Finished the rain roof Sunday, 20-Oct-24 21:44:34 CEST

Finished the shed preparations Sunday, 03-Nov-24 21:14:29 CET

Sunday, 27-Oct-24 19:52:55 CET

Finished the compost

This week, I finished moving the compost. I got to play a DJ set!

Monday 21 October

It is 7:07 AM. Outside, it's 13°C, and inside it is 21°C. It's completely dark outside. Merida is pacing around my legs. Head butting my ankles. Merida is very hungry. She slept by my side the entire night. She snuggled up really tightly to my arm and slept quite well. I'm sleeping on my back, so that was fine. Now it's time to make a smoothie!

DW worked from home today, and so did I. I had a productive day.

Last week, on Monday, I worked outside in the evening. This week, I did not do that. The incentive to work goes up and down. I was eager to finish the rain roof for the sheep last week, which kept me going. The feeling of the sheep not having access to a proper hiding place in case of rain was not appealing to me. Besides, I recall it was nice weather doing that work. I am patting my own shoulder, so it almost hurts.

Tuesday 22 October

Good morning. Outside 10°C and inside 21°C at 7:14 AM. That said, without any comma!

I am making a smoothie using the last gooseberries we picked this year. We have one bag in the freezer with some grapes and apples cut into pieces. For the rest, all other berries are now consumed. In the fridge, we still have apples from Sweden. So, to make this smoothie, I used a little bit of frozen and unfrozen apples. At some point, we will need to start buying berries to keep the smoothie production going.

I'm on my way to work; it is 8:30 AM. I decided to take the car this morning. I have no idea why. Last evening, I watched the presentation by the CEO, Jack Conte, of Patreon. He talked about his creative journey and included different ages of how the Internet has evolved; I think that was interesting. He talked about the Internet in the beginning. Initially, the Internet was static; the most advanced thing you could have on the website was to hit submit.

Then came the subscribe button, which was exciting. That was a significant part of the Internet history. Jack liked that time, web 2.0. Then came the ranked feed to the Internet. The companies hosting content started reshuffling the feeds so viewers would stay longer watching on the platforms. Now, you had to create according to the algorithm. In the next version of the Internet, users can no longer tell what they want in their feed; companies decide for themselves. They called this phase: For You.

All in all, Jack concluded that the situation for creative people was the best during the subscription era of the Internet. Things are getting worse on the Internet. You cannot build a following on the Internet anymore. When you produce some content, you produce it for the algorithm. I think it was a fascinating speech.

I must say that Jack's creativity is very much driven by business. I mean, if you're saying that his creativity is free. I don't think so. His creative pursuit is as good as anything, but it has a foundation in business. When looking at my creativity, I'm not particularly good at letting it center around sellability. Have I sold one or two paintings in my entire life? I have not primarily pursued creativity that leads to scalable business, or any business for that matter. Perhaps selling things has felt daring?

Letting creativity be centered around business is a choice. Well, I have a daytime job. I don't need to make that choice, and until now, I have not been a natural talent for it either. I use my creativity only for making and for myself. I mean, you could say that the creativity I have been doing is based purely on what I have been able to do with the means I have. The new house we are building is part of expanding our creativity. Making one painting or knitting one mitten is not scalable.

Jack is only into scalable business creativity. It is clever. He only spent his time on things that many people could consume. Interesting.

Now I arrived at work. I am driving past the sinkhole, which is getting bigger, and the time is 8:45 AM.

It's now 6:15 PM. I'm on my way home. The car measures 15°C outside. I conclude that I could have been biking perfectly well today. I thought it would be raining, but it has been dry. That was a missed opportunity. There will be more chances. Trees display more autumn colors, which is lovely in the evening sun. I must say biking is better for my health and the environment.

It went very well with the algorithm today. I had almost all tests accepted. I ran a colossal case just before going home, and it failed, but I can fix that tomorrow. I think I have a new release tomorrow. Then I can continue on other things, and that will be great.

The new compost looks good in the sunset.

Wednesday 23 October

The time right now is 7:09 AM. Outside, it is 10°C, and inside it is 22°C. I just gave Merida her food; she was starving. It is misty outside today. Yesterday, I thought it was misty outside, but only the windows were damp. Today, the mist is legit. I can see from lamps in the distance that there is mist outside. I am going to make a smoothie with the French peer.

The work went well today. I released a new version of the software. I had a pleasant feeling about this feat the rest of the day.

After lunch, I continued working on the compost. I fastened the fencing parts to the poles. The parts got slightly crooked, and that annoyed me. I decided that they were good enough. It is just a compost; no need for perfectionism in this work. I started on connecting a cable between the two outermost corner poles. I could not finish that work because I had to bring DW to the city for a meeting.

I brought my Bluetooth keyboard to enjoy my time while waiting for her. Do you remember when I bought the keyboard? It was 1 July last year. At that time, I called it a wireless keyboard. There is a school in the center, and I decided to sit there, have a cup of coffee, blogging on my keyboard. On the other side of the road, two trees were shifting in colors from green to orange and a remarkable dark red. Absolutely beautiful. It was a sweet gum tree. Is it growing sweet gums?

It was a pity I did not bring my cup from the car because I had to buy an expensive mug. From that, we learned that it is always good to keep a mug in your pocket if you are about to drink a cup of coffee at a café at school. The coffee was so intense I was not feeling well. It was not pleasant.

Then, I decided to walk into the center to chill from the caffeine. I came across China Aster flowers. Awesome. Very beautiful.

From the park, I went to the library. There were many young people at the library. I recognized a neighbor, but she did not see me, so I did not greet her. I found a place in the corner in front of the large windows. There was a little round table and a so-called comfy chair. It was not comfy, and it was awkward to blog in this chair.

After going to the café at the school, I contemplated how I would study a subject, but I don't think I am willing to commit to any regular school. A shorter course could perhaps be exciting and fun. It would be nice to learn how to weld. I would like that. If I had time, obviously. With that thought, I decided to find a new place in the library. It is an extensive library, and there are areas made for self-study in various places, and I could see they were well used. It is an excellent building.

Then, I left the library and met with DW. We drove home, and the mist resolved, and it was sunny. It was magnificent weather.

When we came home, it was time for a meeting with our plumber, electrician, and ventilation expert. We had a meeting about activities he needs to do in the shed. We decided I would draw a CAD drawing showing exactly where the pipes would come up through the shed's floor.

It was starting to get dusk when the plumber left. I went out and worked on the compost construction. I got it finished.

I learned how World War III developed from the Ukraine-the-latest podcast in the evening. South Korea is interested in the development of the war in Ukraine and Kursk. They will perhaps even provide assistance to Ukraine.

Thursday 24 October

The time is 7:02 AM. Outside, it is 7°C, and inside, it is 21°C.

I slept well last night, but I had vivid dreams. I think it was because I went to the city center yesterday. In a way, it is funny to have so many dreams, but it's also annoying that I'm so sensitive. A couple of years back, it was regular practice for me to go to the city center, and back then, I had never dreamt about it.

I am making a smoothie. Today, there is a banana, a French peer I have given up saying the name of because dictate in Word will not understand it, and Dutch Belle Boskoop apples. I think that will be delicious.

I brought DW to the train station and continued to my office. After work, I went to pick her up. I sat blogging at the Kiss and Ride parking while waiting for her.

This morning. It was misty. It took some time before it was resolved. Then, it was a hazy, thinly overcast sun. Now the evening is sunny, and it's gorgeous. I love it.

The work today went well, obviously. I released my giant update on the software yesterday. So today. I worked on smaller clean-up tasks that have been waiting for me. And while doing that, I talked to my manager about priorities and what to do next. So I have a couple of smaller tasks, and then I have a giant algorithm again. Have such an excellent job.

The discussion about my free Fridays was finished today. It will start on 1 November. I will have free Fridays until the end of January to work on the shed and stable. There are loads of things to do.

I did not blog or work on the plumbing drawing in the evening. Instead, I gave the Sheep hay. They also have grass to eat, but it is slowing down with the grass growth when the temperature is below 10°C.

Friday 25 October

Good morning. At 7:14 AM, it is. 11°C outside and 21°C inside.

You might wonder why I'm mentioning the inside temperature? Is that not something you turn a knob to change? Typically, it is that easy to change, but not with our heating system. The heating system has a transformation curve transforming outside temperatures to inside temperatures, and I'm not sure I have programmed that curve correctly. So that's why I thought maybe if I just recorded what it was, I could go back and see if it suited my needs.

We also have a secondary heating system, the sun. So if we have a sunny day, the temperature rises considerably. But would it not be easier if you just opened your app and looked at the statistics? Well, NIBE decided to update its software. The heating controller software needs to be upgraded to work with the new app. I did not feel like pushing a memory card into the machine with the new firmware. Especially since the heating pump specialist will come and do it for me.

But the heating specialist has not arrived yet because he was thinking: Well. I will go to Jens's house when I am already in the neighborhood of his house. Sure enough, he called me once, but unfortunately, I was at the office that day. So far, that has not worked out. Since then, I haven't heard from him anymore. This is what you have all the time. Ideas sound so simple in theory. But when it comes to practice, there is always a little hitch. Thing in the way.

It is 8:45 AM, and I bike to work today. Right now, it's overcast, but I see little patches of blue sky. So DW has been promoting using a bike path along a narrow canal. Today, I decided to try her idea. First, I will see if I can find the starting point. I found the pike path! The path is going through a bungalow park along a narrow canal. At a t-crossing, I turned left. It is beautiful here. I can see the reason for her promoting this way. Every time she asked me: did you bike that route I talked about. Until now, I haven't done it, but now I can say I did it.

Crossing the nightingale lane. Here is a pond with a little bridge. I took a photo of the pond.

Ir was absolutely wind still this morning. A beautiful morning. Perfect weather for biking.

A bit further away from the pond, I found a patch of beautiful flowers.

There are secret gardens here! That's amazing. There was no sign saying the flower garden was sponsored by anyone. Someone is looking after it; it is not happening by itself. Interesting.

Anyway. Now, I am leaving the luxury bungalow park area. Passing the road to the golf course, turning right on Lark Path. Then, I turned left on the common snipe path. I rode this path a couple of weeks ago. You can see the bridges from the Four Bridges path on the other side of the vast canal. The names of these paths are actually in Duch. I translate the meaning of the name.

If I take a photo of every flower I see on the way to work, it will take some time to get to work. Well, I've gathered some overtime lately. So there is room for arriving late by seven minutes.

Then I spotted Roe Deer. You can better take photos of Roe Deer with a telelens, but I was going to try to take a photo of them anyway. They spotted me and were gone in two seconds. I am not that quick when switching to a camera function while blogging.

Now, I have arrived at the nameless bridge from 1992. I googled it, and it has a name: Bridge Starley Path. Usually, up until now, I turned right at the next bridge along the survival park. So this is the canal with the houseboat mansions. One day, I might have an E-bike as well. I will need a helmet because I'm going to be fast. Today, I was not fast, but that is not what this biking is about.

I arrived at work at 9:24 AM.

It is 6:10 PM, and I'm biking along the cow field on the way home. Unfortunately, it looks like the sun is setting in a few moments. It will be almost dark before I arrive home, but I am fine.

How did work go today? I got started on a new project. Starting a new project can take some time before it flows. I think I got it going quickly this time.

A guy was doing a wheelie with his bike. I made a little gesture of applause for him. I think it was a long time since I had seen such a broad smile on someone's face.

Then, one of my microphones died, and I switched to another. When I come home, I will try to remember to recharge my microphones? Because I really like this setup. Folks dance path. Volvo. Ford. KIA. Motorway.

It's actually quite warm today. The stretch between the car companies under the motorway and over the Wateringue canal is not a green park; the other part is parkland. Riding through parks to work is exciting and pleasant, except near the motorway. And I have several alternative routes. So, I am enjoying my time when biking to work.

I am now at the top of Bridge Starley Path, which they built in 1992. The view is magnificent, with a beautiful sunset.

I am biking along the vast canal, the high channel. It was so warm I had to take off a sweater. DW texted me asking if I could buy pizza on the way home, but I recalled we had one in the freezer.

I abandoned the bike path and drove along the golf course on the regular road. I must turn on the lights when riding on the public road at dusk. Both lights of the bike worked!

This morning, when I was preparing to go to work. I was a bit angry about how lousy I was preparing myself for the next time I would do something. I had this before. But the tool situation is getting out of hand. I get really annoyed by myself. What happens is that when I am done with a task, I put tools and stuff away in the wrong place. A few moments later or a couple of days later, I didn't know where I had put things. That is not how it is supposed to be.

So what I'm doing when I get that feeling is that I start to get more tidy. But actually. I should always have a tidy mode. I'm telling myself that when I have an actual workshop. I will put things back where they belong. But my fear is that the real me will not do that.

This conflict between the Jens who want to do something correctly and the genuine Jens. I see that other people also have this. Especially when it comes to eating. When they are a bit overweight, they want to control their weight. It's the same thing. Luckily, I don't have that problem. I am so happy that I lost maybe 5 kilos since May.

When I came home, I collected the post from our mailbox. In there, I found a note from the neighbors. They would have a party, excusing in advance for the sound nuisance they would cause. That got me thinking; perhaps they wanted a DJ playing at their party? I texted the neighbors. After a while, I got the answer. Yes, they wanted to have a DJ playing at their party!

Saturday 26 October

The first task this day was to move the sheep. Since the two easter neighbors put up grand fences, we could cover a large area with just two nets. We let the sheep graze on the east side of the property between the neighbors. It was fantastic weather. Did I say it was fantastic weather? It was fabulous.

Next up, DW worked on the front garden, and I continued on the compost. Today, I wanted to move the compost heap wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow. Several neighbors decided it was the perfect moment to move their lawns. It was a considerable sound nuisance, but they did not bring around notes about it, excusing it in advance. No, why would they?

At 4 PM, I moved the old heap to the new compost place. There were still a few barrows left, but I could not do anything more today. My back complained.

While digging out the compost heap, I encountered a rat living in the compost heap. When the rat ran away, I smacked it with the garden fork. The rat died. It was 15 cm long, about 6 inches. The tail was the same length. It was a giant rat. Now, I had created work for myself because he also had to have a funeral. I had to dig a hole for the rat. I buried the rat with the fly slush from the catcher buckets. Do you remember me talking about them on 17 August?

Then we had supper, and I started to prepare for the DJ set.

It was a proper party. People were dancing and having fun. I had a great time! It was my first time playing at a party where people were dancing. Well, since the first party with the friends of DD, of course.

I played for two hours. I started with the Afro house at 110 BPM and stopped at 130 BPM. I don't think they knew that the tempo increased for every tune. Two hours was just about right. After my set, I stayed for a while. They played Caribbean carnival tunes. I had not heard that before. So I have to look into that kind of music as well. The neighbors are such friendly people. We got much more social contact with people in this area compared to where we lived before. It is unreal. It makes me happy.

Sunday 27 October

This morning, we switched to European Daylight Saving time. I don't think any daylight is saved at all. It is just a scam. I changed my watch in the evening. It is an old-fashioned citizen watch with a battery. I have thought having one of those intelligent things would be fancy, but I will keep this old stuff for now.

We had a slow morning. A languid morning. I decided to work on the compost. I wanted to enforce one side of the construction, which was starting to bulge out. Then, I thought more compost material could be gathered from the old heap. That turned out to be true. I moved another three barrows.

The front is made of a particularly bad scaffold plank. It was so warm, and it was challenging to understand. Is it something about climate change? We had lunch, and during lunch, we figured out we were not having so much bread. It would be necessary to go to the grocery store. We had lunch on the porch at the doors to the living room. It was getting sunny, and we just sat there enjoying the sun.

After the rest, we went on a bike tour. We biked across the high channel into the forest on the other side of the Waterland road. We turned left into the forest. The path here was made of concrete. Concrete paths are really nice. It is so nice to bike on them. The concrete is causing a climate disaster, though. Just saying.

I took a photo of the path, which included a terrible lens flare. I suppose that is what you get when you take a picture in the direction of the sun with an Android phone. This time of the year, the sun is lower over the horizon. I said before that I could walk around with my DSLR, but that is not what I am doing.

We biked past a business park. Then, we could pass the high channel on an even higher bridge. Here is the green cathedral. We got on a new path made of concrete that meandered through the area to a place where I made the film on 12 October. Now I know where that path begins. That is cool. We went to the farm shop grocery store along the field with the cows.

After shopping, we went home. DW made chard quiche. It is such a delicious dish. I blogged.

Here ends this week's blog. I finished moving the compost this week and played a DJ set. It was a great week. I wrote 4000 words. That is not bad at all. Welcome back next week!