My usual loop is around 30 kilometres but for the last two bike rides I have extended them, to reach 50-60 kilometres respectively. I cover this distance in about two, to two and a half, hours. Cycling is good at the moment because plenty of people are on holidays so the roads feel safer as there are fewer commuters on the roads. View of the Jura and fields
On both of these trips I ended up in Geneva.
Recently Netflix added a Browse by Language option which means that you can browse for content by original language. Yesterday I saw that I can browse for content in French, Italian, Polish,, Korean, German and many more languages. I could list more but that’s dull. Instead I want to focus on the opportunities it opens up. With YouTube, Apple Films and other platforms you can search for films but they are either in French, German or Italian in Switzerland and it’s hard to find content that is in its original language.
With the sudden growth of audiences for newsletter writers on sub stacks as they start to use Notes so the question emerges on whether to dump blogging, for news lettering. In theory by news lettering on Substack we grow an audience that is pre-packaged and ready to go. The drawback is that there are two types of content makers. Those that want their readers to read everything they write, and to pay them for the obligation to read what they write and the bloggers.
When I heard about Substack Notes I felt an interest in the project. I liked the idea of a site where we could write long form posts on one side, and short form posts on the other. I liked the idea of having conversations with people and creating new connections. That’s why I use social media and that’s what makes social media social, rather than a news website or some other form of website.
My fingers went numb with cold during today’s bike ride. I saw that there was a chance of rain but I went anyway. I went for a simple reason. Some people in an apartment next door were banging on walls, and the noise is unpleasant. The noise is so unpleasant that the idea of cycling in the cold rain was more appealing than listening to that noise. When I started the ride I wore my rain clothes.
It is the turn of the Washington Post to discuss whether people are happier after leaving social media. As with every other article I have skimmed on the topic it discusses addiction and more without discussing the reason for which social media might be bad for one’s mental health. Remember that social networks, discussion groups, and collaborating with people in different rooms, countries, timezones is normal, and has been for decades.
Yesterday I walked with hiking sticks and whereas one watch told me that I had 13,000 steps, or so, the other said I had 9000. It is the second time that I notice such a difference in step count. Walking stick step count. The count is lower than without walking sticks
The first time I noticed this issue was a few days ago, after a similar walk. I knew that the walk was over 10,000 steps so when I saw the low count I thought something was wrong, but didn’t worry about it.
For one hundred and fifty six days I walked 10 thousand steps or more, before I broke my streak by going for two bike rides. The first one was a twenty five kilometre loop. The second was a more ambitious 51km loop. I ended up in Geneva, by the Palais Des Nations. This had not been my goal. I just felt good so I kept going. View of the Broken Chair and the Palais des Nations
I have been writing blog posts every single day for one hundred and fourty five days and rather than feel more inspired, and get a big audience, I am writing for an audience of one. Some days I am filled with inspiration and I write the blog post in twenty minutes or less. Other days it takes me an hour or two. It’s hard to write every day because some days are interesting, so there is something to talk about, and other days are dull.
Northern Exposure is a series about a doctor who finds himself sent to Alaska to be a doctor for a few years. He thinks that it is the middle of nowhere and he has to adapt from enjoying life as a New Yorker to life as a frontier town doctor. Early colza in the Canton of Vaud
Although the series is thirty plus years old it still remains relevant today with its exploration of global warming, pollution and more.