Youth ;-)
What do you think gets better with age?
The older you get the more appreciate that you were once young.
Big Timber – A Netflix Documentary Series
For a few days I have been watching a few documentary series on Netflix. Big Timber is one of them. Usually I like nature that is untouched. I like to see trees that are standing tall and proud, not on their sides, ready to be chopped up into wood for housing.
It is because I like to see living trees that I started watching the series, and then gave up. As a person that likes trees it makes little sense to watch as “claims” of trees are cut down, and hauled up the slope, down the mountain and then turned into wood for various projects.
Eventually I did start to watch the documentaries and I enjoy them. Kevin, the owner of the company, has learned how to build roads, scavenge wood from the sea shore, and more. He likes to buy machines, second hand, and repair them, before using them. In so doing he is able to get machines that do what he needs, at a much lower price, than if he bought them new. It helps that he has access to mechanics and more.
The documentary is broader than “A and his team go to cut down trees, and bring them to the mill, to make things”. It’s A uses this machine for that, but because it’s slow he wants to use that machine, but that machine requires someone with other skills. It’s fun, and every episode is different. It’s the type of show where you think “oh, one more episode”. I burned through the first two seasons fast, because I enjoyed it.
A Lot of Drone Use
I noticed that both in Big Timber and an English documentary series about castles they used a lot of drone shots. The drones are used to show the forests, the landscapes, the castles, and a top down view of trees being cut down. It’s a great way to get a diversity of shot types and values that would not otherwise be possible.
It’s great for getting the camera into places that would otherwise be inaccessible or dangerous. I would be more specific but that might count as a spoiler.
With the documentary about castles I noticed that one type of shot was missing. The “detail” shots of castles. They would regularly have drones flying over the castles, flying from one end to the other, over the town and more. They did not often have drones flying to show details that we can’t see from the ground. They could have shown us specific parts of the architecture that we wouldn’t notice otherwise.
If they make a documentary about cathedrals then they must get close to the statues, gargoyles and more, to show the intricacies of those details. Now that we have flying cameras, we should take advantage.
Flawed Thinking and Cleaning
The Unilateral Solution
I stopped making a mess because I came up with unillateral solutions, until I found the ideal one. I experimented with skewers to remove the mud from shoes, I experimented with rubber boots that I could rinse under a tap. I tried with spare shoes in the letter box.
A Simple Doormat
In the end my favourite solution was the doormat by the car in the garage. This is my favourite solution because it takes seconds to brush the mud off my shoes before going upstairs, and best of all, I walk with muddy shoes, into the garage where no one will complain. No more mud in the building.
The Absurd
As mentioned above I already have a solution to the issue, so this is purely an excuse to write a blog post, without spending hours trying to find inspiration.
The solution to dirty hallways, according to one apartment care company is “If you make a mess clean it up”. If you live on the ground floor, right by the door this makes sense, because there’s no skin in the game. Thirty Seconds of sweeping and you’re done. If you live on the top floor the solution requires several minutes.
It’s a shame they didn’t ask
“What is the actual problem?”
“Mud”,
“Okay, so get a proper door mat for the front door.”
Unfair Solution and Curiousity
What I want to discuss is the analytical mind. There are two type of people in the world. Those that hear “The hallways are messy, so clean them up when you make a mess” and those that would ask “What is the mess?”. If the mess is from leaking bin bags, then carry bin bags in a waterproof container, if the problem is wet shoes then dry the shoes. If the problem is mud, and your solution is to tidy up the mess then you’re both lazy, and short sighted.
Demudifiers
If mud is the problem then cleaning up the mud, after you deposit it in the hallways and on the staircases is not a solution, because it will happen again and again. It will occur at the end of walks, and at the start of walks. If your shoes are muddy they drop it as you enter a building, but also as you exit.
The solution to mud in a building has been known for generations. My school had the solution. Private homes have the solution. The solution to muddy hallways is not to clean up after you’ve made a mess. The solution is to get a doormat. The solution is to get a shoe scraper at the front of the building, before you enter.
The Habit of Asking Questions Before Coming Up With Solutions
The notion that professionals, in building care and maintenance would not ask this question saddens me. It’s such a simple and rational question. It’s also an issue that every building in a rural area has.
What frustrates me is that when I was making a mess almost every day no one complained. it’s when I stopped making a mess that people complained. It’s when I forgot to clean my shoes, after two months of being tidy that people went mad.
Passing the Buck / Shirking Responsability
I’m frustrated that the building’s solution to messy hallways is to tell us to clean it. I find this to be a shameful response, since the issue is muddy shoes, and everyone, especially parents, will have to deal with that problem. The doormat I have to clean my shoes is 30 CHF. The one for the front door costs from 100-200 CHF in Europe. That mat would ensure that no one has to clean the hallways themselves, not even the cleaner.
The Childhood Problem
In the grand scheme of things I am still the same person I have been, since childhood. I still get muddy shoes and trousers, and it still doesn’t bother me in the least. Mud is organic dirt. It’s not harmful, and once it has dried it is very easy to clean up.
I never plan to stop getting muddy. I’d rather have my very own proper doormat, in the garage, that I can use at the end of a walk where I got my shoes dirty. I find the idea of cleaning the hallway used by everyone else absurd, especially since there is a simple and elegant solution, the doormat.
Remember, schools implement another solution, shoe cubbies at the entrance to the building. You put your shoes in the cubby and you wear “pantoufles” in class. I would quite like that solution in my building.
And Finally
We live right next to the fields. There are five roads in and out of this village, but there are no clean paths for pedestrians to walk along. If we want to go for a local walk without using the car we have to walk along muddy paths, unfortunately. The result is that shoes get muddy. If the commune, and Switzerland at large, didn’t just speak about mobilité douce, but actually built infrastructure to make it possible, then I wouldn’t have muddy shoes. If car drivers didn’t try to terrify us, out of walking along roads, then we’d walk on the clean tarmac rather than the mud at the side of the road.
We need more cycle and walker friendly routes between villages and towns in Switzerland. It’s free to encourage people to walk and bike, rather than use cars, but too little is done to ensure we feel safe. If clean walking solutions existed then my shoes would remain clean.
Swimming Pools Per Capita Map
Today I learned that Switzerland has a map that shows which communes have the most swimming pools per capita. Nyon has 50 swimming pools. That’s 2,3 per thousand people. Blonay St Legier has 336. Collonge- Bellerive has 491, as you’d expect.
Switzerland has, on average, one swimming pool per 155 people. They cover an area of around 2,500,000 square meters.
The Water Impact
Switzerland has 56,000 private pools that contain 3.5 billion litres of water according to their estimate. That’s an enormous amount of water. This doesn’t include the indoor private pools. As droughts become more common the concept of having a private pool becomes more and more absurd. It becomes absurd because private pools require a huge amount of water, and are seldom used.
It would be interesting to see a chart of “litres of water used per swim” where evaporation, splashing and other factors are taken into account. Swimming pools lose a lot of water, especially on hot water.
Remember that we have been in an age of stopping the water when we’re brushing our teeth and washing our hands. We’re in an age of showers rather than baths. Within this context it makes sense to look at pools and consider their water impact on the environment.
Having said this there is one saving aspect. The water that runs off from pools shouldn’t be dirty or dangerous for the environment. It’s that so much of it is lost and wasted in evaporation. That’s when the requirement to cover pools when they’re not in use would make sense. It would save a lot in water.
Saving Petrol
In theory, with more private pools, and if they are shared with friends, either in the neighbourhood or elsewhere, then pools could be more efficient. If pools are set up with a cover for when they are not in use then they heat up faster, thanks to the sun, but evaporation is also greatly reduced, thus making the pool more ecological.
They also spoke in the video report about setting up outdoor pools every summer, for some people, and that these outdoor pools were filled in summer, and emptied for winter. At least with permanent pools they are filled once, and then topped up.
I didn’t hear any discussion about collecting rain water to keep pools filled with water and I didn’t mention a comparison with green lawns and more. Does a pool use more water than a watered garden?
Trees Instead of Pools
Although not discussed in the report they should have explored the benefit of having trees, rather than pools. If we’re walking on a warm day we notice the thermocline as soon as we get near woods. We notice that the temperature goes from being like an oven, to cool and refreshing. Not only do trees keep air cool and provide shade, but they are able to gather their own water from deep underground. You get to feel cool, while dressed.
Lakes, Rivers and Public Pools
Nyon has the Piscine du Rocher, Piscine de Cossy and Colovray, three public pools that people can use, three all year round, in theory, and two for winter. The lakes, during heat waves are warm enough for swimming, as are some rivers and more. In theory there is no need for them to have so many swimming pools.
And Finally
Some communes, like Cheserex, built communal swimming pools, that people could use year round. In winter you can sit outdoors and get cooked by the sun, before going for a swim. In winter you can go for a swim, and then go home, without using the car, if you live in neighbouring villages.
The report often spoke of the desire for private pools stemming from lockdowns. I would see it as being due to heatwaves that are constant for two or three months a year now. During a heatwave the desire to cool down is strong.
Communal pools, and trees would help people cool down, without the environmental impact of private swimming pools.
Podcasts and Social Media
When you listen to podcasts, and you read articles, and you visit websites you always see Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and Instagram, to name the giants. In every podcast episode you hear the guests say “You can find me under this name on this network, and the same name on that network.”
The Shift to CrowdFunded Media
With the recent shift from Venture Capitalist Social Media to crowdfunded social media I expect to hear about a shift in where people can be found. I expect that we will soon hear “And you can find me on Calckey at this address, on Pixelfeed.eu with this username, and peertube.social.
I expect that there will be a shift in where people can be found on various websites and I expect that Twitter, Instagram, and other websites will fade away.
Dormant
I haven’t deleted Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other accounts, but my eyeballs are no longer there. If something is shared on Twitter, Facebook Instagram or other sites there is a chance that I will never see it. I don’t want to use Venture Capital funded Media anymore.
VC Funded Media is Declining
Venture Capital Funded Media thinks that users are addicts, rather than valuable users, and this attitude is why they get away with appalling behaviour. Huffman is the most recent one to treat his subredditors and redditors with scorn, rather than respect. Without the user community social media giants are just websites, nothing more.
A Thought
Decades ago we heard “and you can find this information on Teletext or “and you can find this information on your minitel at 3615…”. Those days are gone, and those mentions are part of a different age. I think that we are going to see the shift away from Twitter, Instagram and other handles, to Fediverse linked accounts. I think we’re about to enter a new era. I look forward to it.
Cycling from Nyon To Geneva and Back
Catching the train to Geneva and back to Nyon costs about 14CHF per day, depending on whether you have paid 180 CHF for the half fare or not. In contrast two Continent GP 5000 tires cost about 110CHF and you can go to Geneva and back a few hundred times.
The loop from Nyon to Geneva is about 20-30 kilometres. This is a very easy distance to cycle once you get to the right level of fitness. I have cycled to Geneva and back multiple times recently because I want to habituate myself to the journey but also because I want to prove to myself that I don’t need trains and other forms of public transport.
I often caught the train to Geneva and back when I was working for three or more employers. I got used to the journey but eventually I learned that the journey took about two and a half hours a day. Around an hour one way, and one and a half hours the other. Cycling to Geneva takes 40-50 minutes but at least I’m working out while I’m commuting. If I catch the train then my workout is a 20 minute walk, and then I wait for a train, fiddle with the phone, and then feel frustrated that Swiss commuters walk so slowly.
In the reverse direction I hated waiting 15-20 minutes for a train to take me to where I wanted to go. That’s where the bike comes in.
If I have somewhere safe to store the bike, and if I can shower and change clothes, then commuting by bike would become a pleasure, rather than a chore. Cycling is enjoyable. Commuting by train, and by car is a chore.
We need more people to see cycling as an option, rather than buses and trains. Buses and trains are as much of a problem as cars, because they encourage people to be lazy. The other flaw of buses and trains is that they are inflexible.
If I was unlucky commuting home then I would miss the bus, have to wait an hour, and the bus journey would take 50 minutes. I’d waste two hours, for a one hour walk. It was as fast to walk, as to take a bus. That’s why I hate buses. Between the time you wait, and the time the bus takes it is very often just as fast to walk, especially for small hops.
We need cycling to become a serious and viable option. Cars, buses and trains are keeping us prisoner. If we move around by bike then we gain our freedom. Bikes are fast, have minimal carbon footprint, and open up the world.
Minimal Walking – Day 2
I went for a walk with the barefoot shoes for a second day in a row. I didn’t regret it. I need to pay more attention to how I walk, specifically I need to make sure not to slam my heel into the ground with each step and this takes focus, muscle use, and discipline.
This time I wore socks with the barefoot shoes and the sensation is different. I prefer feeling that my feet are protected by the shoe, and by the socks. I don’t know why I dislike walking without socks in these shoes. I suspect that it’s a matter of adapting, psychologically.
Shopping Centre With Barefoot Shoes
I went to the shops to get two or three drinks with the barefoot shoes and in this environment they feel great. The ground is smooth so if you’re going shopping, minimal shoes are fine. I know we don’t buy minimal shoes to walk in supermarkets but by association if we’re at a winter club med, summer club med or elsewhere and we don’t want to wear normal shoes, these are fine.
Weathered Tarmac
Despite the shoes feeling good on lose stones that are used to cover driveways they do not feel good on weather worn tarmac that has disintegrated to leave chaotic stones around. In this context I felt the limitation of 6mm of sole protection. I sometimes felt discomfort. It’s intriguing because on a dirt path they felt fine but not on a surfaced road that has been allowed to degrade over several years, or even decades.
Feeling Calf Muscles
After two days of walking in barefoot shoes, and after my 5km walk two days earlier my calves still feel pumped. That’s why I will take a rest day today. It’s not that I don’t want to walk with the barefoot shoes today, but that I don’t want to risk injury from building up fatigue in my legs.
The Difference Socks Make
Wearing socks, with the vapour glove 7 does impact how hot feet feel. My feet felt warmer when I wore socks, than without. In summer the shoes are comfortable without socks, so it makes sense to save on washing by not wearing any but when it gets colder wearing socks will extend the temperature range within which these shoes are worn.
And Finally
I have walked 18km or so in about 3 hours over two days and so far the shoes feel fine. I do feel that I need to spend a little more time thinking about how I am walking, but I often find myself walking without thinking about the change in shoes. Walking barefoot is comfortable and intuitive. Socks make me feel safer despite them hardly offering any extra protection. Today I am taking a rest day from barefoot walking and tomorrow I could take them in case of technical issues when cycling. I think I was triggered to think about how I get around because I sold the scooter, so now I will either drive the car, walk, or cycle. Without that trigger I probably would not have pivoted.
Thoughts On The Vapour Glove Six
I walk around in socks when I’m at home, so not quite barefoot, but almost. The idea of barefoot shoes is to get the human body, and especially the lower half to get back in touch with walking barefoot.
Yesterday I went for an 8.55km walk in barefoot shoes. I didn’t regret it. I took some spare shoes with me in case I found myself in such agony that I felt the need to switch. The truth is that I didn’t. When I walked the same route with crocs, and again with wellington boots I felt pain quite fast, and I just wanted to get home. With the barefoot shoes I didn’t. The Shoes I have: Merrel Vapor Glove 6.
A Reminder of Diving Shoes
If you go scuba diving you will be familiar with the “barefoot” sensation because diving shoes and boots have thin soles designed to protect your feet from pebbles, rocks and more. Barefoot shoes are similar. They’re thin and flexible. You can roll them up into two little balls and have them with you when rollerblading or doing other sports. They can be worn with, or without socks.
The reason for which I did not try walking with diving shoes is that they are made from neoprene and I felt worried that I would get blisters or friction burns. That’s why I chose these shoes, rather than the cheaper alternatives.
Heel Impacts
The first thing that I noticed is that walking barefoot feels normal, at least in the appartment, because I do, all the time. The moment walking with barefoot shoes feels different is when you are walking with big strikes and you feel the heel hit the ground with each step. At this point you will feel that if you don’t change your ground strikes you will get heel damage fast. It requires you to think about walking. Ever hear that clomp, clomp, sound when children or adults walk without thinking of cushioning their footsteps when not wearing shoes? That’s the problem when walking outdoors. We need to re-learn to walk barefoot, without clomping with our heels.
No Residual Pain The Next Day
I considered writing this post last night but didn’t. I wanted to see whether I had any knee, heel or other pains. I don’t. I feel fine so I’m tempted to go for another barefoot walk but I am not sure that’s wise, as it makes sense to give my body time to adapt. They say to do half an hour. I did one and a half hours as a first try. That’s a full immersion. I am not regretting it now.
Without Socks
I always wear socks, except for when I am in a wet suit. I even wear socks in my dry suit. Wearing socks in a dry suit is normal, as you wear a dry suit for cold water diving. I feel that the base of my foot got a friction burn but I think that’s related to the previous day’s running, rather than the shoes.
With the rain we have had recently plants have thrived and grass has grown. As a result of the plant growth I had to walk through taller grass at moments. I don’t feel comfortable with this. I’m worried of creepy crawlies or snakes biting me. This is due to feeling exposed without socks, and wearing much thinner shoes than usual.
Pebbles, Dirt Paths and Tarmac
I walked on tarmac for the most part. The shoes feel comfortable, aside from the heel strike that I need to concentrate on avoiding. This behaviour modification will be easy to implement, especially now that I have read that it requires active avoidance, at least initially. I tried walking along a dirt path and I felt comfortable. I didn’t feel the pebbles and stones too much. They’re comfortable on dirt paths. The final surface test was to walk on pebbles. Near one church they have a nice testing bed of stones so I walked there and felt fine. No pain from small stones and pebbles. I only retracted my foot in anticipation of pain once with these shoes. They are fine for the terrain I walk on ever day.
Spare Shoes
If I’m cycling or rollerblading these shoes would be great because they allow me to go for a bike ride, and when I get to destination, and if I then go for a walk with people, then I can swap from cycling shoes to normal shoes. The same is true of rollerblading. Rollerblading is great to get around faster than on foot, but sometimes you encounter a steep hill that you need to get down, or you want to go into a shop, but can’t, due to the roller blades. With these spare shoes in your pockets you can swap one for the other.
Fitness and Adaptibility
Fitness is meant to play a role in how fast you adapt to barefoot walking. I hope that I’m fit enough, and used to walking barefoot around home enough to find adapting to barefoot shoes simple and pleasant. I don’t plan to see or feel any health benefits. I am experimenting with this out of intellectual curiousity. In the last 12 months I have walked four million six hundred steps. With such a solid base I think I will be okay.
And Finally
Originally I was tempted to get new running shoes that cost twice as much but eventually not only did I forget about the running shoes, but I also considered that I want to try such expensive shoes in person, before spending such money. Buying shoes is hard because they feel fine in the shop, but after seven kilometres of walking at full speed you start to regret plenty of shoe purchases. That’s why I have two or three pairs of shoes in active use now, on contrast to the old single pair of shoes.
I have hiking boots, for proper hiking, hiking shoes, for my daily walks in rainy conditions, and when I want more protection, running shoes that I also use for hiking and that I plan to use daily now, a second pair of running shoes, that I haven’t used frequently because they’re good for dry weather, i.e. summer. The fourth pair are years old and will be retired. I then have a pair of cycling, and a pair of climbing shoes, along with a pair of crocs. Now I have the barefoot shoes too.
At the moment my walking shoes last for six months, if I’m lucky but they usually wear out sooner. I usually replace them when I start to feel that the base is getting so thin that I feel stones almost breaking through the sole. I will log how far I walk before I feel the need to replace them.
Earth Day – Some Simple Acts
Today is Earth Day, as Google, Moleskine and other companies are reminding us of. Earth Day is an opportunity to think about how to reduce our carbon footprint and ecological impact.
Sigg recently began to sell aluminium water bottles that are made entirely from recycled aluminium. Instead of encouraging us to recycle our old bottles, they have skipped a step, and now make their bottles from recycled aluminium directly.
It takes five uses of a recycled Sigg water bottle for the carbon footprint to be offset. Amortising the cost of a bottle takes about 30 litres, so theoretically thirty days if you drink one litre per day.
Sportstracker, a sports tracking app that I have been using for a decade and a half or more tells me that I have walked 22hrs, cycled almost 8hrs, nordic walked 2hrs28 and run one hour.
It says that I have saved almost 5kg of CO2. It would be more if it counted cycling as commuting. I can’t control what is considered for that calculation.
I would love to see a shift away from car culture, to bike and walking culture. I would love to see people walk and cycle more, and for cars to behave more courteously, towards pedestrians and cyclists.
In theory people should be quiet from 22:00 onwards but unfortunately this isn’t the case. We always hear about how we should stop eating meat and driving cars but I’d like some effort to be made to stop people from being nocturnal. Specifically I would like the cost of alcohol consumption and smoking on balconies at night to be tackled. Being social at night, rather than during the day, means more energy being wasted for lighting, to prepare alcoholic beverages, to keep them cool and more. Think also, of the carbon footprint of every cigarette, from the tobacco that is smoked to the filter that needs to be disposed of, the supply chain and more.
It seems paradoxical that festival goers and other forms of altermondialistes are nocturnal, given that being nocturnal requires so much energy, and light pollution.
The La Dole Webcam shows the seriousness of the problem with light pollution at this moment in time. Review the night time images of the sky over the Léman
And Finally
Cycling and walking are fun. Moving away from automatically taking the car, would improve our quality of life. Driving, in traffic, is unpleasant. Water bottles are now made from recycled aluminium to start with, rather than after use. Coffee capsules are made from seaweed rather than plastic or aluminium. Progress is being made to help the environment, but more can be done.
Call of the Re-Wild
Europe wants to bring back top predators like lynx, bears and wolves. In the US national parks brought back certain wild animals and it helped to control the population of elk and other herbivores, and to control the biosphere.
The challenge, with Europe, is that it is tiny, compared to the wide open American spaces, and it’s densely populated. Wild animals can roam thousands of kilometres for food and more. Europe is thousands of kilometres wide, with plenty of people, especially in Northern Italy, Switzerland etc. To bring back wild animals is to bring them close to humans.
I feel differently about bears and lynx. I saw bears in Giant Sequoia national park and felt no fear. As long as you keep some distance from them you should be safe. The US ensures that people either hang their food, or use bear cans to prevent wild bears from reaching their food. I have read that bears find ways of getting to the food anyway.
With Lynx I am less afraid because with cats, foxes and other animals, when they see us, they run away. They prefer to run, than to challenge us. I have seen plenty of goat like creatures and felt happy to see them.
Dogs and wolves are a different matter. Both fill me with real fear. I have just one desire, to climb out of their reach, or find something to shield me. Once I climbed onto a fallen down tree to be some distance from a dog, another time I climbed onto a pillar for a property to be out of reach of dogs. In two cases I just froze. I am afraid of dogs. By association I am scared of dogs as I fear the same behaviour.
The reason for which I bring up this topic, is not to repeat myself, but rather to comment on the difference in attitude between dogs and wolves, on one side, and bears on the other.
A single bear threatens a father and son, before killing a jogger and there is talk of whether to be afraid, and whether to cull bears. On the other side we have packs of wolves killing livestock, and getting closer and closer to human habitations and no one is worried. Humans have feared wolves for centuries, for a reason.
I love the idea of wolves in spaces where you can walk for ten days without seeing humans. I hate the idea of wolves where humans are half a day’s walk away. Is the wildlife such a problem that wolves are justified?
As a child I wrote a report about wolves, but with time my fear of dogs, and by association wolves, has grown. I’d rather encounter a bear, than a wolf. I have encountered bears, and lived to speak of the experience.
At the Crux De Van I walked up a foggy hill and come to within metres of a type of goat. At La Dôle too. I have come across deer running across fields cycling, and surprised another deer while walking near some woods. I have seen two or three foxes and more. I love to see wildlife, I just feel a strong fear of dogs and related animals. I want to enjoy walks, without fearing dog, or wolf attacks.