The life of Niek Storteboom

Quote of the day

Found on an internet forum:

"Fashion is for people who can't manage to have their own sense of style."

You can tell I'm going shopping tomorrow........

posted by Niek @ 10:00 AM 0 comments  

Family Matters

Taken today, a pic of my sis who just came back for good from living for the better part of 2 years in the Caribbean ("Where's the sun in this crappy country?") and my cousin who is turning 18 tomorrow. Luckily he stopped growing at 1.95 meters. Still the biggest in the family :-)

Congrats man!

posted by Niek @ 6:40 PM 0 comments  

Climate Change

In this current climate (pun very much intended) of discussion of my favourite people in the whole world -enviromentalists- I think it's time to put on the brakes a bit on the "we're all going to die, the earth is doomed" attitude with the letter I found below.

It explains much better and much more eloquantly my own viewpoint of what is happening to the earth, us and our ideals for a good place to live.

It is adressed to the Canadian PM.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Dear Prime Minister:
As accredited experts in climate and related scientific disciplines, we are writing to propose that balanced, comprehensive public-consultation sessions be held so as to examine the scientific foundation of the federal government's climate-change plans. This would be entirely consistent with your recent commitment to conduct a review of the Kyoto Protocol. Although many of us made the same suggestion to then-prime ministers Martin and Chrétien, neither responded, and, to date, no formal, independent climate-science review has been conducted in Canada. Much of the billions of dollars earmarked for implementation of the protocol in Canada will be squandered without a proper assessment of recent developments in climate science.

Observational evidence does not support today's computer climate models, so there is little reason to trust model predictions of the future. Yet this is precisely what the United Nations did in creating and promoting Kyoto and still does in the alarmist forecasts on which Canada's climate policies are based. Even if the climate models were realistic, the environmental impact of Canada delaying implementation of Kyoto or other greenhouse-gas reduction schemes, pending completion of consultations, would be insignificant. Directing your government to convene balanced, open hearings as soon as possible would be a most prudent and responsible course of action.

While the confident pronouncements of scientifically unqualified environmental groups may provide for sensational headlines, they are no basis for mature policy formulation. The study of global climate change is, as you have said, an "emerging science," one that is perhaps the most complex ever tackled. It may be many years yet before we properly understand the Earth's climate system. Nevertheless, significant advances have been made since the protocol was created, many of which are taking us away from a concern about increasing greenhouse gases. If, back in the mid-1990s, we knew what we know today about climate, Kyoto would almost certainly not exist, because we would have concluded it was not necessary.

We appreciate the difficulty any government has formulating sensible science-based policy when the loudest voices always seem to be pushing in the opposite direction. However, by convening open, unbiased consultations, Canadians will be permitted to hear from experts on both sides of the debate in the climate-science community. When the public comes to understand that there is no "consensus" among climate scientists about the relative importance of the various causes of global climate change, the government will be in a far better position to develop plans that reflect reality and so benefit both the environment and the economy.

"Climate change is real" is a meaningless phrase used repeatedly by activists to convince the public that a climate catastrophe is looming and humanity is the cause. Neither of these fears is justified. Global climate changes all the time due to natural causes and the human impact still remains impossible to distinguish from this natural "noise." The new Canadian government's commitment to reducing air, land and water pollution is commendable, but allocating funds to "stopping climate change" would be irrational. We need to continue intensive research into the real causes of climate change and help our most vulnerable citizens adapt to whatever nature throws at us next.

We believe the Canadian public and government decision-makers need and deserve to hear the whole story concerning this very complex issue. It was only 30 years ago that many of today's global-warming alarmists were telling us that the world was in the midst of a global-cooling catastrophe. But the science continued to evolve, and still does, even though so many choose to ignore it when it does not fit with predetermined political agendas.

We hope that you will examine our proposal carefully and we stand willing and able to furnish you with more information on this crucially important topic.

CC: The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of the Environment, and the Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources

Sincerely,

Dr. Ian D. Clark, professor, isotope hydrogeology and paleoclimatology, Dept. of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa
Dr. Tad Murty, former senior research scientist, Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans, former director of Australia's National Tidal Facility and professor of earth sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide; currently adjunct professor, Departments of Civil Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa
Dr. R. Timothy Patterson, professor, Dept. of Earth Sciences (paleoclimatology), Carleton University, Ottawa
Dr. Fred Michel, director, Institute of Environmental Science and associate professor, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa
Dr. Madhav Khandekar, former research scientist, Environment Canada. Member of editorial board of Climate Research and Natural Hazards
Dr. Paul Copper, FRSC, professor emeritus, Dept. of Earth Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ont.
Dr. Ross McKitrick, associate professor, Dept. of Economics, University of Guelph, Ont.
Dr. Tim Ball, former professor of climatology, University of Winnipeg; environmental consultant Dr. Andreas Prokocon, adjunct professor of earth sciences, University of Ottawa; consultant in statistics and geology
Mr. David Nowell, M.Sc. (Meteorology), fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society, Canadian member and past chairman of the NATO Meteorological Group, Ottawa
Dr. Christopher Essex, professor of applied mathematics and associate director of the Program in Theoretical Physics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ont.
Dr. Gordon E. Swaters, professor of applied mathematics, Dept. of Mathematical Sciences, and member, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Research Group, University of Alberta
Dr. L. Graham Smith, associate professor, Dept. of Geography, University of Western Ontario, London, Ont.
Dr. G. Cornelis van Kooten, professor and Canada Research Chair in environmental studies and climate change, Dept. of Economics, University of Victoria
Dr. Petr Chylek, adjunct professor, Dept. of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax
Dr./Cdr. M. R. Morgan, FRMS, climate consultant, former meteorology advisor to the World Meteorological Organization. Previously research scientist in climatology at University of Exeter, U.K.
Dr. Keith D. Hage, climate consultant and professor emeritus of Meteorology, University of Alberta
Dr. David E. Wojick, P.Eng., energy consultant, Star Tannery, Va., and Sioux Lookout, Ont.
Rob Scagel, M.Sc., forest microclimate specialist, principal consultant, Pacific Phytometric Consultants, Surrey, B.C.
Dr. Douglas Leahey, meteorologist and air-quality consultant, Calgary Paavo Siitam,
M.Sc., agronomist, chemist, Cobourg, Ont.
Dr. Chris de Freitas, climate scientist, associate professor, The University of Auckland, N.Z.
Dr. Richard S. Lindzen, Alfred P. Sloan professor of meteorology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Freeman J. Dyson, emeritus professor of physics, Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton, N.J.
Mr. George Taylor, Dept. of Meteorology, Oregon State University; Oregon State climatologist; past president, American Association of State Climatologists
Dr. Ian Plimer, professor of geology, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide; emeritus professor of earth sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia
Dr. R.M. Carter, professor, Marine Geophysical Laboratory, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
Mr. William Kininmonth, Australasian Climate Research, former Head National Climate Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology; former Australian delegate to World Meteorological Organization Commission for Climatology, Scientific and Technical Review
Dr. Hendrik Tennekes, former director of research, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute Dr. Gerrit J. van der Lingen, geologist/paleoclimatologist, Climate Change Consultant, Geoscience Research and Investigations, New Zealand
Dr. Patrick J. Michaels, professor of environmental sciences, University of Virginia
Dr. Nils-Axel Mörner, emeritus professor of paleogeophysics & geodynamics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Dr. Gary D. Sharp, Center for Climate/Ocean Resources Study, Salinas, Calif.
Dr. Roy W. Spencer, principal research scientist, Earth System Science Center, The University of Alabama, Huntsville
Dr. Al Pekarek, associate professor of geology, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Dept., St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minn.
Dr. Marcel Leroux, professor emeritus of climatology, University of Lyon, France; former director of Laboratory of Climatology, Risks and Environment, CNRS
Dr. Paul Reiter, professor, Institut Pasteur, Unit of Insects and Infectious Diseases, Paris, France. Expert reviewer, IPCC Working group II, chapter 8 (human health)
Dr. Zbigniew Jaworowski, physicist and chairman, Scientific Council of Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection, Warsaw, Poland
Dr. Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen, reader, Dept. of Geography, University of Hull, U.K.; editor, Energy & Environment
Dr. Hans H.J. Labohm, former advisor to the executive board, Clingendael Institute (The Netherlands Institute of International Relations) and an economist who has focused on climate change
Dr. Lee C. Gerhard, senior scientist emeritus, University of Kansas, past director and state geologist, Kansas Geological Survey
Dr. Asmunn Moene, past head of the Forecasting Centre, Meteorological Institute, Norway
Dr. August H. Auer, past professor of atmospheric science, University of Wyoming; previously chief meteorologist, Meteorological Service (MetService) of New Zealand
Dr. Vincent Gray, expert reviewer for the IPCC and author of The Greenhouse Delusion: A Critique of 'Climate Change 2001,' Wellington, N.Z.
Dr. Howard Hayden, emeritus professor of physics, University of Connecticut
Dr Benny Peiser, professor of social anthropology, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, U.K.
Dr. Jack Barrett, chemist and spectroscopist, formerly with Imperial College London, U.K.
Dr. William J.R. Alexander, professor emeritus, Dept. of Civil and Biosystems Engineering, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Member, United Nations Scientific and Technical Committee on Natural Disasters, 1994-2000
Dr. S. Fred Singer, professor emeritus of environmental sciences, University of Virginia; former director, U.S. Weather Satellite Service
Dr. Harry N.A. Priem, emeritus professor of planetary geology and isotope geophysics, Utrecht University; former director of the Netherlands Institute for Isotope Geosciences; past president of the Royal Netherlands Geological & Mining Society
Dr. Robert H. Essenhigh, E.G. Bailey professor of energy conversion, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University
Dr. Sallie Baliunas, astrophysicist and climate researcher, Boston, Mass. Douglas Hoyt, senior scientist at Raytheon (retired) and co-author of the book The Role of the Sun in Climate Change; previously with NCAR, NOAA, and the World Radiation Center, Davos, Switzerland
Dipl.-Ing. Peter Dietze, independent energy advisor and scientific climate and carbon modeller, official IPCC reviewer, Bavaria, Germany
Dr. Boris Winterhalter, senior marine researcher (retired), Geological Survey of Finland, former professor in marine geology, University of Helsinki, Finland
Dr. Wibjörn Karlén, emeritus professor, Dept. of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Sweden
Dr. Hugh W. Ellsaesser, physicist/meteorologist, previously with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Calif.; atmospheric consultant.
Dr. Art Robinson, founder, Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, Cave Junction, Ore.
Dr. Arthur Rörsch, emeritus professor of molecular genetics, Leiden University, The Netherlands; past board member, Netherlands organization for applied research (TNO) in environmental, food and public health
Dr. Alister McFarquhar, Downing College, Cambridge, U.K.; international economist
Dr. Richard S. Courtney, climate and atmospheric science consultant, IPCC expert reviewer, U.K.

posted by Niek @ 2:23 PM 1 comments  

No words needed

posted by Niek @ 10:05 PM 0 comments  

Easter 2006

Was spend (as usual) at the Nurburgring.

It was (as usual) awesome ;-)

Tijs came and picked me up at work on Thursday in his newly acquired E36 M3. Not wanting to resist showing why I really need a BMW, he then did a 90 min. demonstration of driving sideways and reaching very decent speeds on the autobahns. OK, BMW it is.

We went straight to the PK, where we met the Danes, the Norwegians and a Scot. You can kinda see where this is going, can't you? A LOT of alcohol was consumed. When Euan got the petrol (I mean, Eiffelgeist) out, we headed home. At 2am.

A short night's sleep later, and off to the track we go. I meet up with Adam, who brought EVO magazine along for a feature they are doing on the RUF CTR (for the women; the yellow car) vs. the RUF RT12 (women: the grey one). Extra female info; They may look like Porsches, but they go a shitload faster ;-)

After checking out the other cars in the car park, it was about time I caught a ride with somebody. So I did, with Ben. He was on his 2nd car for the day already and did not stop there. He got himself a Golf TDI rental racer (sounds weirder that it is) which he used to navigate the Ring. Now, he had to fuel up, and did so at the halfway point in Adenau, and navigated the rest of the lap with a tank full of petrol. Nice. The more technical people of you might wonder.... petrol? In a diesel? Can't be good, eh................?

So after coasting to a halt with an engine which is not too pleased with the driver, we set up shop for a bit at the side of the track and took some pics. Here's Ben trying to hide his shame:


After being picked up by a recorvery truck, I decided to hitch a ride in a petrol car, just to be on the safe side. So I got Adam to drive me round in the CTR.

Just some numbers here: 15 year old 911 with 400-530 horses. Small tires. No safety helpers except for an old ABS system. 0-100 in 3.5 secs and 350 KMs per hour top speed. Driven by a 20 year old. Nice :-)

Adam had it on low boost when we roll up to the barriers. I look at him with a puppy dog, kid at Xmas look like : noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, I want I want I want..... high boost! Adam obliged with a smile.

We accelerate in 2nd. 2000 revs...2500...3000....3500 -this is going quite well, nice caaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR

We hit 4000revs and the turbo's kicked in. FUCKING HELL!

7000rpm, into 3rd gear......




Moment of silence......................




FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECK

The turbo's were back.

I started laughing uncontrollably. Grinning like an ape. Unbelievable. The rest of the lap was just a blur, I tried to regain compusure but it was just not happening, and when Adam turned on the high boost again on the final straight and wrong out 5th to the naughty side of 280 per hour that maniacal laugh came back. "Cannot thank you enough, mate" was all I managed.

I'm now (officially) screwed for life. I need something like it. The only thing I can think off in the short term is an R1 or a Fireblade.

At the end of the day, we go and have some dinner. And some beers, just a few...., well maybe 10. Half liters. :-)

A very short night later, and back to the track we go. With my now very slow mind, I decide to try out the Opel Speedster the Denes rented. Just to see if I fit. I did not. At all. My head pushed up the convertible roof 10 cms. And the gear shift was stuck up my ass.


Here's Tijs who juuuuuuuuust fitted.

Anywhere, I managed to sqeeuze in the passenger seat and I got 4 laps in with Kim, which were very enjoyable. I then did some spectating, and then I got a lap in which Adam again, now in the R Turbo. (for the ladies, the red car)

Same amount of horses, much more modern, and driven a lot faster. The control of the thing was just amazing, although the 4 wheel wheelspin in 1st and 2nd was pretty fun. I love turbo's. :-)

Tijs, his mates and I then went spectating at Brunnchen and T13. The track was very very busy, but there was a lot of nice machinery doing its rounds. At T13 a biker managed to crash so I got to do a good deed and wave to upcomers to not crash into him. Being 2 meters get you notiec and is therefore quite handy sometimes. (although not when you try to fit in a Opel Speedster).

After this we headed home, tired as hell and I am now determined a fun car must arrive on my doorstep within a few weeks.

Although the best plate in Germany is already taken. :-(

posted by Niek @ 1:16 PM 0 comments  

Good Quotes

"Rules are for the interpretation of wise men. and the obedience of fools" Colin Chapman (founder of Lotus)

"The track is my canvas. My car is my pencil" - Graham Hill (driver on the left in the pic)

Yes, I am nuts.

posted by Niek @ 11:26 AM 0 comments  

April fools

Or so it would seem. I'm walking around with a stupid grin nowadays.

The sun is shining , I'm enjowing my work and I just spend a very nice relaxing weekend in Frankfurt. I've never visited outside of IAA (biggest car-show in the world) weekends, so it was nice to see the city from a new light. It was very nice. Cool museums , nice old town and a skyline! The guide was crap, but luckily she had redeeming features.

Germany is starting to grow on me. Even went to the movies and saw Ice Age 2 in German.

To counter this scary trend I needed some English culture, so I am reading "The picture of Dorian Gray" now. Very good and very scary to read how this 120 year old book did not age a day in its critisism of people who seem to think that beauty, standing and money are the most important things in life. With David Gray's "Babylon" playing on the background it made for interesting reading.

Luckily this thinking phase of mine will pass in a few days. Easter is coming and I will spending it drinking and driving (not at the same time) in the Eifell mountains. :-)

Vrolijk Pasen!

posted by Niek @ 9:48 AM 2 comments  

South Park Yourself

I love this link. I think I got pretty close, now you readers try. I want to see results!

posted by Niek @ 10:44 AM 0 comments  

There's no place like home

As I'm sitting home on a Saturday night for the first time in perhaps a year, downloading music and MSNing I came to think of my music taste and how it evolved over the years because of my travels abroad and what songs and bands I associate with some phases in my life.

When I was still living in NL, I was mostly into (death) Metal, old 60s rock, Hardcore House, and some lighthearted (but usually tasteless) stuff like the Bloodhound Gang. This is also the last time I bought an album. When I left in 2002, my collection included a Marilyn Manson CD and Green Day CD, both were presents from my mum and grandma at some point. They regretted it quite a bit. :-)

In Sweden, my love for camp flourished, and I was partying usually to Swedish Eurovision Song contest entries. They were oh-so-wrong, but tons of fun anyway. I did get to know a ton of good local bands though. Kent, the Ark, Eskobar, Ceasars palace. The Swedes know their stuff. Did not go to many concerts here though.

In Belgium, I got to know the Flemish artists like Novastar, Ozark Henry, dEUS better. The Belgians don't have that many strengths, but music is one they excel at. Studio Brussels (Flemish national youth radio station) was on all the time and they played some excellent stuff. Went to some great (Myslovitz) and some awful (Norah Jones, don't ask) concerts here. Best of all was U2 though. Still cannot thank Amit enough for that!

In China I did not get to know the local music. Mainly because I thought a pile of crap. Dubbed over Western songs and only realllllllllly poppy stuff. Yuch. So Andrew from Sydney kept me up to date a bit on real music and the Germans kept me up to date on crap music ;-)
This was the first time I really have associated a song with a time (and place) in my life. Every time I hear Bob Sinclair's "Love Generation" I will now think of dancing on the terrace in the rain at Bar Rouge in Shanghai with my friends. The bar set on fire, Moet & Chandon flying everywhere and life being as good as it gets.

Sandra (my coffee maker-colleague-boss-exalted leader) and I cry every time that song comes on the radio.

Bar Rouge........... I miss you!

posted by Niek @ 8:41 PM 0 comments