or "The community. The reason why I love Linux."Sat 12 November 2016
As I explained previously in the article presenting my feedback on my internship, I'm now part of Free Electrons' engineering team. The most exciting part is the upstreaming of the work we do with some clients. I'll certainly get into more details on that on my "2016-summary" article planned for the end of the year. The second most exciting part of my job is going to Linux conferences.
That's an awesome event where you can find people tremendously contributing to Linux, people who definitely "know their shit". We're all gathered to share what we have done the past few months, years or decades. What were the trouble we ran into, how we managed to resolve them, how to use such subsystem for your driver, how this subsystem works, how this hardware component works, etc.
This is a place where you can finally meet people you were talking with over the mailing list the whole year.
Well, that's enough propaganda for now!
If you read the article on my internship, you'd know I built a lab to do continuous integration for the Linux kernel thanks to LAVA and KernelCI project. I struggled a bit while building it on which components to choose for the lab, how to build it, how to automate things, how to do continuous integration, ... I fought with LAVA documentation, because it was a terrible mess at that time.
So, we decided with Antoine Ténart, my internship supervisor, to propose a talk on how to build a board farm and remote control them. You can watch it on Youtube.
You can see the first minutes, I'm really not at ease. The first words were unsure. The stress got me a bit but after few sentences, I was focused on the subject and it was really enjoyable.
It was a great experience (the conference and the talk) and I'm already looking forward to the next ELC (Embedded Linux Conference) in Portland at the end of February.
These conferences are also great opportunities to visit some new cities. I've never been to Berlin before so I decided to spend a few days before the conference to wander through the city. You can find my album here.
or "Damn, that's some good sandwich!"Fri 16 January 2015
As said in a previous article, Dutch people eat mainly sandwiches as their lunch and therefore, it's a perfectly normal to have a fair number of snack bars near working places or open a "to-go" counter in a restaurant.
That's what decided the Bâton brasserie, at Herengracht 82, 1015BS. It's as much a restaurant/brasserie as it is a snack bar for sandwiches to take away.
Their sandwiches are relatively cheap (~5€), prepared in about 5 minutes, are absolutely delicious and enough for small to medium eaters. Big eaters like me could not eat two, if that's a good indicator.
The best sandwich, from far, is the one with chicken, avocado, white cabbage, bacon, tomatoes, cucumber and a delightful sauce (the best part of the sandwich). That's just... AWESOME. I strongly recommend you to try it!
The snack bar is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm. The restaurant is open throughout the day and even on Saturday but it is not as cheap as the snack bar (8€ that same sandwich).
or "Getting in line for a roof."Sun 04 January 2015
While I had the chance to share a house with awesome roommates, I had some problems with my landlord (who was also living there) which made me leave the house (well, it was also a good excuse to get closer to work).
As I said in a previous article, I already had wandered through Facebook pages and Dutch websites before coming to the Netherlands but I heard from an agency which rent only to students or workers with relatively low wage (2800€/mo gross) at a rather interesting price.
This agency is DeKey and its website is destined to expats willing to stay in Amsterdam for several months. The deal is simple, you leave the appartement in the condition you entered it. Not noisy (well, it's still a student housing but when it's momderate, it's okay).
For 2 months and a half, I lived in an appartement rent by DeKey for a bit less than 500€/month in containers (yes, containers) in Stavangerweg (West side of Amsterdam, near the IJ river). It was a small (20-25m²) room with a bathroom, kitchen and few furnitures: bed, fridge, desk and shelf. The thermal isolation is surprisingly good as opposed to sonor isolation which is not satisfying, but hey! we can't get everything! For the rent and the location, it is a very good deal. Of course, there are other rooms to rent, not only in containers but I could not visit or live in an other room rent by DeKey.
This housing is supposed to be for short stays. 6 months for students, renewable once and only once. You can always ask as I did for an even shorter stay, but you'll be redirected to an other service. If you're already in Amsterdam, visit them at their office or you can contact them by mail (do not hesitate to spam them, they're not really responsive).
For students: fill the form and contact them at least 3 months in advance, appartements are very difficult to have. Some even have a queue for several years!
One of the other reason to chose these appartements is that you can have your BSN (see previous article) and because you'll live alone, you can ask for governmental financial help for paying your rent (up to 180€/month for students!). Be patient for that, it really takes a long time and a lot of papers to give. But hey, free money!
or "Tips on making your car uninteresting to thieves."Sun 04 January 2015
I lived for 4 months and a half in one of Amsterdam suburbs: the Bijlmer. Former highly criminal (drugs, murders and other joyful stuff) part of the city, it is now way calmer. Anyway, that's just to say that I think I'm legitimate to talk about upsetting stuffs that can happen since, during All Saints' day holidays, someone broke my car window to break into it and check if it had any valuable in it. Of course, it hadn't.
So, being a tourist or an expat, especially during national holidays, if you have a car with a foreign license plate, follow the next advices:
avoid "angle parking" or "parallel parking" your car. If you have no other choice, chose a place where there is little chance cars will park near yours.
do not let anything in your car (well that seems like good sense). You should hide your GPS or phone support and wipe its mark on the windshield.
if you've low esteem for your car, feel it with garbage like McDonalds wrappings or pizza boxes, that might help.
put down the luggage cover (that induces nothing else in the trunk). That let the thieves know you've nothing in your trunk.
Amsterdam town hall freely offers stickers to put on your car to specify your car does not keep anything valuable. Personally, I think that indicates the opposite: who will have the idea to put that sticker? Those who have something valuable inside to avoid someone breaking into their car.
paying parking does not mean safe parking!
And voilà, that's if you still don't want to follow my advice to not take your car to go to Amsterdam. If even with these constraints you want to go with your car, be sure your insurance cover damages in foreign countries!
or "They see me rollin', they hatin'."Sun 12 October 2014
I legitimately can talk about driving a car in the Netherlands since I went to Amsterdam by car and I still have it. First thing to know: Amsterdam (like any big Dutch city (Haarlem, Utrecht, ...)) hates cars and does anything in its power to limit them.
Parking
There are very few free parking lots (technically, only very far from the center) and if they are (free), most of the time you can stay only for a limited time.
To pay is the only solution (do not even think about getting a place with a garage or a private parking). At the parking meter, you will be asked to enter your license plate. Don't be fooled, if you can't see it, it is NOT free, you should look better before assuming it is a free space. Count between 1.30€ and 5€ per hour (if you can find a place where to park) for an outdoor parking and between 3€ and 5€ for an indoor parking. Well, in their greatness, they fixed the maximum rate per day to 50€, how generous!
Some tips:
Leave your car outside of the city in a P+R which "offers" for 8€, a parking for the day and a round trip in public transport for each one of your (up to 4) carpoolers.
If you can't tell if a parking is free or not, it is not. If after a 5 or 10min lookup, you can't find any parking meter, it's because you are not allowed to park here (and that happens a lot in the very center).
There a reasonable number of free parking places near the Kraaiennest metro station. The neighbourhood is not really comforting but I got no problem for the moment (parking 24/7 for 2 months now).
Avoid like the plague the free parking near the camping and park of Gaasperplas, there are a lot of thieves attracted by this place.
Fines are expensive: from 50€ to 100€. Don't forget to pay them quickly, the fines increase a lot with time!
If ever, by any chance, you find a place to live in the center but you're too stubborn to live without your precious car, you can ask for a residential permit to the town hall but it can (and will) take several months. Here is a link to explain a bit all the process (in French).
When I tell you the Dutch government does all it can to limit cars, here is an example (end of 2014): Diesel costs 1€40/L and the SP95 1€70/L (0€30/L more than the French rates), you can even find the Diesel at 1€70/L and the SP95 at 1€90/L on the highway. Therefore, don't forget to fill your tank before passing the Dutch border!
Traffic
The traffic in the center is a real nightmare. Pedestrians, bikes, scooters, tramways, buses and taxis everywhere. Everything's is slow-paced, red lights every 10 meters (due to the canals). You can also find yourself driving on tramway's rails or on pedestrians roads. In other words, that's complete anarchy. But, you have to be careful and aware of everything around you. Leave a considerable space between your care and the sidewalks on each side of the road to let scooters and bikes go: they don't stop and drive fast. A small moment of inattention and you'll run over someone. At each pedestrian crossing or when you cross a cycling lane, even if the lights are green, slow down and check incoming cyclists from both side of the road. Twice.
We often say to follow a car licensed locally when you're lost. Don't do that in Amsterdam if the car is a taxi or any car with a blue license plate. Indeed, these blue license plates allow vehicles to drive on cycling roads, pedestrian-only roads or bus and tramway lanes, which you are not allowed to take.
Let's talk about speed bumps now. Well, slow down! They're not joking here. Some are so tiny you can't almost see them while others will make your bumper touch the ground at 10km/h. It's in the residential areas where they are the steepest.
Highway exits are worthy of German highway exits: short with a quick 45 to 90° turn. I'll not repeat myself enough: slow down!
Good luck with your car, you'll need it :D
Oh, I almost forgot! If someone's tailgating you or honking at the very first second the lights turn green, do not take it personally, it's not an insult, nor a sign of impatience. That's just how it's done in the Netherlands. Well, someone might also cut in front of you, you could too, nobody will swear at you for that. Be careful, that's all!
or "How to gain 10kgs of fat in a week."Sat 11 October 2014
The first thing I've been told when I said I was going to Amsterdam was that Dutch people actually dislike cooking and eat only by necessity. Dutch people won't eat for pleasure, they'll eat to survive.
To be honest, I don't really like clichés or legends and prefer to make up my own mind. And, surprisingly, the reality is not far from what I've been told (well, it's a generality, but most Dutch people are as told).
You just have to take a look at supermarkets' shelves (nothing better to guess natives' habits): wide shelf for fresh bread, an other for sliced meat and an other for sliced cheese. It's almost impossible to find a salad in an other form than a pack of washed leaves. Everything's done so Dutch people don't have to take more than 5min to cook.
The sandwich is the inevitable part of lunch. I tell you, in two months in Amsterdam, I've never eaten anything else for lunch but sandwiches!
We could stop here and tell ourselves: "Meh, a sandwich, that's not bad!". Well, it has vegetables, proteins and starches (with bread) in it. Yes... but no. That's what foreigners think a sandwich is. I've been stared at with my ham-cheese-tomato-bell pepper-cucumber sandwich. Because here, the sandwich for lunch is also the "Nutella with chocolate sprinkles on it" sandwich. Anything sweet and/or chocolate-y is welcome for lunch.
or "The city of leaning houses of Pisa"Sat 11 October 2014
Sometimes, mostly in the city very center, either in Amsterdam or in Utrecht for example, you'll surprise yourself thinking: "Well, this house is leaning, isn't it? And that one too!"
Your head's spinning, you start to question everything you know, your inner ear tells you to lean to match house's facades.
You're not crazy and fortunately, there is an explanation! No, Amsterdam's ground is not sagging as the famous Venice or the leaning tower of Pisa. Neither it is the product of an hysteric architect.
The explanation is rather simple and logical actually. Houses are mostly narrow and have several (up to 8!) floors because of the land price back in time. People would buy a small surface of land and build a house with a lot of floors because building floors wouldn't cost more in taxes. With such narrow houses and so many floors, there are many steep staircases in the house. Do you see yourself moving a sofa between floors using the stairs? I don't, and neither do Dutch people.
That's why houses leans on the street and why on top of each leaning house there is a pulley to move furnitures in the house from the street (like your old sofa).
or "Curry is love, curry is life."Sat 20 September 2014
The curry sauce is to the Netherlands what ketchup is to France or what BBQ sauce is to the United Stated: THE sauce which is mixed with anything and everything. My sister is mixing her wheat or gnocchis with ketchup. Well, here, they dip their sandwiches, frikandels, kroketten (we'll see that later, don't worry ;)) or fries in curry sauce. Every food is eligible to drown in an ocean of curry sauce.
A little birdie told me it comes from German-ish habits they took after some years. How not to think of the German Curry wurst and more globally, the German love for the curry sauce?
I tell you, here, the curry is everywhere. The majority of meat I could by in supermarket where curry-spiced, be it pork, beef or chicken. No meat escapes from the curry-y coating. The culinary combinations are surprising but it is still of good taste.
The power of this candy is without limits. To be fully honest, I literally hate caramel and honey (some are made of it) yet, I fell in love with stroopwafels (literally sirup waffels).
It's made of two thin waffels separated by a layer of caramel sirup. Together, it tastes strong and is very sweet, you could reasonably eat only two or three in a row before being disgusted... but your palate would ask for it half an hour later. Very addictive (and definitely not healthy).
This sweet is really famous here, you can find some everywhere, some industrial, some artisanal. It's so much appreciated, they make ice cream taste like stroopwafels (I enjoyed one in Utrecht... Mmmmmmmh that sweet memory). People even make Ice cream sandwiches out of it, two stroopwafels split with a thick layer of ice cream.
Most often, the diameter of the stroopwafel is between 6 to 8cm wide, but do not be surprised to find some having a 15cm diameter or even more!
You're used to say Holland or the Netherlands for that nordic country thinking that's two words for the same thing. Well, I'm afraid I've to tell you you're in the wrong.
Actually, Dutch people don't really care, they seem to have forsaken being mad at foreigners after all these years. But that doesn't forbid us to tell true from false.
Holland is NOT the country (well, there were a County of Holland for four centuries and a Kingdom of Holland for four years) but Netherlands are and actually, the Holland is a part of the Netherlands since it's the union of two of its twelve provinces (North and South Holland).
Amsterdam is situated in North Holland and as it is the biggest city in the country, it would be logical its capital to be Amsterdam. However, that's not the case. Haarlem, a nearby city on the West of Amsterdam, is actually the capital of the North Holland.
For your culture (and because that's way more than I wanted to share in this article), below is a really interesting video on differences between Holland and the Netherlands.
After having found your lovely apartment, you have to (you should at least) register as a tenant. Thanks to this registration, you are now able to insure your place, open a bank account.. and pay taxes (it would not be funny otherwise, don't you think?).
You could actually live (illegaly) without this BSN (Burger Service Number) but you would not be able to do most of the things I said earlier and there are also some chances your employer cannot pay you. Too bad, isn't it? Moreover, you being registered might get you some governement help to pay your rent.
I already told you, without BSN, no bank account but you should know that VISA card are not accepted in all shops (the two supermarkets I shop do not for example). You can always withdraw money from an ATM but your foreign bank can charge you because you withdraw from ATM of another bank in another country. In addition, public transports company (GVB, Connexxion, EBS) ask you to pay your abonnement on the Internet via iDEAL.. which is a service only offered by Dutch banks.
To obtain your BSN, you have to take an appointment at the Town Hall (Gemeente in Dutch). You have two options: either you phone them (+31 (0)20 624 1111) or you visit them (Amstel 1, 1011 PN).
Be quick! Like in every public service, you can wait a lot before getting your appointment (at least two weeks!). You'll need your (valid) ID card or passeport, a birth certificate, a rental contract with your landlord, your work contract (if you have one) and a copy of your landlord's ID card if you're his/her first tenant.
Spare an hour and a half of your precious time for this appointment.
You're now a citizen of Amsterdam, how do you feel?
Quentin Schulz
