This week a Dutch bus touring company in Noordwijk confirmed that it is testing an automated system that observes drivers with small cameras and sensitive sensors for signs that may indicate that the driver is nodding off. The new system is intended to reduce the number of accidents caused by bus drivers falling asleep. More »

There are over 7,000 different towns in the Netherlands and some of them have very funny names. Here are some of my favorite ones (in random order). More »

I think bats are very cool. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen one here since I moved to Holland seven years ago. According to vleermuis.net (“the network for information about bats in the Netherlands”), 21 different bat species have been seen in the Netherlands. More »

Speaking of soda bottles, I have never understood why there are some plastic soda bottles (especially here in Europe; I have never seen them in the U.S.) that have caps with rings that do not come off. The half-stuck rings are sharp, always in the way and they are just plain annoying. Check out these comparison pictures. More »

At the end of this month, Coca-Cola in the Netherlands will offer their products in a new type of bottle. Currently PET bottles are used, and then recycled to be used again by various bottling plants. The new bottle is meant for one-time use only. The bottles will have a deposit on them; after being returned to grocery stores the bottles will be recycled. Material from the recycled bottles will be used to make new PET bottles or other plastic products. More »

This week’s newly launched Google Video Store has been very badly received by the press and the blogosphere (“So far it’s just a really crap web site,” writes The Register‘s Ashley Vance). Personally I am very disappointed that the TV shows available in the new video store (CSI, Survivor, Star Trek, to name a few) are not available outside the United States. More »

In Rotterdam today a subterranean shopping area flooded with 600 cubic meters of boiling water from bursted pipes. Six people were brought to the hospital for second and third degree burns on their feet. Here are some photos. More »

This week a White-beaked dolphin stranded in the Oostvoornsemeer, a lake south-west of Rotterdam here in the Netherlands. It is a very popular spot for diving schools, and it is where we finished our PADI Open Water Diver course this summer. Two bird-watchers spotted the dolphin and called the Eerste Hulp Bij Zeezoogdieren (EHBZ), or First Aid for Sea Mammals, who think the dolphin swam into the Rotterdam harbor last weekend during a storm. More »

Last week, the Spanish Parliament voted to implement a smoking ban in public places such as restaurants and work places. The ban will go into effect on New Year’s Day. More »

The crash between two driverless robot buses in Rotterdam on Tuesday 6 December was caused by a human error, reports Connexxion. More »