STAN'S BLOGS

You think our sales tax is high at 7.75%, how about the 19% I'm paying here in Alkmaar. The tax is levied on all general goods at the rate of 19%. A lower rate of 6% applies for certain goods and services, such as food products, books, medicines, art, antiques, entry to museums, zoos, theaters and sports. The Netherlands has one of the highest tax rates in the world, with income tax and new automobile sales taxes topping out around 52%. But this country also has one of the highest standards of living: employers pay for workers' transportation costs, usually give employees an extra month of wages at the end of a year, and you get a minimum of 25 days paid vacation. Then there are extra days off based on your age. I'm eligible for 3 extra days. Getting older is finally paying off, ha! Most streets here are paved in brick; each brick placed on edge in a bed of fine sand, this same sand covering the entire country. In small towns, like I where I live, homes are built right up t

I've heard from friends at Plymouth Gardens (this is the apartment building where I was living in Rochester, NY) about them receiving the computers I had promised. Months before I left, I had been working with Time-Warner Cable to have two decrepit computers in their activities room replaced. The company's Internet Technology department finally said they would do it, but not until fall. Well, the other day they delivered two, brand new "Dell OptiPlex 745" systems with Windows XP Professional installed and cabled Internet. No kidding! Mom asked me what I saw in the sky here. I have a skylight over my bed, so I can look up at night and see stars. That is on a clear night, of which we don’t have many of here, ha! One interesting thing, though, is that looking out my rear view, which is a large floor to ceiling patio door/window set, on any overcast night, there is a very bright, orangish glow across the northern horizon. I wasn’t able to figure out what this ominous pres