No, not Terschelling again
That's right, not Terschelling again. But this weekend we visited another island, namely Texel. We've often been there and every time it has new surprises in store. It's a beautiful island, we just love it. Here's a picture of the sea and the beach. Hope you'll like it.

Terschelling
The last nice weekend in October, so I took a few pictures. This one's taken in the harbor of West Terschelling.

Image
This image is based on a fractal. I used the caleidoscope filter in PaintShopPro to alter it but you can still see the underlying fractal. Enjoy!

I think therefore I am
A long time ago, somewhere around 14 billion years to be precise, the universe was formed in a majestic big bang. Four billion years ago life on earth started in its most basic form. Evolution took care of the rest. This is what scientists tell us. Most of this sounds plausible as far as I can follow it. There are still a few gaps but eventually they will be filled in too. Still, there are some questions left, questions I have a hard time understanding. Biologists and physicists teach us that most of life's processes are just chemistry and physics. But what the heck is a thought? Is that a chemical formula? Is it made up of just a few molecules? And what is emotion? What makes me think? And what happens when I’m curious? Why can I create things? Who am I? How do you explain that away through chemistry? Is it all electro-chemical processes in my brain? I don’t know about you, but these thoughts keep bothering me. Or are they just a few molecules that are racing through my brain?

Sunflower
This is the sunflower Sjoerd planted in our garden. He did very well. I changed it a little though in what you now see. Do you still recognize it?

Computers
Why is it drug addicts and computer afficionados are both called users? (Clifford Stoll)

God
I believe in God, only I spell it Nature. (Frank Lloyd Wright)

Rose
A rose is a rose, is a rose, is a rose.......until I've found it and played with it. For this image I used Paint Shop Pro and applied a blender filter, several times.

Fractal 2
Another one of my fractals.

Music
Money makes the world go round, so the saying goes. In one of my earlier postings I already disagreed with that. Music is what’s making my world go round. At least for a large part. Although I’m not actively making music myself, it’s definitively a major factor in my life. Right from the start in the sixties, when I started getting involved in music I was hooked. I think the sixties created classic music, music that lasts, that changed the world on a different level than just musically. It was revolutional. Then came the seventies with famous hardrock bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. Also, it saw the emergence of U2. The eighties were the decade of U2. And the nineties? At the time I didn’t know, I was thinking it didn’t produce anything worthwile. Now I know better. Through my daughter’s extensive and varied taste in music I’ve learned to appreciate nineties bands like for instance Oasis and Radiohead, to name a few. Also bands from the last couple of years, like Keane and Muse. One of my latest discoveries is Belle and Sebastian. I now know that there’s still a lot of music being made that’s worthwile, that’s even great to listen to. Although it does not have the revolutionary impact music of the sixties had. The best invention of the last decade? By far the Ipod! It goes where I go, on my bike, in the car, it stands on top of my hifi installation. It’s beautiful. Thanks Steve.

Fractal
It's one of the fractals I made with Fractal Explorer. Which is a beautiful and versatile program you can download from the internet. It's freeware. Just play with it and see what it can do.

Sunflower
This sunflower was planted by Sjoerd in our garden. The actual plant didn't look like much, but the flower was georgeous.

The weather, or climate change
It's been hot the last couple of days, even had a day that reached 30 degrees. Which for a september day is unusual. The month of july saw record high temperatures while august showed record precipitation levels. So, extremes. Experts say there's nothing wrong, these are just the normal fluctuations weather always shows. And they dive into the past and come up with statistical data and other info to back up there point of view. Among those experts we find President Bush. Now, he is not a very smart man, research recently learned that he 's the second dumbest American President ever (only President Harding scored higher or lower, I should say). Other experts tell us that the extreme weather conditions are the result of the changing climate. It's warming up, pole ice is melting which will have nasty effects. Sealevel will rise, hurricanes will be more severe and frequent to name a few. The warming up is a result of the levels of carbon dioxide humanity emits (mostly done by the western world but China is doing its best to catch up with us). I'm no expert, I have to go by what experts tell me and I go by what the latter bunch is telling. It's kind of scary. Among important world players there doesn't seem to be a sense of urgency, they're still downplaying things. The environment should be much higher on the agenda of politicians. They will have to take action and that action will not fall on favorable ground. In other words, it might cost them votes. So, they sit tight. Priority should be though that there's only one earth. Our children and grandchildren will be grateful to us if we take the right measures now. We owe it to them. Big Thunder (Bedagi) Wabanaki Algonquin said: "The Great Spirit is in all things, he is in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our Father, but the Earth is our Mother. She nourishes us, that which we put into the ground she returns to us...." He seems to me to be a very wise man. To paraphrase President Clinton: It's the environment, stupid.

9/11 and intolerance
It has been five years ago that the attacks on the WTC towers and the Pentagon took place. Horrible acts of terrorism. Also acts of supreme intolerance. Tolerance is one of the most important virtues in human beings. It's the basis of liberalism. It means that opposing views can exist side by side. Live and let live. Principled people, religious and/or fundamentalist people quite often are extremely intolerant. They will try by force or by coercion to have other people live by their standards and have them adopt their ideas. It has been the root of a lot of wars and violence. Tolerance is a great good. Should tolerance tolerate intolerance? It's the one thing it shouldn't do, because intolerance will destroy tolerance. My wish would be that people would learn to be more tolerant toward each other and toward other opinions and religions. It would make the world a better place. This posting is based on an article by A.C. Grayling I read the other day.

Photography
The camera doesn't make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But, you have to SEE. (Ernst Haas)

Egg timer

Moderation
Epicurus taught that the good life is a simple life. A life of moderation. He also taught moderation in moderation. By which he meant, that once in a while it's good to throw a grand party. The ensuing hangover and indigestion will teach you a thing or two, and not just in a philosophical way. Now, that's reassuring.

Fall
Fall is nearing, and with it the fall colors. Beautiful, I love it, every year again.

Photography
"To the complaint, 'There are no people in these photographs', I respond, 'There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer." (Ansel Adams)
Finally, I'm being backed bij somebody and not just anybody, but Ansel Adams, my favorite photographer. He shot awesome landscapes, just take a look at his site. (www.anseladams.com)