Monthly Archives: November 2025

Development software development

Cryptic? Let me explain: As a carpenter needs a hammer and a saw to build anything, in order to develop software, a software developer (aka computer programmer), needs tools for software development. Of course, today’s carpenter uses a nail gun and a circular saw, preferably battery-driven – there is progress and development even in the tools of a trade. Similarly, tools for software developers have evolved from simple text editors to advanced dedicated programs supporting every finesse of the programming language to be used. Sometimes these tools are free, in other cases you have to subscribe to them.

However, sometimes the development of these tools stalls or grinds to a complete halt. This can present a real challenge for its users. Continue reading →

Windows 11, or rather Linux?

My computer of choice is, has been for a long time, and probably remains to be for the forseeable future, a 2008 Lenovo X220 laptop. Yes, I’m aware that it is rather oldish.  When it was new, it must have been a beast of a machine, and likely sported quite the price tag. Today, close to 20 years later, it is still a fast laptop. It boots in under a minute and shows no delays in loading files or web pages. Of course, it came with a spinning hard disk when new, but I swapped that out for a Solid State Disk (SSD) years ago. The internal memory was with 16Gb already up to spec, it came standard with a 64-bit processor, and it never was, nor is today, a slow machine. It ran Windows 7, then Windows 10, and then….Microsoft said NO!

Say what? You heard me, they said NO, you ain’t gonna run our shiny new W11 on that old thing! Continue reading →

Putin’s Christmas wishlist

Two days ago, from the time I write this, a peace plan for Ukraine was leaked, most likely from the White House or from the Pentagon. It didn’t reveal much detail, but from any of those sources, anything could be expected. Two days in and the contents all over the news, I can confirm that it must look exactly like the put’n wishlist for Christmas presents. And there’s nothing in it for Ukraine. Continue reading →

De fietsenwinkel

Mijn vader was er ‘een van de fietsenmaker‘. Daarmee werd zijn vader Herman van Doorn bedoeld, die in Beverwijk sinds begin van de vorige eeuw een fietsenwinkel dreef. Mijn opa werd opgevolgd door zijn oudste zoon Hennie, en daarna nam collega Cock het vaandel over. De zaak bestaat nog steeds, en verkoopt en repareert ook vandaag nog steeds fietsen.

Het pand bestaat ook vandaag nog op dezelfde locatie waar het meer dan 100 jaar geleden begon, maar is niet meer actief in gebruik als fietsenwinkel. Deze winkel verhuisde een paar jaar geleden naar de Beverwijkse Breestraat, en naar de nieuwe vestigingen in Heemskerk en de Velserbroek. Continue reading →

Alternatief voor een dure EV

Elektrische auto’s (EV’s) zijn de toekomst. Althans dat doet de overheid ons denken, en de autobranche speelt daarin uiteraard vlijtig mee. Maar is dat wel zo? Of is er ook een toekomst voor niet-EV auto’s?

Hier in Zweden kost de goedkoopste nieuwe EV rond de €30.000. Dat was een Citroën die er prat op ging de goedkoopste EV in de markt te hebben. Ter vergelijking ging de voordeligste EV in Nederland toen (2024) al voor ruim onder de €20.000 over de toonbank. En dan hebben we het slechts over de instapmodellen, de meest verkochte modellen hebben in Zweden prijskaartjes vanaf €45.000 tot tegen een ton! Wie kan zich dit veroorloven? En dan als tweede auto? Continue reading →

Zen and the Art of the Book Cover

I have good memories on reading M.Pirsig’s novel ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance‘. It was the Dutch version, so I now know some nuances were lost in translation. Also, it was over 45 years ago, and with that, it is long overdue for a new read.

Covers:

If I may believe the more than a handful of accomplished bestselling writers’ groups on Facebook, I have to invest in hiring a professional to design the cover of my books. In traditional publishing, with a publisher’s house, they will take care of this as it is included in their fees. But when self-publishing as I am, the consensus seems to be to hire an accomplished artist with experience in book cover design, and let this person create an attractive cover for your book. Continue reading →