Big day...

this is tims thesis! its about the work he did in boston. after a successfull defense, he will finally be a PhD. just like me, so then we are even again.... :P ah no, he is also an MD, and i am not and never will be one.... 

but anyways. so he did publish a paper recently that was also picked up by news sites all over the world. perhaps you saw it? here is a link to the BBC news, and it was also on the dutch news site nu.nl (here), or a more serious link, here. it was really interesting to see how news sites were just copying the story from other sites, changing it bits by bits (not always correct), at some point tims name got lost too, and in some articles they even prominently name the photographer that was hired to take some pictures..... (the above picture was taken by tim himself, btw). there are also interviews, with the second author and the boss (ah, and i already forgot again, with tim as well!!), here and here.

so, this famous person is getting his PhD tomorrow!!

now, if you are around the netherlands, or utrecht, more specifially, you can witness this defense, as it is a public happening. just be at "het academiegebouw" at the domplein in utrecht tomorrow, september 9, at half past 2 (well, then it starts, so i would be there 5-10 minutes in advance...). its fun to witness a dutch PhD defense if you have never seen one.... (here you can see where the defense will take place).
edit; here is the official announcement. and here (unfortunately there is no full access) is the original researchpaper i refer to above... im just as bad as those news sites... :)

Marathon day

today its marathon day in boston again. while writing this its 6 in the morning there, but im sure many runners are up already... 36,000 people will run the marathon this year, and many spectators are expected. security is high, many additional cameras have been installed along the course, and you cannot take big backpacks with you. cnn tells me that "containers with more than 1 liter of liquid, costumes covering the face, and bulky clothes such as vests with pockets won't be allowed".

im amazed by how many people are able to run a marathon, or even a half..., but there are far more people who cannot. many are not even interested, of course. i never used to be interested in sports, either. i hated gym classes at school and used every trick and excuse not having to  participate (other than gymnastics, i ofcourse never skipped class, i was far too well-behaved for that). during the last year of my PhD i started swimming before work. when the pool closed for the season, i felt the urge to continue sports to my surprise, and i decided i could just run around a lake not too far from my apartment. now that i was a regular swimmer, i surely could run, right?! well, of course not (duh!!), it turned out. the next day i could hardly walk...... exit running!

i picked up running again in boston, thanks to the gym at our fancy apartment complex (and out of necessity, in the netherlands our main mode of transportation was biking, in boston it was the subway, and the car during the weekends).  but... i continue to be a lousy runner. i continue doing it, as i continue to hope to improve myself, but i hardly do. after each run i think; well, perhaps NEXT time it will be better?! perhaps next time i can try interval training? maybe next time i can try to run faster? but each time i am glad i can just keep up the pace i am running, and that i can run at all... and maybe i should just be satisfied with that....

Oooh, Boston!

a picture of the charles river, taken from the bridge going into boston (or cambridge if you go the other way). today the boston marathon bombings are one year ago.

for me it was just another day in boston. i dont even remember the weather. perhaps, probably, something like above. the lives of many others who were present at the marathon changed forever. just like last year, i dont know what to write as i do not feel its my place to write anything. 

so, well... i read that many books are released today commemorating what happened; one of them is reviewed here.