Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

I know, I know... It's been around for quite some time and I'm only discovering it now... I'm late to the party! But... That doesn't mean I can't gush about it! Retro Phase Shift is a science fiction blog with lots of posts about (just to name a few shows) Doctor Who, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, Defiance, Babylon 5 and Torchwood. Just reading the names of some of my favourite shows and knowing that others enjoy them too, makes me happy. Yes, really. (Is this a good moment to insert an "oh, the feels" comment? No? Ah, okay...) Reading some of the posts on this blog is even better than just reading about the blog's existence. Take for instance 4 Good Entry Points to Big Franchises - Friday Four which lists good episodes for first-time viewers watching Stargate, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who. Seeing these are all shows I watch(ed) and enjoy, this post makes me happy. I may not agree with all the choices for first episo...

The past few weeks and months, I've been spending a lot of time on my blog and on Twitter. Reading Tweets, reTweeting them, posting photos and links to articles I'd read online, sharing some of my views and opinions with the world. I use my blog to share photos and use Twitter to read and post about what's going on in the world. Oh, and I use Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends! Of course I also use email to stay updated on current events and to keep in touch with family and friends, however I use social media more. Until I stopped doing so for a few days. Last week, I decided to take a break from the world of Twitter, blogging and Facebook. Partly because I've been playing Grand Theft Auto V on the PlayStation - it's addictive, that game! - and partly because I wanted to spend more time reading books than posting and sharing on social media. And also, because spending so much time online doesn't always feel 'right' any more. I'm not th...

No, this is not a review of The Power of One , a Bryce Courtenay book. Although I expect I'll be writing that review within a few years. Stay tuned while I write about music, Apple and Taylor Swift instead? Taylor Swift wrote an open letter to Apple on her website's blog - To Apple, Love Taylor - explaining why she doesn't like something they've chosen to do. Apple's new music streaming service will not be charging for music for three months (yay for users / customers), nor pay artists for the use of their music (not so yay for the artists). Swift explains why this is unfair to artists, writers and producers. "We don’t ask you for free iPhones. Please don’t ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation." I like your thinking, Taylor Swift. The world responds by writing about Swift's letter / blog post. Apple is rich and has the money to pay artists , the world says. So let Apple pay the artists . In a world built on (and from, I think...

Spent several hours on Skype today, talking to New Zealand. Well okay, about five hours. Thanks, Skype! Thanks, internet! As we emailed back and forth to make plans for when to talk, my friend suggested we talk my (European) morning, her (Kiwi) evening. We're currently ten hours apart, so planning for 'when' makes sense. As she was the one to suggest the time, I agreed. One question, though: Won't you miss Westside if you're talking to me? Hey, I may be on the other side of the world but there are some Kiwi programs I keep up to date with! I asked again during our Skype chat as my friend used to be as mad about Outrageous as I was (and am). Oh, I'll watch it later , she tells me. Good! Glad to see that some things don't change! Speaking of Westside - An anonymous commenter posted a link to a YouTube video in response to an earlier blog post I wrote about Westside . The video had been removed by the time I clicked the link however I suppose it was probabl...

Have you ever smiled when hearing a favourite quote or instantly liked someone because of the book they happened to be gushing about? Language connects us and words are powerful. The way we use them says a lot about who we are as people and as a society. Personally, I'd love to live in a world where insulting or belittling others is unncessary and hurting others using words is a thing of the past. A world where people talk to each other, accept and respect others as they are and do not feel the need to try to change people just because they don't happen to think or believe as we do. I am very much in favour of free speech and believe it is extremely important that people are able to honestly say (and write) what they think or feel, without having to fear for their lives. However I also believe that it is important that we respect others as they are, without belittling them using words or actions and without the need to insult the choices people have made in their lives or be...

I love how easy it is to copy words, head over to Google Translate, paste the words and find a translation online without having to search through a dictionary to find the words. Having translated to and from languages I know, I understand that Google Translate is not foolproof or always right, however translations tend to make sense, especially when one understands the context of the words one wants to translate. With the recent murder of Özgecan Aslan in Turkey and my desire to learn more about what people write about that, I've been trying to translate Turkish via Google Translate. Whether I translate to Dutch or to English does not seem to matter - I am stumped by sentences that barely make sense to me. I'm used to being able to to translate Arabic and Hebrew with relative ease... I can only hope that Turkish translations will soon be as easy. I learnt some basic Turkish a very, very long time ago from friends. These days, I can still say some swearwords, count to ten and...

Dear Reader,  This is a bit of an angry rant.  Please read at your own discretion.  Dear Google, I use your services. Well, I use Google Search, Gmail, Blogger and Translate. Most of your other so-called services I just complain about. Or actively avoid, as in the case of YouTube. You see, dear Google, I am liking you less and less. We became close friends some ten years ago -- our 'ten year anniversary' is coming up... Will you congratulate me and tell me you love being friends with me? Of course not. At most you'll hassle me about buying something, spending my money on something, installing something that will allow you to better track my online movement or... No, wait. Let me start over. What will happen is this: In your quest to learn more about me, who I am and how I behave, you will only collect more information that gets passed on to more parties wanting to use that information to send me advertising you or they think I might like, send me offers to s...

Een gewapende man drong even voor acht uur vanavond het gebouw van de Nederlandse publieke omroep binnen. Hij wilde zendtijd maar werd binnen een kwartier overmeesterd door de politie. Er zijn een paar minuten film opgenomen en naderhand uitgezonden waarop de man te zien en te horen is; ook de stem van een man die gegijzeld was, was te horen. De naam en profielfoto van de man staan al vermeld op social media, volgens de berichten gaat het om een verwarde jonge man. De komende dagen zullen vast meer duidelijkheid geven - ik ben benieuwd. Twitter Feed  #nosjournaal Ik heb vooral veel vragen over wat er gebeurd is en waarom. Werkt hij of spreekt hij voor anderen - voor een collectief van hackers, wellicht? Had de man hulp bij deze actie? Was hij ingehuurd door of verbonden met een of andere inlichtingendienst? Dat oortje dat hij had, was dat van hem zelf of had hij dat in het gebouw van de NOS opgepakt? Wat verwachtte hij precies te horen? Ik weet niet genoeg van wapens om te...

I've had a list of links to websites of favourite authors up on my blog for some time now. A list of favourite television series as well. Yet what I realised today is that I don't have any links up to websites / pages of artists and photographers whose work I enjoy. Read an article today about monuments in former Yugoslavia and was amazed by the photos - absolutely loved some of the works! Photography is about more than the subject of course, however when the composition of the photo blows one away just as much as (or perhaps just as far as?) the stunning image itself does, you know you've found a winner. I wanted to share my enthusiasm, wanted to tell others how much I enjoyed the photos. Yet writing a simple blog post didn't quite feel like enough. I wanted to link to this photographer's website, to have that link up on my blog for all to see. Not just when reading a particular post, but always, all the time. So, I'm adding a new list to the sidebar on th...

Very interesting video :-)

I am not usually one who 'gushes' about clothing, shoes or handbags. They are not usually things I care enough about to want to write about. As long as I dress 'appropriately', others are happy and as long as I dress comfortably, I'm happy. These amazing boots however I simply * have to * gush about. How super cute, extremely comfortable looking and totally stylish are they?! Loving them! Rocket Dog Rachel Boot   (see more laced up boots )

Source: Daily Info Graphic A friend shared this on Facebook.  I loved it and now I'm sharing it too.  I even screencapped the silly picture that came with it to attach it to this post as I really liked that too! Not everything needs a personal motivation statement to help explain why I post it, so I hope you'll all enjoy these very helpful few hints and understand exactly why I'm sharing them!  Check out these 15 Grammar Mistakes that can make you look silly over at InfoGraphic!

Het is zaterdag avond. Ik zit op de bank, laptop op schoot. Lees een recensie over een (voor mij nieuw) boek dat ik wil lezen. Het boek klinkt goed. De moeite waard om te downloaden via Project Gutenberg . Niet bepaald een nieuw boek aangezien het (legaal) online te downloaden is maar hopelijk wel een leuk en interessant boek! Ik lees een aantal theorieën over Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden. Ik lees over wie het nou gedaan heeft en waarom. Over wie er doodgevallen is, wie er springlevend is. Nog een paar uur wachten tot het antwoord van week 6 dat op zondag bekend moet worden. De aanwijzingen deze week leken met Wiet te maken te hebben over het algemeen. De titel van deze week is echter "Het Bewijs" dus wijzen de aanwijzingen nu naar de dader of naar een overlevende? Maandag is me niet helemaal duidelijk. Degene die langs de beveiligingscamera loopt lijkt voor mij Nina of Wiet te zijn. De reactie bij het laten vallen van de tas zou van beiden kunnen zijn, denk ik. Volgens...

In today's media-dominated world of fashion, image consciousness, brand names and online identities, I am proud to say that I am a Google Girl.  I've been using Gmail since 2005 when it was still invitation only and prefer Google's search engine over others. I also use Blogger for my blogs and have for years.  One thing I wish I loved more is Google+. It could be THE perfect place to have all my online content together in one place,  presented in a style and format of my choice. My photos, reviews, opinion pieces, shared 'likes' and more. Instead, it is presented as yet another online networking platform that to me has no unique features that make me want to use it over other platforms. I am trying to do more with it and to "plus one" more posts, however am still hesitant about it.  As part of my attempt to do more with Google+, I have chosen to link two of my blogs to my public Google+ profile. This way, my original content has my name on...

I updated my internet security program today. My laptop prompted me and after berating myself for not updating sooner I clicked on the link.  Windows kindly sent me to a page with internet security programs to choose from that are all compatible with my operating system. It is comforting to know that Microsoft links to these programs because it assures me that they are 100% legit and that I'm not downloading malware (malicious software) by mistake. Finding an internet security program that matches your wants and needs can be time consuming and even cost you money. I'm not a professional so will not tell you how to choose or which program to choose. I will however leave you with these common sense tips:  * Always read the small print so you know exactly what you're agreeing to - that means the Terms and Conditions, the company's Privacy policy etcetera.  * Ask around. Check with others what programs they use and what their experiences are or see what expert sourc...

I am so sick and tired of Instagram's issues! Been trying (on and off) for the past 45 minutes to post comments to a photo I posted and am having no luck. Managed to get a few 'tags' posted however apart from the few tags, the others remain unposted. Instagram uses a method of tagging a photo so others can find it by subject. Tagging works by putting a hash tag before a word. One may search for #flowers or pictures of the #beach, for instance. When tagging is practically impossible, getting my photos 'out there' is harder as I can't put as many tags (descriptions) on my photos as I would like. Problems with posting comments to Instagram are annoying. They are not life threatening or anything like that, I am aware of that :-) Sometimes though, it's good to complain a bit when I manage to wind myself up too much over an insignificant problem! It helps me get it out of my system and hopefully gets my problem some exposure by putting it online. Anyone out t...

I work in customer service. Working in customer service means giving people my name in good faith and hoping that those people will understand that me giving them my name does not mean I want to become friends online or in real life. Having encountered some customers who do not understand the difference between a friendly professional chat while waiting for a computer to come up with results and something else, I have now stopped giving people my real name. I am also changing and rearranging the information I have available online. As a result of "editing" my online privacy I have reverted most of my blog posts to draft. I will be going through the posts, editing where necessary and removing a post where it is too personal. The others I will put back online. I look forward to a new, changed and improved blog,  I hope you will join me in that enthusiasm! 

Source: Beauty Geek Saw these A-MA-ZING nails online and simply had to share a pic! Click the link to Beauty Geek for step-by-step instructions on how to create these (yes, I'll say it again...) absolutely amazing The Silence themed nails. Some info for non-Whovians: Undeniably one of the scariest alien races ever introduced on top British TV show Doctor Who, The Silence are a race you see constantly... Only as soon as you're no longer looking at one of them you totally and completely forget seeing them. The Doctor and his companions remember having seen a member of this race by marking themselves. This way, even though they forget about having seen these scary looking men in black suits with very strange faces, they know that they are around...

As written about from time to time on this Blog, I am an avid photographer. I've been using Instagram (a smartphone app for sharing photos with other users) for about 8 weeks now. It is an amazing thrill to see that other Instagram users, absolute and total random strangers I don't know and have never met or had contact with before, like the photos I take. They sometimes even like them enough to leave comments or to follow my updates. As not everyone these days has a smartphone or cares to download and/or use a photo sharing app, it is very handy that Instagram photos are also available outside the app. Click this link to see a copy of all my photos on Pingram , and if you happen to have your own Instagram account, don't be shy and come on by! 

Around Alkmaar 01 A photo posted by Nicole M. Verhaaf (@nimavenl) on Jul 22, 2012 at 2:38pm PDT