Hobbies, Interests, Convictions

In this section I'll tell you a bit about my hobbies and interests. I will only elaborate on some, because I am actually interested in almost anything...

Jesus Christ

First and foremost I believe in God, His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit. This is what I believe, what I am passionate about, what matters most... you can find more on my churches page. Click on church in the menu on the left.

Singing

Another thing which is more of a passion than a hobby, is singing. I sing in a choir called Christelijk Gemengd Koor “Delfshaven” (Christian Mixed Choir of Delfshaven). Furthermore I occasionaly sing with ad hoc choirs. Bach, Buxtehude, Handel, English Hymns, Dutch Christian music, it doesn't matter... as long as I can sing. And more recently, I have started a small singing group with some friends where we sing some more modern christian music.

Good Beer, Whiskey, or Wine

It's always nice to get together with some friends and have a good beer ( Pauwel Kwak), a nice whiskey ( Johnnie Walker (black, green, gold, blue)), or a nice wine (South african, e.g. Stellenbosch) and a nice dicussion or conversation on politics, religion, science, women, anything..... sounds good? Let's arrange something ;-)

Poker (Texas Hold'em)

The last few years, Texas Hold'em Poker has really become a big thing here in the Netherlands. And as many other people I also catched the Poker-virus... I love to play this game with friends and collegues and manage to win every now and then. The nice thing about this game is the balance between chance, strategy, statistics, and bluf. Okay, just one thing, I do not play for money!

Settlers of Catan

Settlers of Catan is a board game I regularly play with friends of mine. It is a game with a nice mix of chance and strategy. Players build villages and cities in certain areas and get resources for their territories. With your resources you invest in expanding, trading, defending your ground. Another good quality of this game is the many different versions that are available, e.g. historic scenarios, card game versions, and a version with many extra rules (Cities and Knights).

Linux & Open Source

Another thing I like to work on is my Linux computer with its Open Source software. I like the idea that people share their knowledge and software, so everybody can benefit from it. Furthermore, I am against current patent schemes and proposed patent schemes. Patents were invented to encourage progress and not to inhibit it. With some patents and certainly with software patents we cannot really speak of encouragement and application of knowledge seems to be inhibited. Durations of patents should therefore be (drastically) shortened in my opinion.

Other

Other interests are: