Miscellaneous

As the name suggest, the Miscellaneous category of my Scribbles contains a mixed bag of writings. It contains descriptions of experiments, thoughts about life and participation in events or activities.

  • The distress of giving

    On Sant Jordi (Saint George’s day), the international day of the book, I decided to hit the streets of Barcelona, giving away short stories in order to promote my book — the short story collection 999 Abroad. A priori, the plan sounded fun and easy. How hard could it be to walk around and give…

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  • Of running and spreadsheets

    In my life, the year 2006 was a year of running. In March I made a life-changing purchase. I bought a new pair of running shoes. My first proper running shoes. In the following months I made good use of the shoes and went running fairly regularly. With some minor exceptions, I went running three…

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  • Thoughts on patents

    After reading Simon Overell’s thoughts on patents I wanted to follow suit and share my own thoughts on the issue. I generally liked Simon’s argumentation. I do sympathize with the argument that patents have a merit for, in many cases, “allowing companies and individuals to benefit from investments in research and development”. At the same…

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  • 700 grams of common sense

    A few days ago I flew with easyJet between London and Barcelona. During the check-in I experienced something that made me think about how our lives are dominated by rules and regulations at the cost of common sense. The staff at the check-in informed me that my bag was too heavy — 21.6 kilos —…

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  • Decaffeinated cold turkey

    Christmas is a time where many people cook turkey. As a consequence, the days after christmas is a time where many people have cold turkey. A cold turkey sandwich. For example. I did not cook any turkey this christmas. Yet I decided to go for the cold turkey. For many years, I have been physically…

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  • Which glasses should I buy?

    I woke up late on last Saturday morning and reached for my duct-tape glued-together glasses. I sighed. Remembering what was my task for the day. I had decided to go hunting for new glasses. I sighed again. Shopping is not exactly on the top of my list of fun things to do. I guess it…

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