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Tanak's scribbles and thoughts

Twenty-second of June 2020, 22-06-2020.

The last couple of decades, any time a music genre made it to the Dutch news, 99 out of a 100 times it was about EDM. Dutch DJ's are among the very best in the world and they generate enormous amounts of money. There are, in any normal year, around 500 festivals in The Netherlands alone dedicated to all styles within EDM. And most years of the last 2 decades a Dutch DJ was voted best DJ in the world. Names like Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Hardwell & Martin Garrix are known all over the world.

But, since this year isn't a normal year, another music genre, and more precise its fans make it into the Dutch news. And to me it's a very unlikely genre, K-Pop. The Korean style of popmusic. They have a very solid fan-base and those guys and girls are making the news for hijacking the social media of the far right.
Every time a far right politician wants to go against what is going on in society at the moment, the fanbase of K-Pop bombards their social media and basically covers the original message with counter messages.

As most of you will be aware of, the president of the USA held his first rally in 100 days, at a very controversial location. And in the week leading up to Saturday's rally, his campaign-team proudly put on Twitter that there had been somewhere between 800,000 and 1 million requests for tickets. They were so proud that it would be the biggest attendance ever, that they didn't really look where the applications for tickets came from. Tons of teenage kids, all grouped around the fanbase of K-pop, made hundreds and hundreds of applications, driving the RSVP-number up, but in the end, only 13,000 people actually came. It also meant that a second speech which was planned to be held outside, was scrapped, because the venue where the rally was held can hold 19,000. A lot of empty seats and that must've been a shock to the system for Trump.

Those people actually attending, had to sign a waiver, that if they got infected with COVID-19, they wouldn't hold Trump and his team responsible. And guess what? Six members of Trump's organization committee, for the rally, have now tested positive for the virus. Kind of ironic, if you ask me.
 
Twenty-third of June 2020, 23-06-2020.

For the first time in several months I've been to go have a viewing at an apartment. The way things are here is completely different than what many of you will be used to. I have mentioned that before, but for new readers I'll repeat it.
All available housing is advertized on one website and potential buyers can make an appointment for a viewing. In normal, non-corona times, there'll be a few walk-in moments, but during these strange times a time is set. And you have to be quick to make such an appointment. For the apartment I went to view this morning over 3,200 people have viewed it on the aforementioned website.

The one I went to see earlier looks fabulous, nothing has to be done about it, I could move in right this instant. But there's the problem. There is a certain asking price, and everyone who has been to view the apartment can make an offer. But with the crazy market as is in Eindhoven, offering *under* the asking price is a guaranteed 'you're not getting it'. It depends on the state of a certain place where to go with your offer, I am thinking that for this one I have to go at least 10% above the asking price, if not more.

Because of Brainport region Eindhoven, a hell of a lot of expats, from all over the world are wanted to come work here. Companies like Philips and ASML (to name the biggest two) have need of many high-tech people from every corner of the globe and those people need housing too. And with their salaries, they drive up the price for housing. For the city and the diversity of the population, I welcome them all, if they would only commute (I know it's not possible, but it would improve my chances on getting something).

I have until next week Friday midday to make an offer, so I can think about it for a bit. And if I am going to be successful I'll be posting it here as well.
 
Twenty-fourth of June 2020, 24-06-2020.

Last night the newest releasing measures for The Netherlands were leaked to the press. Or rather, they were sort of announced in a fashion that 'this is what's coming tomorrow in our press-conference'. And on the face of it, the whole country is going to reopen in full, with the one rule that always a distance of 5 feet needs to be adhered to. There will be no more limits on people attending venues or festivals, if an intensive triage can be held. If that isn't possible, there will be maximums, 100 people inside and 250 outside.
BUT, at all times, no matter where, the 5 feet distance is mandatory. For instance, PSV has a capacity of 35,000, and with the mandatory 5 feet, they could get some 6,000 fans in. Because not only will they have to keep the distance inside the ground, also upon entering and leaving. And there'll be no singing or shouting. To me that basically means you'll become an arm-chair fan, inside the ground, watching something as if you're at the opera or a classical music concert, having to be quiet at all time. It's much better to keep the ground locked and watch in a bar, where the rule of no singing doesn't count.

I think it's all going way too fast, this reopening business, but, and that's the biggest problem, people are sick and tired of the whole situation. And although it's not been said or investigated, I think that a lot of people have the opinion that they've not become ill so far, so they won't ever catch the virus.
Sort of like Novak Djokovic, the tennis-player. He's Serbian and his government had given the all clear for a tennis tournament, indoors, with fans. Djokovic invited a few players who could travel and they had a fun time, even going clubbing one night and taking selfies with fans. It really was a stupid move, because Dojokovic and a couple of other players taking part have now contracted the virus and it puts the whole restart of tennis in doubt.
A similar thing happened in golf, at the US PGA tour. Those guys thought they were invincible, up to the moment that one of them contracted the virus.

The daily number of infected people is getting higher and higher, mainly due to four countries, Russia, Brazil, India and the US. And it will be people from those four countries that will not be granted access into the EU, when measures are eased out here. Just because their governments are not taking the right steps to try to halt the spread of the virus.
Last night, a judge in Brazil ordered Bolsanero to always wear a facial mask outdoors, and every time he fails to do so, he is fined nearly 400 dollar. Can anyone see that happening with a judge in the USA? Doing that to Trump?

Anyway, my 'fun and freedom' is over. Gone are the days I could roam the streets freely, for I was almost the only one, doing my daily walks. Nowadays I really need to slalom my way through the throngs of people who don't seem to care at all. And while I don't care what they do to themselves, it means that I can't do the things I did anymore. And I will remain inside a lot more. So be it, I just want to live until I'm 100 and that's still 47 years and a few days.
 
Twenty-fifth of June 2020, 25-02-2020..

For the past nearly four years I've rented an (attic) apartment very close to the city center. In fact, it is so close, that if I would get totally wasted and crawl home, it would take me about 15 minutes. I have two rooms, both pretty large, making it difficult to size down into a smaller apartment, which is newer. The biggest problem I have in my current place, is that all my walls are slanted, for they are the roof of the house, in both my bedroom as my living room. I can't put up a book-case nor can I hang any of the paintings I own. Not to speak about the 900 or so elephants I have as well.

A smaller apartment, square meters-wise, would cause me problems with the stuff I currently have put up. Bed, kitchen table, sofa, coffee table. Basically the bare minimum. And while I have to be creative about my books (I have a couple of thousand of those), some of them are on the two deconstructed bookcases, using the planks and sides as book-shelves, I have plenty of space to move around and do other fun things.

M living-room is at the back of my apartment and has a large window facing east. My bedroom has a very small window, facing south. The way they face has as big advantage that I don't get the full sun (when it is at its hottest) in my living room, but I can see it rise early morning. I have mentioned here before that I am not one of the best sleepers, I usually wake up a couple of times in the night, for no apparent reasons, and sometimes I get up just to get a glass of water or something like that.

Especially at clear nights, like we are having now (it is very warm here as well, but that aside), it's a fabulous sight to see the first rays of sun at the horizon. You know that in an x-amount of time it will peep up over the high-rises and other houses, but roughly from four am to close to six am, it is only a yellow/orange glow in the far distance. I often wonder what the view must be like from one of the high-rises in my focal point, nearly 100 meters up in the air. I know, it's not tall or large for many of you, but for us it's quite something. We are, after all, quite a small city compared to the real world, with a little over 200,000 inhabitants.

It's not going to be something I'll ever find out, unless I meet someone living there, who will invite me in. The prices of those apartments are far beyond my reach, starting around half a million euro. And if I succeed with the offer I am going to put in for the apartment I've been to watch the other day (see my entry of two days ago), my whole view will be different. I can still see most of the things I am able to see now, but from a different angle, only the rise of the sun in the mornings will be the same. No matter where you live, that stays the same. Always.
 
Twenty-sixth of June 2020, 26-06-2020.

I have no idea how people cope with this heat. And I'm 'lucky', because there's a bit of a breeze, making it barely bearable. But only just. Even luckier, tonight they're expecting thunder and rain, so it hopefully will cool down. In the forecast there's cooler temperatures, much more suitable for my location. Because constant temperatures more common to Spain and southern France shouldn't be getting common here. So yeah, I don't know how people do it.

And really, it's too bloody hot to write more.
 
Twenty-seventh of June 2020, 27-06-2020

In several European countries football competitions have restarted and in some Nordic countries they have just started. In fact, there are only four countries in Europe where the 2019/2020 competition has been stopped. France, Scotland, Belgium and The Netherlands and in those four countries the national FA's have decided who is going to play in Europe next season and who, if anyone, is going to be relegated. In France, Scotland and The Netherlands, that process was relatively simple and straightforward, even though you'll always have clubs unhappy about the process. Belgium is like the country, a total mess. They were the first ones in Europe to put a definitive halt to the current competition, but still haven't decided what will happen next seson. I believe that at the moment, as I write this, no less than 8 different court cases are hanging over next season. From licences granted to European places given and even whether or not the 30th (and last) round of matches should still be played.

Germany was the first country to resume its top three flights, the professional ones. In England both Premier League and Championship (in old money the highest two divisions) have started, third and fourth tier have been halted, but only play offs will be played. And Italy and Spain have resumed too.
Together with France, those four are seen as the big five countries in Europe. Most money goes around in the competitions and television contracts are highest.

Take for instance the Dutch top flight, Eredivisie. We have a TV deal with Fox for 10 years, worth around 1 billion euro. So, 100 million a year, money that is to be divided between the 18 clubs in the top flight.
The English Premier League has a TV deal worth over 3 billion euro a year. And of course, the best players are in the Premier League and it's the biggest competition, England is a bigger country. All true. But the English Championship, the second tier, has a TV deal for 1 billion euro a year. The second tier!

There is only one reason why Germany, Spain, Italy and England have restarted their competitions. Money. The broadcasters showing English Premier League football threatened to not pay the last tranch for this year, some 750 million euro if the competition had been halted. In other words, health was not as important as football.
It's a good thing that here in western Europe the virus is on the decline, amounts are getting lower and lower by the day and we seem (emphasized) to have it relatively under control.

I get to see a lot of football now, a lot more as before. And I prefer German football. For they don't do the stupid thing they do in the other three countries, computerized stadium sounds, which sounds absolutely ridiculous.


PS. Totally nothing to do with this, but today is my son's 8th birthday. And I hope he'll have a fabulous day. Since he lives in another country, one with very strict restrictions I cannot visit him.
 
Twenty-eighth of June 2020, 28-06-2020.

After a period of very hot weather, today has started cloudy and mild. I'm actually quite glad about that, after we had some heavy thunderstorms on Friday-evening, I've had two decent nights of sleep, which is rather unusual for me. So, who knows, perhaps I can go on sleeping like this (I don't think so, it's more a matter of whishful thinking).

The coming week, the week starting tomorrow, has always been and will always be a special week for me. My godmother has her birthday and wedding anniversary and I have my birthday. In a normal year, a non-leapyear, my birthday is on a very special day, for it is on the middlest day of the year. 182 days have passed and 182 days are still to come, my birthday the 365th day. It's not so difficult anymore, for it's any of the 7 upcoming days, but if you're in company, just ask the people around you what the middlest day of the year is and barely anyone will come up with the right answer.
When people start calculating they tend to forget February has only 28 days. So June 30th cannot be the middle and before even less. It has also always surprised me how many people there are who have to think about the number of days a month has.

Apart from February (which has 28 or 29 days), every month has 30 or 31. Form a fist from one of your hands and look at the knuckles on top of the fist. The knuckles are 31 days, the bumps in between 30. And you start from left to right on your right hand, or from right to left on your left hand. Done.

Had it been a virus-free year, my godmother and her husband would have given a really big party, for it's their golden wedding anniversary. The first on my mum's side of the family (my aunt is a sister of my mother) in *any* generation as far back as is possible to go. Which isn't very far, for my mum's great-grandfather was an illegit child, or a bastard as it was still called in the late 19th century. In our family it's not known who his father was and he took the last name of the man that his mother married when he was 10 years old.

Lineage is a different matter on my (late) father's side of the family. It has been traced back to the early 13th century and I know who the first person with that last name was. And because I have a son, I am the oldest male of my generation in the family with a son (I have older cousins, but they are either female or have girls), the name is secured for at least one generation more. Nearly 800 years and running. It's not a unique feat, and despite the fact that I have no contact with anyone on that side, it fills me with a bit of pride that I am the one who has made sure the name stays around.
 
Twenty-ninth of June 2020, 29-06-2020

For months I haven't had any commitments, nothing in my agenda of things to do, all for the obvious reasons. But this week, as I wrote yesterday, was going to be busy and now even the Wednesday is booked in the morning as well. Unexpected, for the visit to Belgium needs another trip. Something IT went wrong, so I need to go back.
It's a change from doing nothing to having something planned four mornings in a row.

My entries this week will be short, I think, there is something I want to write, about the development of the virus in the US, but I need to think a little more about the wording of that piece. So perhaps tomorrow, or Wednesday, in the afternoon. I'm not sure yet.
 
Thirtieth of June 2020, 30-06-2020.

Tomorrow will mark be the first day of the rest of the year. That goes of course for every day following 'today', but for The Netherlands July 1st is the start of releasing a lot more of the restraining measures. Just about everything will be allowed again, on the condition that 5 feet distance is being taken into account. No ifs, no buts. If the 5 feet isn't possible, something isn't allowed to take place.
And just as here, in a lot of other European countries, it seems that we've got a way to deal with the current world. Newly infections are drastically down, to a few hundred for the biggest countries and under ten for The Netherlands. The UK is an exception, where new daily cases still are over a thousand. They still will release a lot of the measures, slowly going out of the lockdown, with the exception of the city of Leicester, where in the east of the city there has been a spike in the amount of infections.

It's a different matter on the other side of the Atlantic, the Americas are seeing record daily infections day after day. But, as news works, we here things about Brazil and the US most. Nothing against a country like Ecuador or Bolivia, but they're just not *that* interesting enough. It's the same in Europe, we don't hear much about countries like Switzerland or Bulgaria, to name two, unless something really terrible (or good) happens.

Even Brazil isn't currently in the news a lot over here, we all know it's going terribly wrong there, but as long Bolsanero thinks it's just another flu and acts like it, not much drastic will change.

The last couple of weeks saw a lot of the lockdown measures being lifted in the US, especially in southern states. And it's those states that are seeing scary rises in the amount of new infections. Trump has suggested (whether it was a joke or not I don't know) to test less, because or so he has said the new rise in infections is only because we test more than anyone in the world. It could be true, it's not what I hear from various experts from various countries in various articles in various languages. It's funny, if they all say one thing, and one other person says something else, I'm more on the side of the bigger group.

There are several states where the number seems to be going up sky-high. Florida, Texas, Arizona, South-Carolina. Those four states keep coming up. Record numbers day after day. And even though I've got barely any business with people in the US, it worries me. But that's just me.
 
First of July 2020, 01-07-2020

I suddenly realized I hadn't written anything today. Earlier, on yet another trip abroad, the same abroad as on Monday, I was thinking, while driving in horrendous rain, that it was quite typical that on the first day of July the weather turned terrible and wet. It made me think about the summer of 1996, when I had moved to Eindhoven again, but worked in a small town a little north. And since I didn't own a car, I had to use public transport. Meaning I had to get up early to get the bus north from Monday to Friday and didn't get home until early in the evening. And every Friday going home, I would look forward to the weekend ahead, not having to work or travel.

But that summer was a dirty rotten one. From Monday to Friday it was fabulous weather, sunny and warm and literally every Saturday morning that summer it started raining, to not finish until Monday very early morning, meaning when I was on the bus north again, the sun was out and it was too warm to really do anything. Nine, ten weeks in a row, beautiful weather during the work-week, raining in the weekends. And it was annoying to the max.

And while I was driving abroad today, as I said on Monday, to Belgium, with all that rain I had, I hoped it wouldn't last beyond today. At least not tomorrow. Tomorrow I don't want rain. You'll see why, tomorrow. (As the forecast says now, it will remain sunny for the next ten days).

One last thing about the 'abroad', Belgium is abroad for me, it's a foreign country. Not that I need a passport to travel there, for several countries in the EU have an agreement, called the Schengen-agreement, that allows citizens of those countries to travel freely to and from those countries. But where Belgium is abroad, it's much closer to me as, Amsterdam for instance. From Eindhoven to Neerpelt and back, is not even halfway the distance from Eindhoven to Amsterdam.

There's a whole story to tell about borders, especially those between The Netherlands and Belgium, but that's for another time.
 
Second of July 2020, 02-07-2020

Today is my birthday. Fifty-three years ago, on Sunday the second of July 1967, at 10.45 in the morning I was born. It was a very hot day, or so the newspapers of the following day tell me. My parents had a 25th wedding anniversary the night before and stayed up very late, for it was a good party. Or so I am being told. I was born at home, which was pretty much the norm in The Netherlands in those days. Even now, home-birth isn't seen as something strange or weird over here.

Around 8 or 9, I am not sure about that, I started knocking at the door, so to speak, and at 10.45, coffee time, I was thirsty, so thought it best to pop out. In a matter of minutes, easy-peasy.

How different that was when my son was born, 8 years ago. First of all, he was 2 weeks overdue, and the hospital was on the verge of starting the inducing process. We had gone to the hospital on Monday, and nothing really happened, so we could go again, to return on Tuesday. And still nothing much happened, right up to 9pm at night, when they did a last check on how many centimeters my (now ex-)wife was diluted. And then it went both fast and not. She got to the necessary 10 centimeters in a matter of minutes, but it took our son another 5 hours to find the exit.

He turned 8 on Saturday and my family says he looks like me, at that age, which is lovely to hear. But since he lives in another country, with my ex-wife, I am not as close to him as I could wish for. Corona got in the way, for one. But my ex has a new man in her life too. Not that he's pretending to be my son's dad, totally not. He's a good man, he is much better for her than I could ever have been. Life flows as it does, we all take decisions when we think they are the right ones, and in hindsight it's really easy talking. But he does more than very well, he aces at school, he's a good performer, he makes youtube videos, the stage is his natural habitat (I have NO idea where he gets it from). He's creative and funny.

And above all, he's tall! Which is just fun. Living in the UK, a country of dwarfs, he will tower over them.
 
Third of July 2020, 03-07-2020

This weekend the Formula 1 season starts. Without fans, but motor-sports for me isn't really a sports to watch on a circuit. Not the ones we have here. The big ovals they have in the US are better to watch it there, because I *think* (I am not sure, for I never been in one) you can see the whole race from wherever you are seated (or standing). But with the lengthy tracks we have here (and in the rest of the world), it's much better to follow a race on TV.

There was going to be a Formula 1 race in The Netherlands again, for the first time in decades, but because of corona that's postponed to next year (hopeffully). But as I can watch all the races on one of the channels I have on my TV (as is known I don't have a lot) I'll be covered for a few hours each day.
 
Fourth of July 2020, 04-07-2020,

It's nearly one am here, on Saturday the fourth of July.

And I have to say, US o A, you fucked up. Majorly. Most of you thought that what happene in New York and Jersey and Penn was a hoax, as Trump said it was. Well, look again. It spikes massively, 10L a day in Florida, New infections that is, The same numbers in Cali and texas an SC. Happy now?

Fourth of July, the day of what? Overe here we have 2 or 3 new infections a day, But who are we? A small country, compared to Trumps US of A

I'm not going to write what I have in mind, you know all you fucked up.


EDIT I felt when I came home from an evening of drinking that I had to write this. I want to emphasize that I am not directing this at anyone individually, but to the country as a whole and then mainly those in power. If anyone feels I have personally 'attacked' them, I do apologize for that. I'm sure you're all trying to do the best you can and I trust that everybody that I personally know (here, in real life) also does the best they can do. We're going to get through this, but until then it's going to be a lot harder as many of us expected. Just stay safe.
 
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Fifth of July 2020, 05-07-2020,

There was a news article the other day in the Dutch news that several 'close-contact' companies, hair-dressers, visagists, beauty- and nail-salons, are imposing a corona-surcharge on their bill. A surcharge in the region of 2 to 5 euro, to make up for their losses in income over the past couple of months. As if their customers were to blame for the closure. I don't have to pay a lot for my hairdresser, 16 euro, which is pretty cheap around here.
There's also some bars and pubs who have upped the prices of their drinks, right upon reopening. And ten or twenty eurocents per pint doesn't seem much, but again it's ridiculous that it's happening.

Because, how unfair is it to put your prices up? How unfriendly can you be towards your customers. Almost all companies in The Netherlands were entitled to some form of compensation by the government, not just by money being given in loans, but also their tax-returns being pushed forward (or backwards, depending on how you perceive time). Instead of having to fill in the tax return by the 1st of April, the date was brought to the 1st of July. And now that The Netherlands is all but reopened, only nightclubs and disco's are still shut, some companies think to punish their customers, because something outside of everyone's control forced them to shut down.

In the long run, those companies will not survive. Customers aren't stupid, a lot of people will have had a need for their usual hairdresser, for instance, to cut their hair, but customers will punish them. We're all in this together and we all need to do this together to get out of it.
 
Sixth of July 2020, 06-07-2020

Aged 91, the Italian composer Ennio Morricone has died today. A very respectable age, but it seems that a fall has been the cause of his death. He needs no introduction, to me it's hard to believe there will be people who have never heard of him or have heard some of his music.

And so, as a tribute to what is to me the biggest and best film-composer of all time, a Youtube clip with all his best Western music:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZqZ3is9tpk
 
Seventh of July 2020, 07-07-2020.

Bolsanero, you know, the President of Brazil, has symptoms of Covid19. He has a fever and some other unmentioned things. And I cannot help but find that highly ironic. Right from the start of the pandemic he's said it's just a flu, or just another flu, and has literally done nothing to try to prevent the spread in Brazil, with all consequences. Death-toll is high, as is the number of infected people. But all the while, he's been holding mass gatherings, without protecting himself or others. And now it seems very likely that he's got it himself.

I've heard, from several accounts, that it is a horrible disease. That instead of having to stay on an ICU for a couple of days, which seems to be normal in other life-threatening situations, covid-19 patients spend weeks, if not months on there. It's not a disease you wish upon your worst enemy, or so I gather from those accounts. And yet, I have this nagging feeling of almost wishing it upon Bolsanero. For him to balance on the edge for a while and perhaps than he might see the light. Or will he? He could also put it down to something completely different, no matter what he's always been saying about his health and condition.

For to me, it's fairly obvious, that if you've always denied the severity of the disease and the pandemic, to suddenly change your stance, that means losing face. And his ego is arguably a lot bigger than the man himself. Perhaps he should call Boris Johnson, who's been on ICU, when he had the virus, to ask him how bad it was. Nobody's heard how serious Johnson's condition was, there've been hints that it was touch and go, but hints aren't the absolute truth.

It's like something I read, around the time Johnson was in hospital. Apparently, right at the end of World War II, Winston Churchill had a heart-attack, something that's never officially been confirmed. As it would be seen as bad, for one of the major forces of the allies, to have a bad health. It would, or so it was stated, demoralize the troops.

They're a strange bunch, those totalitarion leaders, I would think having a disease and surviving it would make them more human, but then again, who am I?


BREAKING NEWS-UPDATE: Bolsanero has tested positive!
 
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Eighth of July 2020, 08-07-2020.

When I got the news-confirmaton late yesterday afternoon that Bolsanero indeed tested positive, I made a remark about that on social media. And to my astonishment, one of my overseas friends had absolutely no idea who I was talking about. The person, a mid-thirties American had never heard of Bolsanero. And it made me thinking a lot. Because I really thought that his name, much more than a lot of other country leaders would be common knowledge.

I briefly thought of making it into a thread hear, some sort of quiz-thread, where I would name ten countries, who's leaders had been frequently in the news the past six months, and where I would expect everybody to know at least eight of them. In the end I decided against it, but I'm still going to give those ten countries here.

IF ANYONE WANTS TO SEND ME THE ANSWERS, PLEASE DO SO IN A PRIVATE MESSAGE AND NOT IN THIS THREAD (thank you, and sorry for shouting)

The ten countries are:
United States
Canada
Brazil
United Kingdom
France
Germany
Russia
Philippines
China
The Netherlands

I realize that not many of you Americans will know the prime-minister of my country, yet any European should know his name as he was the main opposer to 'free' help to countries like Italy (with 'free' I mean that Italy wanted a whole lot of money for the recovery after corona, but didn't want to put anything against that, which would be a disaster for global economy).
The people in question, nine men and one woman, are all Presidents or prime-ministers. There are two Kingdoms in the list, but I am not after the royals.

I have totally no idea if anyone can be bothered to send me a PM, which doesn't really matter, to be fair. But I'd love to see if anyone does.
 
Ninth of July 2020, 09-07-2020.

As I had sort of expected I had no reactions to my question yesterday. But I was still a little disappointed. I had hopes that one or two of you would have made an attempt. But perhaps I am fooling myself in thinking that anyone reads my journal. Perhaps I am the only one interested in what others write in their journals.

I've mentioned it here before, in fact, I mentioned it in my first post, of the person inspiring me to start writing my own journal. But I haven't been here long enough to know if it's always been a case of up and down with threads. When I started some threads were really high in posting, and now they are almost quiet. Other threads have popped up, some only one post and being left, some a few.

But, as I have no intention on leaving this marvellous place, for there are some truly magical people here, I guess I will figure out towards the future what the development of this topic will be.
 
Tenth of July 2020, 10-07-2020

The Netherlands is, among a lot of other things (obviously) a country of surveys. From your local neighbourhood community, right up to the Office for National Statistics (in Dutch: Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek - CBS) and anything and everything in between, you get bombarded with surveys. About the most diverse subjects and topics. To make your life better, to make their life better (read: easier), you name it.

The football-team I have a season-ticket of, PSV, regularly sends me a survey, so they can know how my experience at the ground can be improved, or what my other interests are, so they can send me more personal-related adverts from their business-partners. Local council has sent me four in the past couple of months to see how I was affected by the lockdowns and corona in general. A student of the local Technical University (Tu/E) had a survey last year about safe and unsafe places in Eindhoven.

Sometimes, if you participate in a survey, you get a voucher for something, but most of the times it's about your opinion on a topic.

One of our broadcasters has a survey-group, I believe it's 300,000 inhabitants of the country, who they ask for their opinion on everything that makes the news. Given that it is of importance. If village X or Y needs a new police-car, they might ask a certain smaller amount of people there for their opinion, but that's rare.

One of the last surveys was about getting yourself vaccinated when a solid and working vaccin would be available. Vaccinated against this corona-virus. And before I give the results of that survey, I must tell that The Netherlands has a very high general grade of vaccinated people. 97% of the country has had all their jabs. Against measles, the pocks, all the things you can get vaccinated for in your youth.

But shockingly, only 59% of the survey-group, and because of its number it's a representative amount for the country, only 59% states that they are certain to get a vaccin. 25% is still doubting and a massive 16% will definitely NOT get it. And that's something I don't understand. If you have all your 'normal' vaccinations, why not get this one, for an infectuous virus, that has so very easily spread around the world.
Is it really possible that of the 97% vaccinated inhabitants, 15 or so percent (I'm too lazy to do the actual calculation) after entering adulthood feel that they were done wrong by their parents for having them vaccinated? Could that really be the case? It's incredibly hard for me to understand, do those people really have a death-wish? Not just for corona, but for even more dangerous diseases like measles?

I know I'm being extremely evil when I even think that it would be a solution to have those people infected, even though it seems to me that they don't care about it. I just can't get my head around the fact they think it's all just another flu that won't affect them.
 
Eleventh of July 2020, 11-07-2020.

For my birthday last week I got some money and with that money I bought myself a couple of books. Or at least, I had to order them first, for they weren't in stock. I buy all my books in English, for the simple reason they are a lot cheaper than translated into Dutch.
The trilogy I got myself, I've read the first two in Dutch, borrowed from the library, but I've always wanted the whole series in English.

The trilogy is called Nevernight Chronicle, consisting of the books Nevernight, Godsgrave and Darkdawn and is written by Jay Kristoff.

And it's an absolute recommendation. If you get chance to read them, do so.
 
Twelfth of July 2020, 12-07-2020

My landlord has finally seen the light and has gotten the painters in to do all the outdoor painting. It's not that much, just the windwos and sills and the gutter at the top. But my landlord is also a cheap man, things like this aren't allowed to cost too much. And so he''s got some cowboys in, originating from some Eastern European country. They reside here, have their business here, for there are very few Dutch outdoor painters left.
I live in a three storey house, ground floor, first, second and attic. And the attic that's where my appartment is.

The cowboys aren't cleaning and painting the wood around the guttering, no, they choose to just hammer some extra wood against it. And with the painting, what you'd imagine to go onto height, you'd expect they'd get scaffolding up, for security reasons, but yeah. Cowboys. They've got one ladder, one of those extending ones, it's weak as fuck and when one of them guys goes up, the other two are holding it at the base.

Or in other words. Pffff, whatever.
 
Thirteenth of July 2020, 13-07-2020

You can tell it's summer by only looking at the offering of TV programs. And since I am limited in what I can see, okay, I have a fair few TV channels I can choose from, but no streaming services whatsoever. I really don't think what *they* offer would add any value, when I heard people talk about it, or see what people are writing here, I am actually glad I don't have to spend money on TV.

It's a good thing I can 'shut' myself away with a book, in case there's yet another repeat of Titanic on TV. And with the new books I've bought, TV isn't really that important, in these times. There's a lot more to say in favour of books. Always.
 
Fourteenth of July 2020, 14-07-2020 (Quatorze Juillet)

For months on end, basically from the start of the pandemic in Europe, up to a couple of weeks ago, most specialists in most countries have been telling that mouth-masks weren't really part of the solution to keep corona away. And to me it's been pretty clear that by taking personal precautions, look after your personal hygiene and keep your distance, you would do much more to keep the virus at bay.

But, since about a month more and more countries are imposing mandatory wearing of mouth- or face-masks, and I think I am starting to understand why they are doing that. It's all about inhabitants of those countries really not giving a toss about themselves and whether or not they get infected. But governments, after reopening countries, in a faster or slower pace, are scared to death for a second wave (or a prolongued first wave). And, so they think (that''s my best guess), if people don't want to take care of themselves, mandatory decisions have to be taken. And, while I still don't think that the masks do much, I can totally understand those decisions.
 
Fifteenth of July 2020, 15-07-2020

A rather strange article appeared on the BBC news site. Strange in a sense of, what exactly are they trying to bring across.

It starts with the title: 'Jaw-dropping' world fertilaty rate crash expected. I mean, what are they trying to say, just reading that title? That fertilaty is going down? That men's seed is losing its strength? But if you read on, that's not the case. No, this is all about the amount of kids a woman gets. And apparently, if that rate drops below 2.1 world population is going to drop.

The article mentions a maximum of 9.7 billion by 2064 and then dropping to 8.8 billion by the end of the century. Both figures are significantly higher as the current world population, and many of us find the planet too full as it is right now. And, so says the article, while it is good for the environment that there are less people, it's not so good if you look deeper inito it as people are getting older and less young people are around. An inverted age structure it's called.

Some countries, Japan and Italy notably, will see their population halved or more than halved from where it is now, China would be nearly halved in population. But in Africa the numbers would treble. And ironically enough, two days after the British government outlined its plans for Brexit, as happening per January 1st, 2021, would only see a drop of 4 million from a peak in 2063. That doesn't make sense to me at all. The British government is now saying they basically want an end to all immigration (they use fancier words, that make it look like it's not that black-and-white) and yet the amounts will keep rising?

And on the face of it, the whole article is rather sexist. To me it has an underlying ring to it, that women will be blamed for not getting enough kids. Because unfortunately men can't carry them and give birth to them. Still an error in creation, if you ask me.

Another conclusion, and this one is fully from my mind. We should stop fucking for pleasure, and go back to the task of producing offspring. No, this article is pretty pointless to me and I really don't know what to think of it.

www.bbc.com

Fertility rate: 'Jaw-dropping' global crash in children being born

Nearly every country will see their populations fall as the world has fewer babies.
www.bbc.com
 
Sixteenth of July 2020, 16-07-2020.

The temperature today really doesn't add up with the way it looks. Not that it's really warm, certainly not. It's even a bit cold for Mid-July, with 19C. But it's been grey and overcast the whole day with a bit of spitting rain earlier. One of those really shitty rain-showers where it feels it only rains a little bit, but after half an hour you know you'll be drenched to the core. And as has been the case a couple of times in the past few weeks, I happened to be outside during that shower. BUT, luckily for me, I had a few tunnels to walk through and after a short stop at the nearest supermarket, it had stopped raining.

It's anything but summer right now, here in north-western Europe. A year ago around this time, we had record breaking highs, of over 40C, today it's not even half of that. What a difference a year makes. I wasn't much for those record highs, but in summer it really should be a bit warmer, and definitely sunnier than the shit-weather we have today.
 
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