afzoenen; the economics of bikes in the Netherlands: tragedy of the commons?

[gusl]

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Interesting texts to practice:
Prostitutie: De tijger in de vrouw

Interesting dictionary definition:
afzoenen
1. kiss and be friends again

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The Economics of Bikes in the Netherlands

An ignorant foreigner might ask: If Dutch people ride bikes so much, why don’t they ride better bikes? The simple answer is that bike theft runs rampant throughout the country, and nobody bothers buying a half-decent bike because they’re unlikely to have it for more than a week or two. The upside is that nobody minds losing their bike much because a replacement, usually of suspicious origin, is easily found for 10 to 20 euros.

Is this a tragedy of the commons?

And as for "morality", which choice incents crime more: buying a $20 from them or buying a nicer $200 bike from a reputable dealer?
In the first case, I am encouraging further bike theft, since they can expect to sell the bikes they steal. In the latter, I am also encouraging theft by creating demand for such a tempting bike to steal (awkward sentence?). If people never bought new bikes, this market would go to ruins as the bikes deteriorated.

By the way, it's possible to opt out of this game if you are willing to pay $50 for a lock (it's worth it: $30 locks often get stolen with the $15 bike). So keep your lock safe!

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Kurzweil on Wolfram's "A New Kind of Science"

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Jacques Pitrat, including articles, such as AI Systems Are Dumb Because AI Researchers Are Too Clever and Douglas Hofstadter et les concepts fluides

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Problems inventors have yet to solve. I would like to make a Wiki list like this. I'm still trying to figure out how to create a Wiki for myself. I'm also looking for a solution to search a blog, while also posting to LiveJournal simultaneously (since LiveJournal sucks!). Suggestions appreciated.

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Groups of Skeptics, Rationalists & Atheists (mostly in Portuguese)

Word of The Day: Metoidioplasty

Comments

[easwaran.livejournal.com]

There's some way you can get a blog as a "syndicated feed" to lj, so that everyone who has you on their friends list still gets your lj, and you can still maintain a friends page (I think) but you can actually post your things on another site. It just has to be XML something or other, I think.

[peamasii.livejournal.com]

So when are we going for a bike ride together in Amsterdam? From a cursory reading of your latest entries it seems you're in Brazil, perhaps in a place where Dutch tourists are quite common. Maybe it's the other way around.

My novice Dutch has gotten a lot worse since I moved here a month ago. It seems everyone speaks English very well. At work I'll be speaking English. My wife speaks English at work. The TV shows in Dutch are much too fast to understand anything beyond the simplest phrases. I don't think it will be easy sailing.

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

hey, I arrive on the 21st. I'm looking for a central room for under 450E, since the uni placed me way out in Osdorp. So if I'm not too busy trying to fix this situation, I'll probably be available rightaway (I also need to report to the foreign police, and there are university activities starting on the 25th). Where in Amsterdam do you live?

I signed up for an intermediate Dutch class, so I'll probably be able to progress. What concerns me is that most Dutch people don't seem very willing to chat with strangers, let alone in Dutch. But I love learning languages, and get obsessed easily. I wonder how it's going to play out.

[peamasii.livejournal.com]

Oh great, let me know when you're here. We live in Watergraafsmeer. The name comes from an old lake which they drained and then built this part of Amsterdam a few centuries ago. It's in the Oost, about 20 minutes by bike from the center. Osdorp is far to the West and it's far from the center. You can find rooms online probably, let me know if you need help. Look around De Pijp or around Jordaan, there are many students in those areas and it's fun living around there. Here also is nice, quieter, family residences mostly. For 450 you should be able to share a nice place. Look on expatica.com also...

The foreign police is by tram 16 south to Sloten, I know them well by now. Prepare to waste a few hours there, bring a good book.

Are you going to take Dutch at Vrije Universitat? I'd like to do that too but my work schedule will be too hectic for the first few months. I'll be the new Java lead guy at Lumiance and there are quite a few things to be done.

I don't know any Dutchies beyond my 'buurt' but I'm sure I will run into a few... my neighbours are great if they could be a norm!

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tips about the neighborhoods.

You can find rooms online probably, let me know if you need help
I'm still waiting to see if the university will offer me something else, but if that fails and you can help me somehow, I will greatly appreciate it. I'm concerned about missing the turnover season (Sep 1 is probably the last good date).

Are you going to take Dutch at Vrije Universitat?
It looks like it's a UvA program, called INTT: Instituut voor Nederlands als Tweede Taal. It's on Spuistraat.

I just looked up Lumiance. What kind of software do they need?

I'll be allowed to work up to 10 hours / week. I'm considering teaching (English, Portuguese, math), models for financial investment (trying to beat the market) and programming. It looks like jobs are short, but I have to try.