The Steve Experience

What I've learnt so far

2011-05-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow blog readers, which probably isn't to many since I don't write too often.

I will start by reflecting a bit on this year. I saw the new year in, at a party in the Utrecht the Netherlands. It was great to be around friends at these times. Now lets leap forward a few months to the ski trip to Austria, Salbach. It's like most ski trips are; some white cold stuff, some powder, some partying, hit some skiers that were in the way, some jumps, more skiers in the way, more partying and a lot of fun. I guess it was not really what I expected since there were more slopes that you could possibly ride on in one day. The the runs lasted for a really really long time. All in all a big thumbs up for the ski trip. This is me in the photo by the way, hitting the powder run. We had some really fresh snow at the beginning of the trip.

Time flies and somehow the days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months and when you look back at what you have done things sort of blur into each other. If you look back and say you should have worked more you are probably right, but if you look back and say you should have taken more time for yourself, then you are also probably right. Well I'm not perfect but I'm trying to have a balanced diet of activities.

One activity or adventure that I will remember for a long time to come is the ANZAC tour of Gallipoli in Turkey. I went with the Topdeck tour and spent four nights in Turkey, (Istanbul and Gallipoi). Here I was in a group of 45 Australians and Kiwis all in it for one reason, to remember the people who had fought in the war around ANZAC Cove. sleeping out under the stars at ANZAC Cove and listening to war stories is a chilling experience but one that is a keeper. Istanbul has its highlights all through the city and everyone will try and sell you everything you don't want everywhere. The trip had many things to see, but a trip is never really as special as the people who you are with and meet, and on this trip the whole group was cool. It made the trip so enjoyable.

This is me sleeping at ANZAC Cove with a few 1000 ANZAC

So what have I learnt so far?

Balance your life so you don't look back and say "I should have..."

Well Lots installed this Summer, Looking forward to it.

Doie

Where have I been

2010-08-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Norway. This is where I went for a summer holiday. It's funny because it was my second summer holiday and one of many this year. The trip started in the Netherlands (of course) and no the transportation was not a jet. It was a car so it took a while to get to Norway. The first and second night was spent in Lund Sweden. In Lund there was this wonderful water hole to swim in, best of all there were not many other people swimming in it. Was really one of the ones out of a film. Sweden was very nice, even got to spend some time in Malmo. The joys of freedom driving. After sweeden it was on to Goteborg and then over to Norway where the next night was spent in Tonsberg. One of the older cities in Norway. So nice to be back there and seeing friends. To bad it was so short but I will be back to Tonsberg sometime. The next day was again another long drive over to Bergen. But what a spectacular drive it is. It looks so much like NZ but different. The advice was to take road number 7. What road number 7 has to offer to to travelers is breath taking. The images in my mind will last a life time. In bergen the rain did not come down at all. The last time was perfect sun and this time also was perfect sun. Which is very nice since it may be one of the dampest cities in the world. Bergen is such a good place to visit and the people there just make the trip all so worth it. After Bergen the direction of the trip was to Stavanger. One night there and a good look around then back on the road to Kristiansand, with a short stop then a stones throw over the sea, the trip took a landing in Denmark. A night spent and an evening stroll. Kiel was the last night, in Germany before being back home.

What a great trip. Over the ten days over 3000 Km were clocked on the speedo and 26 was clocked on the number of friends visited. Traveling to see people is something you have to do, after all it the people you encounter on the way that make the trip a success.

The adventures continue, already there are cards on the table, places to be people to see.

Spain

2010-05-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

Went to Spain in the weekend and it just happend to be the biggest festival in 100 years.

This is what the main street of Madrid looks like covered in Blue carpet. Later that day there thousands of people watching the shows that were scattered all down the street. I really mean hundreds of thousands of people. The locals had never seen someone as tall as me either. Turns out being tall has a great advantage when in crowds.

On the extra day we got in Spain since the flight was cancelled back to Holland, we went to a small city just out of Madrid which is also a world heritage city. Well this is a stork bird. They make nests on top of churches and towers. The nest is the size of hay bails. Sometimes they even fall down. They even fly back with snakes in the beaks to eat.

What is interesting in Spain is the way people eat, which we joined in on. The food is more or less snack form and is eaten rather late. For most of our meals we would order a few little bite size snacks. After a few of these you would be good.

Crazy Spanish. Met these guys in a bar that we got told was our home by the bar tender. Anyway they were really call to hang out with and learn some Spanish from. There English wasn't very good but good enough for us to have fun. We were pretty much speaking Spanish after that night.

There are many busker's in Spain. I think it reflects the social economic of the country. They were sort of interesting from a distance. This guy didn't even own his own act. Some other greasy guy that was watching him from far owned his act and this guy only gets paid a commission. The greasy guy owned about four acts in the main square from what I could see.

So we did much more and saw so much in Madrid. It was such a great weekend. Very warm too, about 30 degrees. One high light was the Egyptian temple and seeing some real tombs.

What a time

2010-05-12T02:12:00.001-07:00

What a good time the past few weeks have been. Here is Paulien on the train heading for Utrecht. There we celebrated Queens day in the city center. Holland is full of crazy people and on these particular day the town closes the pubs open and everyone stands on the streets listening to the live bands all over the city.

This is the Giro Bike race which was on the 9th of May from Amsterdam to Utrecht. I was invited for lunch by work to watch the race. This was the front bunch that was 6 minutes infront of the group. There was one Dutch guy here who wanted to finish first but the others didn't want to help out so the pack ended up catching them.

Here is me at work. I put together and fix anything with bikes all types and sizes. Its a nice job to get me going and its a bit of fun too. I talk dutch to the customers and get to take home all the newest bikes to test them. At the moment I have a folding bike which you can take on the trains for free. I might buy it but still thinking about it. I even get hot chocolates brought to me at work by my boss.

Here is Queens day again. Also on this day is a free market, where anyone can sell anything. So the streets were filled with useless junk for sale.

Last week was Liberation day of Europe's greatest event. World War 2. We are watching the series Band of Brothers at the moment to remind us what this day means. I thinking about reading history books on this event so I can be in lightened a bit more of what happened. Then I will visit some of the places these big events took places.

Going to Spain this weekend. Woo Hoo.

Working and learning Dutch

2010-04-25T00:56:00.000-07:00

Well I have a job now. Its not an engineering job yet but I've made a start in the Netherlands. I am a bike mechanic in Bilthoven. It's a nice job and easy going. I mainly assemble new bikes out of their boxes and sometimes fix the odd problem of peoples bikes, like needing air in the tires or a seat that is loose. Apart from work I go to university where I attend a Dutch course, its in the morning at 9 so work gives me the time to leave for it. In the class I think I'm the only person who is learning there second language. Everyone else is learning there third or forth. The course is a good way to learn, having it 4 times a week for 2 hours each. This week I have to speak only Nederlands. So the week is pretty busy. I'm still having interviews for engineering companies and its still going slow.

This weekend we have been out to Utrecht for dinner with Pauliens year club which was nice to catch up with everyone. We have Emma a friend from NZ staying with us and today we are going to Pauliens work to have a tour of KPMG. So another big week coming up. Will have to work hard and talk more Dutch.

Tot Ziens

Still here doing my thing

2010-04-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Rotterdam

Hello everyone. Well there have been some pretty fun times here in the Netherlands. Ive been to Amsterdam a few times now and every time I go I see and do something new. There are so many bars and restaurants to choose from. Its very enjoyable to hang out and catch up with friends. Paulien and I were in Rotterdam just this weekend which was very nice, I even drove there and back. Anyway on this day the marathon was on so we got to see some of the worlds fastest marathon runners. there were not many dutch guys in the lead.

I've been looking for jobs still and have had a bit of luck as I have got my self a nice part time job fixing bicycles. The work is 13 Km away so I ride my bike. Its usually my mountain bike I ride but the owner of the store lent me a Nice light carbon fiber road bike so getting to and from work is quite fast. Not to mention it was fast anyway since the roads are all flat.

I have some opportunities coming up now. I am enrolled at the University of Utrecht for learning dutch. So will be talking more dutch. Its helpful at the bike shop since everyone is speaking dutch.

Pauliens birthday this Saturday so we are having a party. I have to make a cake and prepare some things but I can't say what. In fact I'm not really sure myself.

Looking for a Job

2010-03-25T01:33:00.000-07:00

Looking for a job is like a full time job. There is so much you can and should do to get your ideal job. Just sending a CV to a company doesn't work anymore because thats what everyone does and taking no for an answer doesn't work either because that doesn't get you in the door, does it! What gets you in is being assertive and explaining why you fit the job description in a way they want to hear. That maybe the hard part, having to change what you say and write in order to sell similar experience from what the company does. For example, you could go on about how you worked at a burger factory for three years and explain all the details of bread, but the cheese factory you are applying for want to hear about your experience with cheese. So picking out your experiences to suit the company is important. Lucky for me there are a lot of people around to help. Being clear and tough is another point. This is done by setting times and dates, getting names of people you talked to and saying exactly what you want. If its a job you want and you want a meeting, well say that. To often its just your very interesting but we are not hiring at the moment. So more to do to day. People to talk to and hopefully people soon to see.

Living in the Netherlands

2010-03-18T03:43:00.000-07:00

Oh this me in the suit I always wanted!

Well its been a good week. It started off in Oostende, Belgium at the end of last week for a quick get away. Its a nice town full of bars and restaurants, the beach is right there but is freezing cold. We took a trip to Brugge as well. Its a very nice town. It old but has a fancy look to it. Good beer in Belgium I'll give them that. Back in NL I attended a Careers event to give me direction on what I want to do with my time. Sunday and Monday I had a nice time in Eindhoven with Sjoerd and Irene.

Back in Baarn I found the mountain bike track. Its about 11 Km long and has the terrain like the Pukete track in Hamilton. I'm hoping to find some other people to go mountain biking with so I'm not all alone in the woods. I'm going to Amsterdam again tomorrow, so will be fun to see a bit more of the big city. Paulien's Been in France the last few days, she should be back sometime today.

2010-03-06T05:38:00.000-08:00

Last weekend in Utrecht watching a statue being moved! A heavy one! It took two mammoth cranes and a whole day.

Well another week has pasted and the whether is slowly changing (getting warmer). I have been a busy person trying to find a career for myself and learn dutch as well. It's all going nicely and today I got a bank account so I'm all sorted now. Paulien and I went to Ikea on Wednesday to get some furnisher. That was an experience. Its a mega store for everything in your home. You can even have dinner there. The next day I assembled everything, yes everything comes as a kit-set. Next week it's over to Belgium for a small holiday and I,m hopping to get some chocolate there too. More to tell but off to watch some Volleyball.

A Busy Week

2010-02-27T00:36:00.000-08:00

This is me eating haring, it's raw fish. I went to the Anne Frank Huis later.

What a busy week it has been. They have good public transport here in The Netherlands and Ive used it everyday to trip around the country for meetings, see friends, go to career expos and to get home. Well I'm working hard at getting a job, it's like a full time job trying to get one, with all the emailing phoning and making meetings. It's just a matter of time before I'm stepping in the door of a company to have a chat. Thats the next stage.

Well I'm of to Utrecth now with Fons (Pauliens Dad) to see the Rabo bank building that he is in charge of being built.

2010-02-22T01:13:00.000-08:00

This is a new wind mill that mills flower. Thats Pam.

This is inside the wind mill. We are looking at the grinding stone housing.

Liz, Me, Paulien and Pam being cool!

This is having a good time at carnival.

This is also a good time.

What a week. It started off last weekend in Oeteldonk with carnival which was one big party with one whole town. we all dress up in the town colours and dance to some great Dutch music.

On Monday Pam turned up at the Baarn station where I was waiting. We had a fun time touring the streets of Utrecth and Amsterdam. On the way I got more Paper work done, which is an on going process to live and work in The Netherlands. Liz came on Friday and on the Saturday we went on a Dutch adventure to a mind mill in the area and to a Porffertje cafe which are mini pancakes. Then in the evening we had a Kiwi BBQ. I cooked outside in the cold. It was worth it though. The Kanes left on Sunday and I picked up my bike, if only it was that easy. I had to go to three offices and take numerous amounts of paper before I could actually get my bike. Got it now though. Today Monday, more paper work to do, but that should just about be the end of that. Well fun times in The Netherlands.

Doei.

The Netherlands

2010-02-12T11:58:00.000-08:00

The back yard

A Dutch dinner

On Tuesday morning Europe time I arrived in the Netherlands where i was greeted by Paulien and her family. It was a great relief to be off the plane and on some firm ground. The first week has been good but a little different as there are many things that I have to get use to. For instance they speak Dutch here, so I got some children's books out from the library and have been learning as fast as I can. The temperature is very cold here too, thats something to get use to. This weekend we have carnival Den Boosch which is big party, but I'm going to find out more. Pamela my sister is coming over on Monday and Liz my cousin is coming over next Friday. So many things to do. Will be on the hunt for an Engineering job next week too. ok so far so good. Oh and I got a hair cut, it's short.

Last day in New Zealand

2010-02-06T19:10:00.000-08:00

Well its been a fantastic week catching up with friends and a good last day helping Dad build a deck. This week my adventures had me going to one of the biggest concerts in NZ ever, AC/DC. It was a blast, it couldn't have been better. Well worth the trip up to Auckland. It was even better being able to hang out with my cousin mark. So anyway this is it, I'm leaving tomorrow to live in Holland. It's the start of a new beginning. I'm moving out of home, I going to find a new job, I'm going to learn a new language, Meet new friends, Catch up with old friends, probably one thing that wont change is that I'll continue to have fun where ever I am and share it on this blog each week.

So see you in The Netherlands.

Rage Against the Machine for Christmas

2009-12-18T22:59:00.000-08:00

The time has come to bust thought the strong hold of the music lords that manufactured Pop.
Reunited for a special interview and live performance on the BBC 5 morning show to topple the X Factor monopoly. The X Factor is a song written by a group of overpaid song writers. Rage Against the Machine is competing for the number one position this Christmas with their song " Killing in the name of" in a bid to take back the charts from the music lords that monopolise the industry. Rage wrote the song in the slum of Los Angeles and it reflexes some of the tensions people are feeling. Its a liberating revolution and there is going to be a break in the chain of control.

More at http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/rage-against-the-machine-perform-killing-in-the-name-uncensored-230139

End of November

2009-11-27T23:04:00.000-08:00

Well its been a long hard year but its all paid off. My research went so well I published my findings in the ENZ conference. Last week I was in Dunedin giving a presentation on the slot cars I have been working with all year. This week I finished my 400 hours at Gallaghers Research and Development. I learnt a lot there and also was able to contribute to the company with experiments that will advance some of the products on the manufacturing line there.
I have joint a gym over the river so have also been keeping up a health routine there. So whats the plan from here? This week I start on my placement report for Gallaghers. Then I guess I have a bit of a Holiday at the beach, surfing and relaxing in the sun.
I am getting very excited about February coming up and getting organised for my move to The Netherlands. I always thought I'd take off somewhere and live an adventure, so this is it. The opportunities that lay are in front of me are endless, I just have to grab them. Well looking into jobs now.

Have fun.

Artificial Intelligence in Slot Cars

2009-10-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5FI-cyGsBg

This project involved programming a PIC16f684 micro processor to learn a slot car track by reading barcodes and then racing the track to the full potential. I succeeded at doing this and am finishing off my reports and presentations on my findings. There is an engineering day on the 21st of October and my slot car track and prototype will be on display. From what it sounds like, its going to be the feature display on the day.

Check out the small video I made on you tube. Hopefully you can understand the difficuilty on this project. the silver Ferrari is driven by a human and the other car is my A.I. car. If your wondering if there is magnets in the car, there is not. The project is about skill. being able to push the accelleration and braking speeds to a limit.

Any Questions Im happy to answer.

Oh and these are not toys!

2009-08-15T23:33:00.000-07:00

Well the days are getting longer and the end is getting closer. The end of university that is. Two months left and lots to be done. The artificial intelligent cars are flying around the track and the report is on its way. I'm finding a small amount of spare time to go skiing.
I've got the summer in NZ and then in February I'm off to live in Holland. Exciting times to come. But right now some hard work.

The Dutch

2009-07-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Netherlands

2009-06-29T01:09:00.000-07:00

Well it was a great long flight to Netherlands. But when I got there Paulien was waiting. The weather is very nice here and the place Im staying is big with lots of rooms. We are having a party this Sunday so can't wait for that. Went out with all Pauliens family on saturday. was a great day out and was able to see some very nice little villages. The pictures are comming.
Got a day to myself now so going to make the most of it.

Doei.

First Objectives Met

2009-06-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

Going for a holiday in Netherlands today. Just first have to do an exam.
Thanks for the great semmester. It was one of the most exciting. They just keep getting better. Well, they're are some good times to be had.
Ill keep you posted on my travels.

Study Break

2009-06-12T04:16:00.000-07:00

Great trip to the beach and to the woods.

Boat day

2009-06-09T01:28:00.001-07:00

The greatest Engineering day the Waikato University put on.
My boat got second on the day. SECOND, again, I know. First place win come.
Thanks for everyone who made this day fun.

Toilet Paper Lego Race

2009-06-04T01:55:00.000-07:00

Team France

Arvin

Amelie

5 + 1 Team

Stat Man was there

5++ Team

Phillip

Steve's Robot (Raging Mechatronics)

What a great day. Hope the pictures tell the story. Well Philip won the day with his slightly faster robot. Well done. Its been a great semmester with the 5++ electronics team (seen in the group photo), Amelie, Arvin, Shane, Rafeal, Cameron, Steve, Philip.
Its been very encouraging / motivating working with these people who strive for excellence, I'm sure some rubbed off on me.
Well great times.
Thats Amelie and Arvin in the paper by the way.
Oh and anyone want some toilet paper. Un rolled of course.
Boat day tomorrow.

Race Day is Comming

2009-05-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

The Beast II

The pirate boat of 2009. To be raced in the open class this Friday. This is ready for war.
I built this from a polystyrene mould which was plastic formed.
The motor is out of a remote control car. The inspection port is from Mums kitchen, the rest is classified.

The opposition:

The Bath Tub

Still a work in progress. Can the bath tub beat the defending champ, "The Beast II". The beast from last year was powered by a methanol engine. It won the race then turned on the opposition for the worst. Some boats did not finish as they were struck by the beast.

The Beast
2008 Beast team. The methanol Fan boat. Built by a team with power on there mind. Again in 2009 the power is there, Raging against the machine.

Who will win?
Find out, not too long now. Its going to be a show down.
Still more teams to show. The pirate team will be waiting.

Hard Work

2009-05-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Pretty big week this week just gone. Didn't even have lunch breaks. Spent most of the days in the Large Scale Lab finishing a big Mechatronics project. Friday night I finally completed in, shut the power down and went home for the weekend.
The next project is making a Lego robot the measures the length of paper. Very exciting. This weekend Ive been preparing a boat hull for the great race. Last year was great, just thinking about it makes me want to go on about it, but I wont.
14th August. Steve Kane will defend his title.
See you at the SHOW DOWN.

Uni Games 09

2009-05-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

Cousin Jeremy and I.

Bendik before the down hill race.

The Mountain biking Team

The Games started on April 14th 2009 in Taranaki with the opening ceremony. The cross country race was on Friday, the down hill race was on Thursday, which left Wednesday for training. The weather was warm and the feeling of being in the outdoors was amazing.
The down hill race was fun and exciting. The speed which you reach before corners gives you a rush. I did have trouble staying on my bike, but considering the bike I had I thought I did ok. My final run I achieved a time of 1:20 minutes. Put me in the middle of the field.
The cross country race was three 12 Km laps making 35 Km. This was a very hot and dusty track. I did my best against the elite group of competitors, but again finished in mid field.
This will be my last Uni games for a while, I have made a decision that I will be leaving University at the end of the year to pursue a career in the field I have been studying.
The Uni games closing part was great and the people were fun to hang out with.
Thanks for the great time.

Tongariro

2009-03-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

What a weekend. Another best weekend ever.

The sun was shining and the views were amazing, on the trip down to the mountain that is. We stayed at a school camp very close to the start of the walk. It brought back some memories.

On the Saturday the team and I were up at 6am. The weather had turned to the dark side but we pushed on to the start of the walk. The walk took 4 hours and for the whole time we were in cloud, unable to see anything, probably lucky that we could not see the shear cliffs that lurked beside us. The wind blew strong in the direction that favoured our gradual decent to the finish line where our ride home awaited.

The hot pools were thoughts that came true on our journey back to Hamilton that afternoon. Bathing in the natural springs were great to relax after a walk in the park. The day ended with partying in town. I couldn’t imagine fitting much more into a day but I’m sure I will in times to come.

Rotorua Down Hill

2009-03-24T02:42:00.000-07:00

Bendik and I had a great adventure to the Red Woods on saturday.
It didn't matter which direction I biked it was steep one way or the other. Bendik caught the bus to the top of the track as I followed it madly behind. Going down following Bendik was a rush, especially doing a steep drop off. I always think you should do one thing every day that scares you. This should be enough to cover the week then.
Uni has been going well. Im getting started on my project.
Sunday was a nice day for sitting in the sun and eating home made Pizza. All up it seemed to be a nice relaxing weekend, even though I biked for 5 hours.

Colvill

2009-03-18T02:02:00.000-07:00

The day before race day. From left; Racer, Mechanic, Water Girl, Media Man and Team Manager.

The trip to the camp site in Papa Aroha was amazing and the word "beautiful" was richoceting from the walls of the van. The tents were constructed and territory was claimed. Eating well, before a race is the key to success, so bring on the hot dogs. More to the point having good sleep is the the key to success. Fortunately the team had deflating air beds. The trick was when one goes down hop on to the next.

Race day...

It started out on a dirty road, the hills were big and the wind blew strong. The upside of the race is that there were some very good views and dolphins along the way. The down side was that I had grit in my mouth most the time and parts wear out quickly in wet, muddy conditions. Finishing the race it was so nice to have the team waiting for me back after a long 3.59.54 hour expedition. Thanks team for helping me out.

Day after the team hit the 309. A famous road where everything is happening, well so they say. Were great views and sites.

The best weekend ever (again) comes to mind when thinking about the weekend.