European troubles

Mon, 01/17/2011 - 9:56pm

These are uncertain times for the European Union. Last week Paul Krugman wrote an article in the New York Times about the problems facing the Union and the euro, and the possible scenarios that could unfold. A few days later The Economist argued that Greece and possibly Ireland and Portugal should restructure their debts, the first rich-country sovereign defaults since 1948:

"This mess leads to a depressing conclusion: Europe’s bail-out strategy, designed to calm financial markets and place a firewall between the euro zone’s periphery and its centre, is failing. Investors are becoming more, not less, nervous, and the crisis is spreading. Plan A, based on postponing the restructuring of Europe’s struggling countries, was worth trying: it has bought some time. But it is no longer working. Restructuring now is more clearly affordable than it was last year. It is also surely cheaper for everybody than it will be in a few years’ time. Hence the need for Plan B."

No Meeting Friday

Thu, 01/13/2011 - 9:46pm

My calendar for tomorrow. Well, this week No Meeting Friday did not exactly work out: I have nine scheduled meetings tomorrow.

Lot of things to catch up with but it's fun to be back at work.

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Icy road back home

Wed, 01/12/2011 - 3:37am

Monday we traveled back from Denver. A snow storm was approaching North Carolina and I was afraid our flight would have been canceled, but we arrived at RDU just fine. A bumpy landing in the storm. Many other flights were canceled, so we felt lucky to have made it.

Hernan joined us on the way home from the airport; it was slow driving because of ice, but we made it home safely around midnight.

Yesterday I worked from home, given the road conditions; it is nice to be back at work. I'm recruiting for three open positions.

Meetings in Denver

Sat, 01/08/2011 - 9:24pm

Denver really is a pretty city, with a great downtown area. Sasha is at her conference during the day, so I'm exploring the city by myself, but we also spent time together in between things.

This afternoon I met Anna Chase and Dennis for coffee, which was fun. I've been reading Dennis' blog for years, and it was nice to meet in real life.

There is snow predicted both here and in North Carolina, that may make our flight home quite interesting. We'll see.

And oh, for lunch I got us two sandwiches from Dubbel Dutch (again). Very healthy, a broodje gezond. Dubbel Dutch is a nice store; I enjoyed meeting Eef, the owner.

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Colorado

Wed, 01/05/2011 - 11:35pm

This morning I drove to Colorado Springs, about an hour south of Denver. I visited a Dutch bakery there.

The speed limit here is 75 miles per hour.

Morning in Denver

Wed, 01/05/2011 - 10:58am

View of Denver, CO. We're staying on the 19th floor of the Crowne Plaza hotel, which has a great view. On the right in the picture you can see the mountains that surround the city.

It's a little colder here than in North Carolina, but not much. The snow you see is the first of the season, according to the guy at the rental company.

There is a two hour time difference with the East Coast.

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In Denver, Colorado

Tue, 01/04/2011 - 11:00pm

Downtown Denver at night. Today we traveled to Denver, Colorado, where Sasha will be at a conference.

It was a short night. Somehow we are always packing until late, and we left the house at 7.00 am. The flight went smoothly. It was the first time we flew with Southwest airlines, and it was a great experience. Very friendly service.

Denver has a nice downtown area; we're staying in a big hotel in the center. I scheduled a meeting with a customer on Thursday.