Guus Bosman

software executive and technologist

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washington

Cherry Blossoms

Sat, 04/08/2006 - 10:23pm

Martenitsa at the Cherry Blossoms.Last Sunday we went to see the Cherry Blossoms. We started our walk again at the World Bank, just like a few days earlier when we went to the Tidal Basin in the evening.

We made a quick stop at Starbucks, and from the Bank we walked to the White House. We had lunch near there, and continued our trip towards the Tidal Basin. The weather was wonderful (shorts & sandals), and it was crowded on the National Mall and at the Cherry Blossom festival.

It was the last weekend the blossoms were blooming, but the flowers had not lost any of their beauty. However, there must have started to loose their blossoms as you could see a lot of blossoms in the water.

It was of course a great location to place our martenitsas as well.

After spending some two hours or so at the Cherry Blossoms, we walked back to the Reflecting Pool. Obviously, this was the time for a lot of pictures.

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dailylife

Presentation in Malta

Sat, 04/08/2006 - 10:58am

Next week Sasha will present her research work at a conference in Malta. She's leaving this afternoon.

On Monday she will give a presentation on the results of the work that she is doing at her work, followed later in the week by other meetings and discussions. She will be there for over a week.

The workshop is organized by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the University of Malta which has a Information Brochure on-line.

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bicycling

To the Great Falls

Mon, 04/03/2006 - 7:10pm

To the Great Falls.Saturday I went on a rather ambitious bike trip: I visited the Great Falls, using a great bike route.

While early in the morning it was cloudy, when I left at 10.00 am the sun was shining brightly.

I started the route in Georgetown, just like the Lost Blossom Tour did. Somewhere half-way I made a wrong turn -- I took the Capital Crescent trail into DC, which I though had a connection to 2nd trail back towards the Falls, but it didn't. With this detour it took me quite a while to get there, but around 1.00 pm I made it to the Great Falls Overlook.

The first time I was at the Great Falls (with Jaap and Mieke), I was at the Virginia side of the river, this time I took the C&O Towpath on the Maryland side. The first part of the route was busy -- there was a MS Walk going on -- but after a few miles the road became very quiet, and it is truly a beautiful ride.

I had lunch in a nice outdoor place. On my way back I used the Chain Bridge to cross the Potomac into Virginia, and took Militairy Road to get back home.

Some pictures.

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dailylife

Saturday morning

Sat, 04/01/2006 - 9:19am

Today the intranet of the World Bank carried the announcement that Paul David Hewson will be the new Managing Director of the Bank, replacing Graeme Wheeler who is currently acting Managing Director.

I'm getting ready for another bike ride -- the weather is nice but it's not very sunny (unfortunately, for the pictures). We've got some work to do this weekend but I first want to get out and get some fresh air.

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travelling

Dutch food on Curacao

Fri, 03/31/2006 - 7:05pm

Dutch food.Curacao is a very popular destination for Dutch tourists, and the local business have adapted their menu's to that. Of course the beer is Dutch, varying from the nice Grolsch bottles to a special, "Carribean", version of Amstel, Amstel Bright.

The food on this island close to Venezuela is also distinctively Dutch. Most places sell items like broodje gezond, kroket, frikandel, fries with mayonaise, all targeted to the Dutch tourist.

If we had lived in Holland I would have been very disappointed by this; it was hard to find local dishes. But for us, having lived in the US for so long, it was nice eating the things we haven't had for quite a while. One of the things that I enjoyed the best was having a Grolsch with bitterballen while overlooking the Willemstad harbor. On the beach I ate a sate van de haas, with a great peanut sauce.

Hotel Kura Hulanda has three restaurants. They had a more international menu and served very good food. The waitresses in the hotel were mostly Dutch; people who were doing an internship for a hospitality school in the Netherlands.

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bicycling

Lost Blossom Bicycle Tour

Thu, 03/30/2006 - 10:52pm

A ruin next to the Potomac.The cherry blossoms are blooming. They are a very popular destination in D.C., and the Tidal Basin is usually very crowded.

Last Sunday I decided to bicycle the "The Lost Blossom Bicycle Tour". In North-West Washington there is a street in the Kenwood neighbourhood where there are a lot of cherry blossom trees.

It was a long trip. I started going north, next to the Potomac, and from there I took the Capital Crescent trail. The cherry blossoms were nice, and there were many people in the small park having lunch and hanging out with their kids.

On my back I cheated a bit with the route. Not to take a short-cut, but it's just that I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find my way, so I took Massachusetts Avenue all the way through D.C. until I reached Rock Creek park and crossed the river to go back home.

Some pictures.

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washington

Tidal Basin at night

Thu, 03/30/2006 - 8:17am

Tidal Basin at night with the Jefferson Memorial.Last night Sasha and I went for a walk to the Tidal Basin. I took the metro to her work and we walked from the Bank to the White House, from there to the National Mall and then to the Tidal Basin.

It was already dark when we arrived, but even though we did not see much of the cherry blossoms it was a nice evening.

We'll probably go this weekend to see the blossom's during the day.

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travelling

Willemstad at night

Sat, 03/25/2006 - 10:06am

Willemstad at night.When we were in Curacao a few weeks ago, we stayed in Willemstad, the capital of the island.

Curacao is an old Dutch colony of course, so it is in the news in the Netherlands with some frequency, for example when Queen Beatrix visits the Netherlands Antilles.

The classic picture that the Dutch TV stations would show in such a case is the harbor front, with the color facades, and it was very nice to see them in reality. I took some pictures at night.

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dailylife

Two ducks and a shopping cart

Fri, 03/24/2006 - 5:20pm

Two ducks and a shopping cartTwo ducks and a shopping cart.

As seen in the Potomac river in Georgetown.

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movies

Brokeback Mountain

Thu, 03/23/2006 - 7:40pm

Brokeback mountain.A couple of weeks ago we saw Brokeback Mountain in the Loews theater in Georgetown.

The story is about two cowboys who fall in love while they are herding sheep on Brokeback Mountain when they are young. They continue their secret relationship in the years to come, although they both get married to a wife and even get children while they're still in love with each other.

The subject of the movie is intolerance towards homosexual people. The story line starts in the 1960s the two men meet, and the movie plays in Wyoming and Texas.

Brokeback Mountain and its director, Ang Lee, won many awards this year, including 3 Oscars.

IMDB has some funny trivia about the movie, especially about director Ang Lee and his experiences with sheep.

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