10 things I would like to see in the new Xbox, as a parent

Hi,

Today, May 21st, Microsoft will announce their new game console. It goes by numerous names on the interweb, but I stick with Xbox NG for now. NG obviously stands for Next Gen.
Of course there's been a lot of speculation already about what it will be able to do and how it will be revolutionary and all, but there are some things missing in the current Xbox that I would like to see in the new one.

In this blog post I'm focusing on those features that I think are the competitive edge of the Xbox 360 over the PS3 and the Wii. Based on what I know, so I might be wrong here and there. And those features I'm singling out are related to me being a parent.

Just for context, I'm a dad of two sons, 6 and 8, and both love the Xbox. They love 'screens' in general and playing games in particular. Since my wife and I are of the opinion that not all games are suitable for kids their age, we've been very conscious about what games they play. This has been the case ever since the oldest turned 4, this is when we started allowing him play games. Nature helped us until then as the controller was too big for his hands, so he couldn't play even if he wanted.
One of the main feats of the Xbox over the competition is the notion of Microsoft that the Xbox will most likely be used in the living room where it will be accessible by all members of the family, including the (young) kids. This means that the Xbox has a set of very comprehensive controls accessible for parents if they want to do so. This ranges from limiting the amount of time the Xbox can be used (on daily or weekly basis) as well as limiting what games can be played. This is based on the age rating of the game. In addition, you can lock the online experience, meaning that you can close down those features of the Xbox that are related to the online functionality, like creating Xbox Live accounts. Related to accounts, you can also nominate an account to be a child account, this is related to the date of birth of the gamer as set in her Microsoft Live account. You're not 18 yet? You're a child and that means you can't just play the games you want... that is if your parents are like that. And both my wife and I are like that.

So what have we set up?
Well the boys can only play for 2 hours a day. We stick with the weekends only, which starts on Friday. And they can play those games that are rated 12 or below. That is, there might be games rated for an older audience that we think suitable for them as well, like Monday Night Combat, which is rated 16. After playing it myself, I added it to the list of games that don't need a code to be entered prior to playing it. Our sons know that if a game requires a code, daddy needs to play it first before they're allowed to play it.
I've also locked down with whom they can friend, meaning that when they're accepting a friend-request, either my wife or myself need to log into our own account and allow the request. The limitation is as far as that they are only allowed to play games online with friends. And they can only accept content from friends. Their profiles are only accessible to friends as well. Are we paranoid? I don't think so. My wife and I feel that kids their age are not fully appreciating the risks of the internet and online communities so some guidance of mom and dad is needed.

Now what would I like to see in the Xbox NG?

1) The single one thing I would like to see is the ability to differentiate between games and media. Currently the time limits are for using the Xbox, so when set to 2 hours as we have, I'm facing this limit even when listening to Xbox Music, watching a DVD, watching a movie on Xbox Video. And it is also imposed when using the Xbox as a Media Center Extender. I want to limit the Xbox' use to games only.

2) Have the parental controls be completely account based, again, especially for the time limits this is important. Like I stated, the limit is for using the Xbox, it doesn't discriminate between accounts. So when I do a workout in the morning playing Nike+ which takes an hour, the time available on the Xbox for the rest of the family (my sons) is only one hour for that day. Same goes for when only one of my sons is playing, he consumes the 'play time' for both of them.
I know you can extend the time once you run out, but that then means that everybody can play more on the Xbox.
Having this ability would also allow my wife and myself to award good (school) performance with Xbox time.

3) Be notified when an account is logged in and keep track of which games the account is playing. We have 3 Xbox's in our home, my sons accounts are stored in the Cloud, so they can play on any of the three consoles and if wanted, they can play at a friend's home with their own account. But I would like to be able to know that they're playing, when they're playing and what they're playing. An email notification would be nice to receive when they log in and an once they log out, an overview of the games they played.

4) Include age ratings to what you can buy on Xbox Marketplace. Currently you can buy anything on the marketplace once you have access and points or access to a credit card. I blocked purchases because of this. I would like to be able to give my sons some MS points that they can spend in the market place on content that is based on the age rating suitable for them. Or in case that I put a game on the list of games not needing the passcode, on content related to that game.

5) Well, see 4. That implies that limitations to game ratings shouldn't be limited to the Xbox but to the account in general. And the white list of games of a older age rating should also be with an account.

6) Add the option to never store an account's password unless a parent approves. This would allow my kids to download their profile on a friend's Xbox and play. But as soon as they log out, the account is no longer usable unless they log in again. In addition, it would be nice if the log in could be handled by the parent remotely. Send an email to the parent with a link, you open the link and the account is unlocked on a remote system. On our own consoles I would be setting it up that the password is stored.

7) Remove the passcode when logging in using Kinect. Okay, this is an odd one. I've set up a passcode for my own account as well as my wife's account after one of my son's friends logged in using my account and later on they ordered Rango and watched it, partially. Although it's a fun movie, this wasn't my idea of having friends over to play games. But now when I log into the Xbox using Kinect's abilty to recognize me, I'm still asked to put in my passcode (note Kinect was already positive that it's me). And using the Kinect to enter the passcode makes the code very obvious. My opinion is that when Kinect recognizes me, it should be good enough.

8) Add age rating limitations to movies played on the Xbox. When I put in a DVD into the console to watch it, it would be nice if the Xbox would go to an online service to retrieve the age rating and if set to something beyond the level of the limit defined on one of the signed in accounts a passcode is needed. This would prevent our kids from "by accident watching The Exorcist". Or at least make it harder for them to watch it.

9) Be able to share my Xbox Music pass with the rest of my family. I don't think it makes any sense to have a full-blown Music pass paid for to just allow my sons to listen to music through the Xbox. But if it would be just my account that has the pass, I need to log on and that means that my account becomes active and therefore accessible to the kids and they can do whatever they want... more or less. The Xbox NG should allow for a more explicit parent-child relationship that makes it easier to share between the services the parent is entitled to towards their kids without compromising the parental controls in place.

10) Actually I couldn't think of a 10th change I hope will be implemented when the Xbox NG is released.

So these are my 10, uhhh 9, things I would like to see with the new Xbox NG. Basically it's all about the way child accounts are managed. Less console centric, more on account level.

Tonight's the revelation of the new Xbox, then we know what we'll be calling the new console and how it fits in the rest of our eco system. I for one look forward to it.

Iwan

Preparing for my dive trip in November - A review of Dive Locator.

So it's coming closer now. My dive trip with Lorenz and Marc to South Africa.

With our vacation to Hurghada, Egypt, now being a mere memory (more on this in a future post), I'm looking forward to what the near future has in store. Apart from a trip to Cairo tomorrow and some days with my wife to celebrate our anniversary, the big trip will be November 19th to South Africa. And I've decided that I want a new camera and a new watch.

New Gear
The camera will probably be a Canon Powershot G10 as I read great reviews on it and it's affordable. The watch is probably going to be a Suunto X10, which sports a GPS (which is useless underwater, but great to track my travels). Since I already have a Suunto Vyper2 as dive computer I'm all set. Although I'm tempted to get me the new Vyper AIR, which integrated the air pressure into the dive computer. Maybe next trip as I'm already overspending a bit... But that's only good for the economy, isn't it.

New Apps
On a slightly different node, I've been looking into applications to track my dive log and stumbled upon a few that also have some sort of counterpart on my Touch. I bought Dive Log from moremobilesoftware as it integrates, supposedly, nice with a log application for Windows that can read from my Suunto.

Dive Locator
While browsing in the Apple AppStore I stumbled upon Dive Locator, an application that lists dive sites around the world, which currently is limited to 4 regions (Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, USA and Western Carribean, but nothing in the Red Sea or Asia). Although there are 900 sites according to the documentation, it doesn't feel that much. But there are means to update the database by email and through the web. Adding new locations in the application itself is not possible, so you need one way or another internet access.
The tool is very simple, which is excellent by the way, as its purpose is simple: List a multitude of dive sites and provide relevant information on your selected site. That information by the way is very limited, any thing else than a simple address and longitude and latitude coordinates. Something I'm missing is information regarding the site itself. Is there a wreck, at what depth, how long is the transfer to the site when it is in open sea. Is the site a regular for live-aboard trips etc. And very important, what kind of dive can you do at that location and what is there to see, like special marine life.
It doesn't tell you that. On the other hand, there is an interface with Google Maps, so you can see the site and its surroundings on GoogleMaps, but the sites in its vicinity are not shown. Which is unfortunate because in most cases I know where I've been, but don't know the name. Or I know where I want to go, but don't know the name. Also very handy is the possibility to show current weather conditions.
Considering the price this is an application that you should consider. It works well, has interesting and handy information regarding geographic location (Google Maps) and weather conditions, but insufficient information regarding the dive site itself. I'm looking for updated information on the sites, and hopefully there will be a way to add these additional information as well in a future release.
Find iPhone apps at AppStoreHQ

Iwan

What happened in 2008 (part three in a series...)

Hi,

Not too long ago, I blogged about our family vacation in 2008. That was in September.

Right after that vacation I went to see our doctor because I was feeling dead tired all the time. I was sleeping 16+ hours a night and still I was exhausted. According to the doctor this was due to a lack of adrenaline. I was underworked! She suggested I should go sporting, so I picked up swimming and things went better.

In November 2008 I went to Egypt with two buddies of mine, scuba diving in the red sea. The high lights were seeing a group of turtles grazing underwater and a little fight between two of them as well as spotting Hamer head shark. The trip in general was just great and relaxing.

The end of 2008 was marked by a Christmas in bed. I had an ear infection that resulted in nausea and dizziness. Every single move of my head resulted in throwing up. After a couple of days all was fine again, but it was scary. So I spend Christmas alone in bed instead of with the loved ones.

New Years eve was great though and the kids loved the fireworks. Jay was all up-n-go with the fireworks, and Ray, well Ray was just Ray; all into it.

That more or less concludes 2008. This year has been a year of excellent stuff so far... well it would've been if I wrote this a week ago, which I didn't so next time I'll tell you what happened a few days ago, that wasn't excellent.

Iwan

What happened in 2008 (part two in a series...)

Hi,

So last time I blogged, I could still call it 'What happened the last 12 months...' but let's call it 2008, shall we?

So what did happen after I was released from the hospital? Obviously Jay turned 3 and I went just before that to San Francisco for a slightly over a week... JavaOne 2008.

The summer didn't have a lot in store for me, mainly because my MR2 had a small problem with its transmission. The problem being that I couldn't use it. And of course those very few sunny days in 2008 I didn't have a convertible. Anyway, they fixed it and it cost me a lot less than initially thought. That was good.

The summer of 2008 was also the first time the four of us went on vacation all together. We went for a whole week to Asten-Ommel, a small town in Brabant. The park's name is Prinsenmeer. I've got to say that the week was great, to be with the family and all without the daily routines from around the house. But th little bungelow we thought we had booked was a big caravan without wheels and it was kind of like not really well cleaned.
On the uptake, the pool they had was nice with two nice water slides, that Jay dared to do all by himself. Jay and I also went for a trip on the waterbikes. That was fun. One of the nicer trips we took that week was to a zoo nearby, which was just big enough to walk all day and see everything. But it was also very well maintained. And the Cheetah's were great. Also our daytrip to Toverland was great. Jay was barely big enough to be allowed in one of the many rollercoasters and he loved the bobsled and the wild-water ride. Unfortunately Ray was too little for most rides. Well, being only a year and a half old... this was to be expected.

More on the proceedings in 2008 of me and my family later (this year).

Iwan

Movie Review: The Wrestler

Does Mickey Rourke deserve an Oscar based on this performance? I don't know, although his acting is quite good, it's not great. Well maybe it is, because during the movie you're starting to feel for his character. The story is quite predictable. There are no surprises or twists in the story. But that's not a problem, since the story doesn't require any mysteries or suspense to be involving.

The story though is about a man who's lost contact with his daughter, who's in love with a stripper and considers a paycheck with more than 10 bucks on it a good day. And when you're asking me if I can relate I'ld have to say 'No', but still the acting is such that you understand why things are going the way they are, and you'll be finding yourself against better judgement, hoping for events to take different turns.

The Wrestler is a slow moving story. The action scenes in it are there only to underpin the story, not to blow you away. But on top of it all, the movie captivates at times, and is interesting overall. And not to forget Marissa Tomei, who shows some wrinkles, but is still damn cute.

Iwan

What happened the last 12 months (part one in a series...)

Hi,

As promised in an earlier post (I'm too lazy to figure out which one) I'm going to tell about what happened the last 12 months or so. Since quite a bit happened, I'll be posting a few blogposts to cover the period. This is part one in the series.

Last year as you might have read, my brother and his wife lost their pre-maturely born daughter Bindi. That pretty much marked the last blogpost of me in 2008.

In April right before Easter I got really sick. Sick enough to be hospitalized. Yup I spend a few days in the hospital. But no operation or anything else, only a very strict diet. I could only drink apple juice and eat some shakes. And I had an IV in my hand, probably just to keep me from running away. Now I have to say that those shakes weren't too bad. Especially the banana flavored were rather good, and efficient. Only 5 or 6 shakes a day and I had all nutrition of the day. No chewing involved.

Ok, I had to spend like 4 hours in the ER, and suffering from really intense pains in my abdomen. As it turned out I had a problem with my intestines. Hence the diet. After 2 days all pain was gone and I was allowed to drink coffee again. That's right, I wasn't allowed to drink any coffee, or an espresso. So that sucked.

Easter Sunday I was back home, which was good. Hospitals aren't too nice a places, so I intend not to go there too often.

Iwan

PS: I was told that I should eat whole wheat bread and lots-n-lots of fruit by my doctor. So nowadays I have whole wheat bread and eat lots-n-lots of fruit. Do you?

Back from the Maldives

Hi,

So I'm back in the Netherlands and already missing the serenity and quietness of Kandooma. But obviously I'm really happy to be with the boys again. And so is Olcay, who's suffering from a flu at the moment. I guess it's best to be sick when you're at home.

Jay and Ray had a great time at my parents who made sure that they wouldn't be thinking about anything else than doing fun stuff.

The flight back was not too good as Air Berlin appearantly doesn't care about leg-room, which is really not much more than a few cm I estimate. And 10.5 hours folded in a chair is not cool... and not to mention the fact that they don't have adjustable headrests on their seats. That sucks.

Last Sunday was Ray's birthday (8th of feb) and we had a great day. Although he's suffering from a serious ear infection. The goo is literally dripping from his ear, no kidding.

Yesterday was my first day back at my main customer at the moment and the last 2 weeks some interesting things had happened. And a lot of realization took place as well. 

Iwan

Words from the Maldives (7)

Hi,

So this is going to be a mixed feelings blog... Today was our last day on Kandooma :'( but also the last day we have to miss Jay and Ray.

So what was done today? Not much, or maybe quite a bit. We went snorkeling this morning on two sites, both not as impressive as our snorkeling trip yesterday, but we saw a turtle and there was a nice current, that allowed for a nice drift. Still the fish weren't as bright and numerous as yesterday.

This afternoon we spend soaking up more sun, and we had some nice talks with some of the guys working here. This night we had diner at The Kitchen, where Olcay had 2 deserts. Yup and both times the Almond Fried Ice. And we got the promise that we would receive the recipe by mail.

All-in-all this vacation has been tremendously cool and relaxing and Kandooma is really a great place to spend your time when you just want to relax and want to be amongst the friendliest of people. Although everybody is trying their best in serving you as good as they can, it doesn't feel as if they're trying... it feels as if it all comes naturally. This added to the experience and whenever you are thinking about the Maldives, but don't know which of the islands is the best place to spend your time... go to Kandooma.

Well that is about it, for now the last Words from the Maldives. Maybe in a couple of years we'll be setting foot on the island again, for now, we're longing to see the boys again.

Next time, Words from the Netherlands and I'll try to get you up to speed about what happened in 2008.

Iwan

Words from the Maldives (6)

Hi,

Today we actually did something significant... we went on a Catamaran trip to another island close by to snorkel. It was great. Olcay saw a turtle and we also saw a Gruper and a Morene.

The rest is pretty much the same... soaking up the sun, although yesterday and today the sun was really burning during the hours around noon.

When we got back we were pleasantly surprised by Rasheed (we think) who had our bed decorated with red flowers... a true romantic. That was really nice, he's been very forthcoming all week, which added to the whole experience.

So tomorrow is our last day here. Wednesday we're probably off really early as our flight is at about 11 AM. We're going to miss Kandooma, but we still have a day to enjoy life here on the island. Tomorrow more snorkeling on the menu and good food at The Kitchen, the a-la-carte restaurant on the island.

Until the next blog...

Iwan

Words from the Maldives (5)

Hi,

Another post from the Maldives. It's Sunday and that means a quiet day... well just because we're at the Maldives where it is more or less a quiet day everyday. Not much happened since we're here to relax, but I went on a night dive, my last dive here this time. As you might expect, it was dark, and fortunately I had two torches, since my primary went out after 24 minutes.
We saw two octopussies, octopuses, octopy (?), anyway, we saw two of those fighting. I think about territories, but that doesn't matter, it looked great. Never saw it for real.

Tonight we had a nice diner, although the duck wasn't really good. I left it where it was. We did see a Chinese movie (Curse of the Golden Flower), which seems to be a nice movie (soon to be found in my collection I guess).
Later on we went for fried ice with almonds for Olcay (her favorite desert as it turns out) and some lounging with an espresso (Illy) and a cognac (Hennesy VSOP) and a Shisha. That turned out to be a nice finalle of the day. Monday and Tuesday are left for us before we're leaving paradise and getting back to the real world, where there are Jay and Ray, who we really miss.

Iwan

Words from the Maldives (4)

Hi,

Another day on this paradise like island. Today not much happened apart from the fact that I went diving this morning and we saw sharks, Whitetip Reef Sharks to be exact. Like six of them. Which was really cool. First time I saw so many sharks. We also saw a fairly big Napoleon fish. After the sharks (deco time at 5 minutes) we took a current and drifted for a while, which was also really cool. Unfortunately we couldn't spend that much time drifting. And on top of this all, while drifting, we heard dolphins. Yup, we heard the squirking (I really have no clue as to this is really called) by the dolphins. Unfortunately they were to far away, and we only saw them while back on the boat. But cool it was, some of them made some nice jumps. My guess is that these are trained dolphins, set out to entertain divers, and to make them feel bad that they didn't encounter the dolphins while diving :).

Nothing much else happened, although not to me anyway. Olcay on the other hand saw a turtle while snorkling. And considering that Kandooma doesn't have much of a reef, that truely is a sight to behold.

Until the next post...

Iwan

Words from the Maldives (3)

Hi,

Today I've got something to tell, as promised yesterday, because today and last night stuff actually happened in this paradise of total relaxation.

So what happened? First of all last night we had quite the rainstorm here on Kandooma. Well maybe it was just your average everyday tropical rainstorm, but we woke up from the rain, which especially in my case means something as I don't wake up usually until it is time according to the alarm clock (or Ray). But rest assured, the Water Villa we're staying in is build very well, and apart from the bathroom (which is partly open) no water came in.

Today I also went diving. First dive here with Euro Divers, which means you're not allowed deeper than 20 meters, which is cool. The diving site had a wreck at 30 meters, but the top of the wreck was at 20 meters deep. From what we could see, there was no way you could actually get in the wreck so not much lost here. After the wreck we saw an Octopus hiding its little cave and later on a turtle. Which in fact was small compared to the turtles we saw in Marsa Alam last November, about which I need to blog... still. That turtles crossed our path later on, but that was also because we went around a big rock a second time and that turtle was at more or less the same spot.
A bit later we saw some Morenes. Two to be exact, which weren't that big compared to the one that swam right in front of me in Oman last year, or rather 2007.
After hitting the 50 bar mark we went up and started our return to the boat. We now were over the rock we circled twice and Jerry, my buddy for the occasion pointed behind me. I looked behind me and saw a Triggerfish (see also Wikipedia) trying to bite me. Yup, it wanted to get a piece of my fins (I like to think that it wasn't after my butt). It was a bit intimidated by me and my mask as it hesitated everytime I turned around. After some distance it gave up, or maybe I left its territory or something. Anyway, I am still me, 100% and nothing was left of me in the belly of this terrible monster of the sea :) haha. Although I must say that its teeth were somewhat big and sharp, I have to admit.

So that was today on the Maldives. Soon there will be more.

Iwan

Words form the Maldives (2)

Hi,

Another day on Kandooma which started of with sort of a disappointment. I overslept, so I was too late to enter for the afternoon Scuba trip. Tomorrow another try. Everything else was really great and every day we enjoy the resort even more.

Since not much happened today because we've been sunbathing and snorkeling and having lunch and diner and stuff, there's not much to blog. So hopefully (for you as well) I'll be diving tomorrow, and I'm planning on going deep the day after as well. I'll then have something more to tell you.

Until then...

Iwan

Words from the Maldives (1)

Hi,

It has been a while, a real long while since I blogged last. A lot has happened in since then and I plan on getting you up to speed sometime. But the coming period I'll be blogging about our stay on the Maldives. Kandooma Island to be exact. That's why these words are from the Maldives instead of the Netherlands.

So today we arrived, after a rather uneventful flight from Dusseldorf (Germany) International Airport, which requires explicit mentioning, since my dad programmed the NavSat to get us to Dusseldorf Regional Airport, which is about 60 km away from Dusseldorf International Airport. Not to blame him, since I did something very similar the first time I had to program my TomTom to direct me.
The flight was okay, although LTU has rather small seats, and the couple sitting behind us was very chatty all night.

We were quite fast outside of Male International Airport. The passport control and the customs check was fast and we got our backs really fast as well. Nice done Maldivians!
But then we got our first scare. Nobody from Kandooma to pick us up from the airport. Fortunately there was a nice lady from TUI who knew we were looking for, and as it turned out, we were expected to arrive on the 31st instead of today. No harm done, and the Water Villa we booked was available. It just had to be readied.
After a boattrip of about 40 minutes we arrived on this really beautiful island. The website is really a great representation of the island, no lies there. We're enyoing our stay sofar to the fullest. Weather is excellent (28C, a bit humidity and sea water is excellent) and so are the two restaurants we had lunch and diner. Sofar everything is going great and besides sleeping and relaxing in the sun we didn't do anything yet.

So more tomorrow, when we've undertaken one or two things (like scuba or hanging around the pool soaking up more sun). Just to keep our minds of the boys (who are staying with my parents) and on the relaxing part of the trip.

Iwan

How everything instantly started to suck! REALLY SUCK

So yeah, it all can really, REALLY, suck. Why I believe this to be true, well I know this to be true.

About a week and a half ago, my sister in law went into labor, 2 months early. Bindi, the baby girl's name, was born with the knowledge that she wouldn't survive. Deprived of oxygen while in the womb for too long did too much damage.
But however you go about it, whatever you try to rationalize this tragedy, which it really is, there is just no way to wrap your mind around it. The only explanation for what happened is 'fluke'. There is nothing that could've been done to prevent it from happening and I think, at least for me, that is the only reason why I can more or less accept it. The fact that she lived for almost a day. The fact that I've been put in the position to say my goodbyes to her, and not just me, but all around her. Makes it bearable, if such a thing can be bearable.
The next thing that really sucked was the immense grieve my brother and my sister in law where experiencing, as were the grandparents. All of them. Seeing their grieve is unbearable, especially since there is nothing one can do about it. There is no way to help them get around it. There is no way to help them wrap their heads around it. That, now, REALLY SUCKS.

Last week we cremated Bindi, in if there is such a thing, the cremation was wonderful. It was small and intimate as it should have been.

Bindi: In just a single moment, You earned a place in all our hearts.

Iwan

December, the month of holidays and illnesses

Hi,

Like I blogged last time, it would be after our trip to the US before I would blog again, and as it turns out, I was right and it is even 'next year'.

So what happened lately. Well first of all we went to our friends Ravi and Mamatha in the Boston area. This was on December 7th, the Friday after Sinterklaas. By the way, Sinterklaas, the Dutch equivalent to Christmas' Santa, was very generous this year, especially for the kids.

We flew at around 3 PM from Amsterdam airport, Schiphol, and because it was in the boy's prime time, they didn't sleep... for the whole flight that is. Fortunately they're both really well behaving boys when it comes to not sleeping, so hardly any crying and a lot of flirting with the North West Airlines stewardesses. It is always a really big benefit when your kids aren't pestering the rest of the plane and the in flight personal loves them. Trust me, it is. Ray needed his diaper changed pretty much right after we took of the ground and believe me, his diaper wasn't the only thing that needed changing. He'd overspend as much as Olcay and I were planning to do in the outlet stores. Fortunately Olcay had been so smart to take additional clothes along in our carry-on luggage, it was needed. Apart from the kids not sleeping, the flight was rather uneventful. We were picked up from the airport by Ravi and his family and drove to their place. As it had snowed, Jay and I played in the snow for a bit and because he didn't want to wear his gloves he found out the hard way that snow is indeed cold.
It was good to see our friends again, as it had been almost two years since the last time we visited them. Scary fact: Jay was 10 months old when we came to Boston with him, and Ray just turned 10 months when we flew there this time. Coincidence? I don't know.
That Monday or Tuesday Mamatha found out that she had pneumonia and needed to take antibiotics and stay inside. As it was really cold and everybody, especially Jay and Ray, needed to rest and get into a new rhythm we stayed around the house. Ravi had to work anyway. Tuesday and Wednesday Ray and Jay both were feeling not to well, probably because of the lack of sleep, the new daily patterns and the fact that the temperature outside was well below freezing point and inside it was nice and warm. That probably left enough opportunity for a cold-bug to strike. Ravi became ill as well during the week, same cold-bug kicked his butt and on Friday we all felt like we were good enough again to drive to his brother in Berlin, CT. Only Mahika, their daughter had a serious infection in both ears and we had to turn around. Since the weather was going to be really bad (again) it was probably a good thing, and we convinced Ravi's brother to stay at their place. Although that took a lot of convincing skills. Man did they really badly want to see us. That was really heart warming. During the car ride, Olcay became ill. Yup, that pretty much leaves me as the only person not catching anything during those 10 days. But on a different note, Olcay stayed flu'ish untill after Christmas.
The flight back was good enough as both Ray and Jay slept for a while. Fortunately they showed Cars on the inflight entertainment system so Jay was happy. Olcay didn't sleep at all, since she had to make sure that Ray wouldn't wake up. It all turned out to be a decent return home, but for the minor detail that the battery of our care was dead. Jay, probably, had turned on the little light in the back and that had drained the battery to a full stop. It took the ANWB, the Dutch roadside assistence, slightly under an hour to help us out and that was our cue to drive home and have closure for this vacation.

This time around I won't bore you with the rest of the proceedings in december. Well maybe I should as it isn't much, so here it goes.

As I said, Olcay caught the flu in the States and that only turned worse in the days after our vacation. Up to a point where she went to see the doctor. She had to try some steambaths etc for three days or else get some antibiotics. This because her whole head was congested and inflamed. This was right before Christmas. Good thing we bought some medicine in the US so there were enough pain relief goodies in the house. The day right after Christmas she called the doctor's office and got her antibiotics. Three pills and all was done. Right before New Years Eve she was up and ready to... comfort Jay while he was a bit scared of the firecrackers and other fireworks that 'made loud bangs'. Leaving me with 200+ firecrackers in the house...

On Christmas day Santa came along and surprised us all with loads of presents. Amina and her daughter where there as well. Christmas diner was really nice and the next day (2nd Christmas day as we call it in Holland) was as good, at my parents with the whole family. Apart from the illnesses and all we had a great December. Most of the time I was off and got to spend with the family.

Iwan

Through Spain, Oman and Texel towards Boston

Hi,

It has been a while since I blogged and a lot has happened in the few... months I guess is the right word.

So what happened? Well Olcay and the kids went to Spain with my in-laws to meet my parents in Torremolinos, Spain. My parents had planned a two week vacation in Spain and as they do all the time, they went traveling for a week and spending the last week at the beach. They suggested that Olcay and the kids and her parents would visit them over there as well. So they did. I stayed behind, mostly because I had already planned a trip to Oman early October, but also because I had to do my verbal exam for the NVBI. Which I passed by the way.
Ray learned to crawl in Spain, and currently he walks while holding on to whatever he can. Oh, and he's damn fast as well. Putting everything into his mouth and trying to get his hands on anything forbidden. A little rascal, that's what he is. Jay had a great time in Spain, while Ray was keeping everybody awake during those 2 weeks.
A week after they came back home, I left for a diving trip to Oman. The weather was excellent, the water was warm, but murky. So there wasn't a lot of visibility. The fish we did see were bigger than those in the Red Sea and not so shy. By the way, I went with Lorenz and Ronald, and we had a great time. The hotel was really excellent, Oman Diving Center, and their food was extremely good.
Right after I came back from Oman, Olcay and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. On Texel, one of the Dutch islands in the Waddenzee. We stayed at the Texel Suites, a really good design B&B. It was a great weekend without the kids. We enjoyed it very much, but to be honest, we were also glad to see the boys again, who stayed at my parents.

And now the waiting is for our flight to the US on December 7th, when we fly to Ravi and Mamatha and see their little Mahika again. It's been way too long since we were there. Almost 2 years. Last year we planned to fly over, but Olcay got her hernia, so now it is going to work out, I'm sure.

Maybe I'll post another blog between now and then, but I'm pretty confident I won't

See you after Boston,
Iwan

Movie Review: The Simpsons

Hi,

This week I saw the Simpsons movie, and I liked it. But mainly because it was just the Simpsons. Nothing fancy, nothing new, just an episode as any other episode, only taking 90 minutes.
All the characters you know are there and they're all playing their role. Excellent.

I can tell you what the story is about, but it is as absurd as any other Simpsons story, so it won't help you to decide whether or not you should see this one. But I can tell you, if you like the Simpsons, you'll like the movie. Although going to see it on the big screen is maybe not worth the effort, but then again, when you're a fan, you probably want to get the experience anyway.

Iwan

Body flying... that was soooo cool

Hi,

Last Sunday was fun. I went body flying in Hueckenhoven, Germany. It was our birthday present to Ashley. Every year we do something adventurous. Last year we went powerboating this year body flying.
For those of you who don't know what body flying is, here's a short description. There's this huge turbine from an airplane set into the ground blowing a wind of 180 km/h upwards and wearing a special coverall you're flying in this air stream. When you see people doing this, it seems very easy, but let me tell you, it isn't.

Ashley was a natural, she rode the winds like she'd done it all her life. Mark and I were mediocre compared to her, although we were doing fairly well ourselves.
The good thing about this all, is that Olcay could do it as well and she enjoyed her ride on the wind a lot.

Each session lasted for about 5 minutes a person, which seems very short, but believe me, it isn't in fact after two sessions we were all rather dead beat.

Jay and Ray were spending the weekend with my parents and they took them back Sunday night. So all in all we had a great weekend.

Iwan

Movie Review: White Noise 2: The Light

Here's another movie review: White Noise 2: The Light. It's the sequel to White Noise, which I haven't seen but do own on DVD... but after seeing the sequel I'm not really looking forward to the original movie. On the other hand, sequels are typically not as good as the original and since this one is not too bad, I might watch White Noise sometime soon.

So after this philosophical introduction, here's the review: White Noise 2: The Light is a thriller with paranormal aspects. It's by no means a horror and all scary moments in the movie are done by "showing all of a sudden a decaying dead person". Trust me, it's scarier to just all of a sudden scream at the person next to you than watching these scenes.
The story is interesting and the movie starts of with some statistics that are supposedly there to make the story more believable. But in the end it matters if you belief in near-death-experiences or not to make this movie believable.


With the current slant of horrors, psycho thrillers and paranormal thrillers at the movies, there are more alternatives. All in all: Rent the DVD.

Iwan