A summer course introduction movie

Browsing through some old files, I found this video Tim and I made as an introduction movie to the BEST Ghent Summer Course about advanced materials (summer 2005). We promised to make it months in advance, but due to our deadline oriented nature, we had to make it in a few hours.
As you can see, there wasn't enough time for other organisers to control or censor us.

White chicks

No, this post is not about some movie I saw in Toronto a few years ago.
Not at all. After the hugely popular chicks in a tree and the detailed coverage of their journey to that tree, I, and some of my readers with me, felt it was time for a follow-up.

Most of Ghent's parks have some chicks (and chickens) wandering around in them, yet the historic center remains a dull scenery with as only highlight some pigeons (and maybe a fantastic view: see picture for "details").
A lack of parks sadly prevents the chicks from reaching this part of town. The presence of water could be a solution, as I witnessed last Wednesday.

Two white chicks (aka "swans") were spotted swimming (floating) through Ghent's most touristic area and were caught on camera.

Japanese and American tourists visiting Belgium usually limit the Ghent part of their visit to the train station, on their way from Brussels to Bruges (Brugge), which is known for its white chicks ("swans").

Maybe these two white chicks mark the dawn of a new era. An era in which more white chicks choose Ghent as their home and in which Bruges (Brugge) should just be happy that Schwarzenegger will save them from drowning.

Interested chick-spotters are referred to my detailed Ghent chick map - created with Google's new My Map feature.

A strong ally

Environmentalists, ecologists and the like can stop worrying about global warming.

I reached this conclusion today after reading this article and watching CNBC Europe's nightly news. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA), a federal agency, denied governor Schwarzenegger's California and 16 other states the right to limit greenhouse gas emissions, an EPA decision backed by president Bush.

This doesn't really sound like good news, but as we know, Schwarzenegger is not that easily defeated (just watch Predator or The Running Man). He vowed to fight back saying:

It is disappointing that the federal government is standing in our way and ignoring the will of tens of millions of people across the nation. We will continue to fight this battle. California sued to compel the agency to act on our waiver, and now we will sue to overturn today's decision and allow Californians to protect our environment.

The environment now has the best ally it could hope for. If you take a look at Schwarzenegger's record (as I did tonight in this biography) there is no doubt that global warming, and not the environment, will be destroyed. He started his offensive in his own style, with a one liner:

I cannot call it anymore the Environmental Protection Agency, I have to call it the Environmental Destruction Agency.

Vermont's governor Jim Douglas tried to make a similar case, be it less eloquent:

I think the EPA is out of touch with the mainstream thought of the American people, especially states like Vermont and California and others that are choosing to adopt more rigorous standards.

The EPA administrator argued that "the Bush administration is moving forward with a clear national solution, not a confusing patchwork of state rules." He believes "this is a better approach than if individual states were to act alone."

He is right. A national solution is better than a segmented approach. But Bush's proposal just doesn't cut it. The solution is to amend the constitution to allow Arnold Schwarzenegger to run for president. Only then will real measures be taken. Only that (or Stephen Colbert) will save America.

Some might argue that a Nobel Peace Prize and a top grossing documentary are a bigger contribution, but shouting ManBearPig's real, won't solve any problem.

Mars Delight

Today, smart marketing managed to trick me again: I bought a Mars Delight.


Maybe it was the timing - I was on my way back from basketball practice, waiting in the cue at the supermarket - but when I saw that candy bar, I had to know how it tasted.

It wasn't my best candy bar experience, I'm afraid. Despite claims on their website, the chocolate was dull and the caramel didn't mask this quite as well as in the original Mars bar.
The price for best candy bar spin-off still goes to Milky Way Crispy Rolls, but I'm open to suggestions. Beware though that there is no real price.


Note for American readers:
Our Mars bar is similar to your Milky Way bar.
Our Milky Way bar is similar to your Three Musketeers bar.
And I don't have a clue what spin-offs like Delight or Crispy Rolls are called over there.
But don't forget, considering my source, that if this bothers you, you can change this confusing reality to a more pleasant one through Wikiality.

Wikiality

After watching this video on the possibilty of a brighter, more pleasant world through Wikipedia, I felt compelled to contribute to this Wikiality. It was time to check the Wikipedia page on Arnold Schwarzenegger (again). And while I'm used to the Dutch version of any wiki page being a strange incomplete translation, I was shocked to see a very important fact missing in the English version.
But now thanks to my swift editing, everybody in the world knows Arnold Schwarzenegger won the campaigner of the year award in this year's European of the year election, organised by the European Voice. And while everybody knows he should have won the European of the year award, I understand it would be a little weird making an American Governor European of the year.

With this problem solved, I can trust Wikipedia again, and my students can go back to using Wikipedia as a source for all kinds of information to get some extra credit.

When buildings collapse

You don't need to watch National Geographic or Schwarzenegger movies to see buildings collapse. This was the view from Ghent's Sint-Pieters train station little over a week ago.
Some improvements were possible in my opinion:

• Someone saying "I'll be back" after which the building would be demolished by some kind of vehicle
• Having none of the building fall on the adjacent train platform
• Actually demolishing the entire building (i.e. not leaving one wall standing)

Nevertheless, a great view and a great experience.

By popular demand

An update on the chicks in the tree.

I managed to catch the chicks in the act of going from the park to the tree.
Unfortunately updates on their adventures will be less frequent. My "new" bike has arrived and my increased mobility prevents me from taking their pictures on my weekly trip to basketball practice. The pictures would be blurry, and there's no use posting blurry pictures of chicks (like these) on this blog.