchers are for restaurants and amusement parks. The spokesperson does not understand what the fuss is all about. “It’s like vegetarians getting pâté or some people getting perfume in their package.”
A note for both the Dutch and foreigners: First, many other countries that celebrate Christmas don’t do the whole Christmas package thing – it’s typically Dutch. They usually get a bonus (or not), organise a Christmas party or exchange gifts among employees having picked names from a hat, also called ‘Secret Santa’.
(Link: Trouw)
