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What's up with Rob?

• Posted by Rob (#1) on May 7, 2007 17:48 CEST

Other than still being able to write lame rhymes, everything is dandy here. I'm still somewhat hyper from GIAN and with three concerts coming up this weekend this means my happy vibe is going to be a prolonged one! I can't really dismiss Laura either but whatever the exact reason for the vibe, I feel great. :-)

Work is quite hectic, I put in plenty of over-time this weekend. And it looks like trips to Moscow (finally!) and Bucharest are about to happen this month. But anyone who slightly knows me also knows that I like to not just play hard but also work hard (when I'm not lazy). The only downside is that I haven't really had time to work on the new Capsi site but I'm hopeful that I will find a bit of time for that pet project later this week. I still have to finish the blogs, picture galleries, friends lists, proper form feedbacks and whatnot.. the basics look very promising to me though.

Tonight however will be a regular pub night.. I feel like I've deserved it, so you know where you can find me!

Edit: oops, hangover! Also, God apparently felt like handing me lemons because both Alexisonfire shows have been cancelled due to a family emergency for the band. So I made lemonade and hacked together cancellations and postponed dates for the concert site. :-D

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• Tags: work, Give It A Name, Alexisonfire, Laura, pub, Capsi
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How not to travel to Moscow

• Posted by Rob (#1) on March 13, 2007 14:49 CET

My business trip to Moscow was wonderful, but only in the most sarcastic way imaginable. And it all started so well: I managed to get up at six and arrived at Schiphol ten past eight.

Hurray? Not really. Less than a minute after picking up my SAS tickets the nice lady at the check-in counter informed me to look outside and understand that there was too much fog for them to not cancel my flight to Stockholm. Fortunately I was transferred to a KLM flight to Stockholm which would actually get me there sooner. Or so I thought.

Less than a minute after checking in my baggage (two demo machines required for my trip) and paying the overweight charges, it became clear that this flight would have a delay. I would miss my connection to Moscow. So I got transferred once again, this time to a direct flight of Aeroflot. The only problem: because of different overweight fees between carriers, I'd have to recollect my baggage at arrivals and check it in again at Aeroflot.

Half an hour gone: no baggage. One hour gone: nada. Five minutes before final check-in opportunity: nothing. So I didn't check-in at Aeroflot as going to Moscow without the demo machines would be pointless. But hey, don't despair, they would surely arrive soon and then I'd book a very late flight with Lufthansa. That would still give me time for the demo.

Another hour passes and I decide to check at the service desk again. Where they told me that due to all the delays and cancellations cargo had no time whatsoever to sort things out. Ergo, I would not get my machines any time soon and in fact, yes, in fact, they were actually on their way to Stockholm despite me not being on that flight.

That was the final straw. I cancelled all flights and am back where I started earlier this morning: Rotterdam. Our machines? Not sure where those are. Maybe Amsterdam, maybe Stockholm, but definitely not Moscow. Our business trip and launch in Russia? Delayed for at least a week because my visa expires on Thursday. Me? Completely knackered from walking half the distance to Moscow itself between all the different desks and counters at Schiphol.

I hate the word, but suffice to say this trip was totally meh.

• PermaLink: How not to travel to Moscow
• Tags: work, Schiphol, KLM, Aeroflot, SAS, Moscow, baggage claims
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Not-so-quick update

• Posted by Rob (#1) on January 25, 2007 02:14 CET

As announced, it's been a while. Hello!

I just got back from London. Work sent me there for a quick business trip lasting two days (originally one) and despite the delayed flight and exhausting security queue at Gatwick airport, I had a good time. The exhibition was mostly useful even though some gaps in our exploration for leads remain.

Highlight of the trip however would be my lunch date with Laura. Rumours exist that if all goes well and beyond work will open a R&D shop in London in a year or two, she's one good reason to relocate there if that happens. I hate to rain down on any parades but on the other hand, despite radio silence, Inge remains a reason not to. There's no chance nor plausibility to get back with her but I still do miss her.

Anyway, the weekend of the 13th I was in Tel Aviv for another business trip and even though most of my trips go to England and Scandinavia I have to concede one thing. There's a big fun factor in drinking coffee at the beach in a t-shirt in January while doing some brainstorming, and then calling it work. Also, nice Ed Hardy store over there so I expanded my wardrobe and shoe collection a bit. Jerusalem was fun as well. It kind of confirmed my suspicion that religion is for the dim-witted, but regardless it was an experience unlike any other.

Having covered the present and past, a small update on the future now. I'll work tomorrow (read: later today) and then will be off to Austria for a week of skiing. There's a chance I'll have to take a day off from my holiday to do some business with a bookmaker in Graz or Zell am See, but it should still be fun to have a classic and traditional week in the mountains with dad.

So yeah.. life's still busy here. I'm glad it is! :-)

• PermaLink: Not-so-quick update
• Tags: skiing, London, work, dad, Inge, Laura, Tel Aviv, Don Ed Hardy
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Sup?

• Posted by Rob (#1) on December 4, 2006 11:15 CET

It's hard to find time to update a journal when you spend every single minute on parties (nice soul/hiphop gig last night), sleep and work (live TV production for TMF, fun). Unfortunately in opposite order: weekend starts at Sunday afternoon over here.

It's okay though.. these busy weekends at least make sure I barely have time to miss Inge as much as I would if I'd have the time to think about her.

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• Tags: work, Inge, TMF
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mod_rewrite Happiness

• Posted by Rob (#1) on November 13, 2006 15:09 CET

Once in a while you write some code or a regular expression that makes you proud. Today has been one of those days. I'll admit that what I wrote isn't really special to advanced programmers, but five-minute one-liners that do the equivalent of what an intern could do in a hundred lines after a week make me smile:

RewriteRule ^/users/([^/]+)(/|/([^/]+)(/|/([^/]+)(/)?)?)?$ /users/index.php [L,E=profileId:$1,E=sectionId:$3,E=pageId:$5]

If you understand this, cool - definitely going to beat the average MySpace URL don't you think?

If you don't understand, no worries. You will at least understand why I answer mates and family with "computer stuff" when explaining my job.

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• Tags: work, mod_rewrite, Apache, regexps
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To Congo!

• Posted by Rob (#1) on September 1, 2006 11:59 CEST

If you dislike me, good news! I realise the Ugandan cease-fire must have been a bit of a setback. Well, we signed a new contract for a mobile lottery yesterday and it is very likely I will return to Africa in November. Here's a fun Wikipedia fact on Congo for those of you not up-to-date on pillage, rape, loot and burn:

Formerly the Belgian colony of the Belgian Congo, the country's post-independence name was changed in 1971, from Congo-Kinshasa (after its capital, to distinguish it from the Republic of Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville) to Zaire, until 1997. Since 1998, the country has suffered greatly from the devastating Second Congo War (sometimes referred to as the African World War), the world's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Should be fun!

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• Tags: work, war, Openlot, Africa, Congo, mobile lotteries
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Red Bull gives you wings

• Posted by Rob (#1) on August 8, 2006 10:14 CEST

There's truth in that slogan: my cans appear affected because seem to fly away on their own. For the third consecutive week, a can I stored in the office fridge is missing. And that while none of my co-workers appear to drink it.

It pisses me off. I don't care when someone takes a drink out of a 2 liter bottle that costs €1, but nicking cans of Red Bull adds up more rapidly. Could whomever keeps nicking my stuff be so kind to fess up and reimburse my €7,50, before the damage hits double digits? Doing so it as your own risk and I can't be held responsible for any violent behaviour on my part that might come from it. My Red Bull in their mouth? Fine, let's see if there's room for my fists as well.

(I realise you can get the stuff for cheap at the supermarket, but I usually keep a can around to enjoy on the train or before a night out. High street retail prices are €2,50.)

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• Tags: work, Red Bull
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Sending out an SOS to Brussels

• Posted by Rob (#1) on December 2, 2005 05:22 CET

After a steady 9-5 I've had support calls at 7pm, 10pm, 1:20am, 2:45am, 3:15am and just now at 4:55am. Just a few more hours of not being able to sleep and I can report for duty again!

I hereby withdraw all my criticism of the Working Time Directive and urge the EU to enforce the most draconic socialist policies imaginable. Or at least for a while until I've gotten some sleep.

God, I'm knackered.

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• Tags: work
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All work and no play..

• Posted by Rob (#1) on March 23, 2005 16:56 CET

It's only Wednesday afternoon but I think I've already made over 40 hours this week, yesterday's 2am until 8pm session being a worthy contributor. Think I'll just head home now, pick up a hoodie from the post office and grab some beer in the sun - it's been incredibly nice this week and I'd hate to miss out on all the fun!

• PermaLink: All work and no play..
• Tags: work
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