Security Post

Did you know…..?

• They have Popcorn stores, filled up with all different kinds of popcorn. And customers even stand in line for over an hour to get it.
• Waiters earn up to $3 an hour, just enough to pay for the taxes. So everything they earn is based on tips.
• Depending on the timing with holidays and conventions you have might suddenly have to pay $300 extra a night at a hotel
• Just one of the 30 different pillows I have slept on so far was good, but it wasn’t that good, because I forgot which hotel…
• Not even one of the 20 different types of toilet paper was as strong as the one I have at home, I hate to use that much paper!
• People are paid (almost nothing) to stand outside all day long with a sign “Sandwiches around the corner” or “Designer suites”, even when it freezes outside
• My nose is having trouble with the air conditioning. I have a continuous running nose, and it is hurting as if I’m doing coke or something (not that I known how that feels like, unless you are talking about Coke as in Coca Cola)
• I don’t miss my car. But the public transportation is real good in most cities here, and cabs are not that expensive
• I have never walked as much as here in the USA
• I haven’t lost any weight because of it
• I will try to keep on doing that when I get back in The Netherlands
• I don’t miss my water bed…yet
• I will really miss Starbucks when I get back to The Netherlands
• It is normal here to use your laptop in public at stores like Starbucks
• I have met more people with than without a Blackberry
• Ironically they call them CrackBerry themselves
• I would rather smash them flat as a pancake and call them FlatBerry
• It really is amazing to see those Blackberry screens light up a room like a Christmas tree while someone is trying to give an interesting keynote
• The best things I have spent money on so far are: My Boingo Wireless account, my $70 New York city tour, my Cole Haan shoes (I need new ones when I come home!), my iPhone and OSX Leopard
• The most useless things I spent money on so far are: An inverter to use electronic stuff over here, entrance to The Secureworld Expo in San Francisco, a cheap flight ticket (I had to pay extra to pay with my European credit card at the counter, for every piece of checked-in baggage, for not being able to check-in online, and for a baggage that was overweight just 2 lbs., and the most expensive airport transfer so far to use the cheap ticket)
• I have intensively used my: MacBook Pro (becoming a bigger Apple fan every day!), my iPod, my Cole Haan shoes I bought in NYC and my credit cards
• Even when you travel for 3 months it is useless to use frequent-flyer programs or hotel programs to “earn points”. You have to spend at least 6 months in the same hotel to get a free upgrade or night, the same for the airmiles.
• It is so easy to spend more time on finding a good and cheap hotel online it just cost you an extra night…. oops
• I should have read more books during my stay, but walking was a lot of fun!
• I have read some interesting magazines over here, too bad most of them are not available in Europe
• The newspaper here isn’t that interesting… The Dutch newspapers are filled with far more international information
• I am bummed to have missed the Nascar races or a baseball game
• I am glad I will be back with my family, girlfriend and friends in time for the holidays
• I have had enough restaurant food for a few months… I think
• Looking at the National restaurants, McCormicks is the best! I love fresh fish and daily menus!
• I will miss the good steaks they have here
• I miss a real Dutch pizza and Bram Ladage fries with mayonnaise
• This trip has brought me other things than I expected in the beginning
• This trip has not brought much of the things I expected in the beginning
• I have learned so much more interesting and more important things after all
• I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it for a thing!
• My life is about way more than just Information Security
• There are too many people without a real vision or mission, and therefore lack the inspiration to enjoy their life and work
• I am not just talking about the more powerful and rich people, but about everybody!
• A waiter that earns $3 an hour can be so enthusiastic and have that kind of spirit I am talking about, they make over 10% off a multi million dollar revenue in a team with 50 people!
• Earns so much in tips because her customers are happy, she travels almost every month to a new location anywhere in the world
• The only one who is holding you back is….. you!
• Looking at my website statistics I found a lot of old friends are visiting me, no not just you
• I get some weird hits from several sites like: WeFeelFine.org and some other websites gathering statistics on weblogs like mine
• I get visitors from all over the world
• The top 3 countries for November so far are: The USA, The Netherlands and France
• But I also get visitors from Brasil, Seychelles, Israel, UK, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Japan and more…
• I am please to see over 50% of my visitors use Apple (but that includes myself), and 5% use Linux (good to see some die hards!)
• Ivo, don’t forget to upgrade Firefox when you are back at home
• The best cities are Chicago and New York (from a tourist perspective)
• The worst/most boring have been San Francisco, Minneapolis and Atlanta
• Ironically these are the cities that have contributed the most on my trip
• And therefore are number one on my list of cities I have learned in the most, or have met the best people
• This list will get longer later on… so check back again later!