On Not Listening to Podcasts

Byrichard

There are times when I listen to two or three hours of podcasts a day and I learn from them. I usually listen when I am cooking and when I am walking. For several weeks now I have hardly listened to any podcasts. This is for three reasons.


The first of these is that I spend two to four hours studying a day, so when I go for my walk I think I have listened to the point of saturation and now I’m ready for a change of ideas. Recently whilst walking I spent days reading Gulag by Anne Applebaum and I learned a lot about the Gulag, about its history, it’s pervasiveness in society and more. I also learned about some of the cruelties that people did not try to stop. Cruelties such as the mass rape of women on prisoner ships.


The second reason is more pleasant. I have been cycling more, and rollerblading. I never listen to anything when I am cycling for two reasons. The first is that the wind is too loud, so anything you listen to would be hard to understand anyway. The second is that I also rollerblade and with rollerblading it’s entirely based around my need to be fully focused. I haven’t done this sport for years and my subconscious is being lazy. My conscious is stuck doing all the work so I want to keep my focus free.


The third and final reason is that I am socially exhausted. I went from weeks at a time with five minutes of conversation, or less. to several hours of not being alone. The transition has encouraged me to enjoy walking without podcasts, to cycle and to just daydream rather than ingest information.


Due to society’s desire to live with COVID, rather than Zero COVID introverts, people between contracts, single people and others have been forced to adapt to solitude. The adaptation was painful. I fear that I have now transitioned to the opposite side. I am happier when I spend 10 minutes to half an hour with people, rather than hours at a time. I know that I will transition back to absolute solitude soon enough, and that if I lose my habits of solitude I will really suffer with loneliness.


Recently my happiest days are where I am left alone to study, do my daily sports, cook and eat when I want and live my routine. I hate weekends and holidays during this pandemic. The reasons that I used to love them, are now gone, until COVID zero.


Society was selfish and stupid to go for living with COVID, rather than COVID zero.

A New Yorker Cartoon, Existentialism and The Absurd

A New Yorker Cartoon, Existentialism and The Absurd

Byrichard

Today I saw a picture of a frog sitting in a sauce pan on a cooker speaking to another, saying “I Know the water is heating up but that’s the next generation’s problem” and this can be a comment on a few things. The first, linear comment is of course about global warming and its consequences for current and future generations. Every generation, we, as children, want to make a better place when we grow up. The realities of adulthood make this more of a challenge than we had anticipated.



The second comment, and the one I leapt to is about the habit of saying “We’re safe, everyone can remove their masks and meet in big groups this summer, before, when winter comes, seeing that there is a huge new wave of Covid cases. In my eyes summer is the best time to work towards Covid Zero and be like most of Asia, New Zealand, and before recent changes, Australia.


The existential part of today’s blog post title comes, from knowing that the pandemic will get much worse again, and that we are windmilling towards another wave. Data I saw today suggests that the next wave is already on its way back. If this is true then self-isolation is not absurd.


In Summer it does feel absurd to self-isolate but at the same time there is evidence that it is not absurd, that it is rational, and normal. Another existential question is whether I want or need friendships anymore. It has been at least five years since I have had any. Any need, or deep desire has been muted years ago. Years ago I cried with pain, due to solitude. Now I think I’m blazé about solitude. I feel that if I wasn’t growing older I would be completely fine with the pandemic solitude I am currently living with, as well as the solitude I felt before the pandemic.


We couldn’t live in self-isolation for two years, going into the third if we were convinced that we needed to have a social life and all that other crap. People will think this is posturing but I’ve been solitary since some of my earliest memories. The pandemic doesn’t help. Neither does job insecurity, and neither does having to drive to see people who will never return the favour.


One of my reasons for not wanting to do things, either alone or with people, is that if you do things with people you need to walk close to other people who are not wearing masks. If you go to walk a mountain path it will be narrow and people will not be masked. If you wear a mask you will looked at as if you were swearing at them whilst playing a bagpipe. You do get strange, disapproving looks when you wear masks.


I don’t mind in the shops when I buy food, but in stairwells and other places it is uncomfortable. This discomfort is the government’s fault, for spreading disinformation about the pandemic being over, when it clearly isn’t.


Trevor Noah was at the correspondent’s dinner two nights ago and called it a super spreader event. This morning I saw multiple reports of people testing positive for covid, and aranet4 readings in the 2000+ range of c02 parts per million. Western countries are constantly selling the lie that the pandemic is over, when all of the data and previous seven waves prove are premature. The Northern Hemisphere should work towards Covid Zero but has chosen covid denialism instead, so the window of opportunity to stop covid before window is being missed. Spring and summer are the ideal opportunity to get to Covid Zero with the lowest social cost.


We have provided the virus with a pilot light of opportunities to spread this summer and we will pay the price in September, yet again.


When I check glocals I see that no events are planned anyway, so i am not missing out at the moment. Those that do sports where groups meet, and use cars, are still self isolating. it is only the alcoholics and others that are meeting and socialising without masks during a pandemic.


And that’s it for today. Less euphoric than sometimes, but this situation induces a level of fatigue that we just have to get used to.

Stormy Skies Near Nyon
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Stormy Skies Near Nyon

Byrichard

The weather was finally dynamic today. The storm warnings were flashing towards Hermance, on the French side of the lake. This gave a nice contrast between the yellow of the Colza fields and the dark threatening clouds behind.


At moments I thought that rain would begin to fall but luckily the doppler radar, and my instincs were correct, so I did not get drenched in rain or pelted with hail. At one point it did feel as though hail could be a possibility.



In the last week or two I have cycled around 150 kilometres, which isn’t bad. It could be better but single rides are around 49 kilometres. Once the ride was 49 kilometres but I saw that I could easily get an extra few meters to make it 50 so I made the effort. The second time I skipped.


My only trips into Geneva this year have been by bike, but only up from the lake, up the Via Appia and then back towards Vaud. No stops in Geneva itself so far. We are still in a pandemic and I am not going to play Pandemic Roulette, as I like to call it. I am not taking risks that are not worth taking.


If you are so inclined you can now listen to Germinal as podcasts via France Culture. Each episode is 28 minutes long so easy to slot into your day, either commuting or doing other things.


During the pandemic I spent a lot of time reading swiss news, to keep up with current affairs. Now that the Swiss government has decided to pretend that the pandemic is over I have stopped reading the RTS info site. There is not much value when they do not provide relevant news and information.


I will update this blog erratically because it’s hard to know when I will or will not be inspired. Today’s blog post is mainly as an excuse to share photographs.

Playing With The Aranet 4
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Playing With The Aranet 4

Byrichard

Countries like Switzerland recently decided that the pandemic was over because lobbies wanted it to be over. Despite high numbers of infections and the percentage of tests being positive Switzerland decided that the acute phase of the pandemic was over. For them the lack of deaths, and the lack of people in ICUs meant that the pandemic had entered a safe stage.


557 PPM in a shopping centre at around 0845


From Wednesday to Friday we went from masks must be worn indoors to “there is no need for masks anymore, even on public transport. From one day to the next we went from “masks are obligatory” to “masks will be tolerated”. In Spain we read about how some psychologists noticed an “empty face” syndrome within the Spanish teen community, which was then spread via the free press to other European states. Wanted to wear a mask had become stigmatised as almost being a sign of mental illness.


From one day to the next the Swiss media went from writing twelve lines of text about the pandemic to writing zero for days at a time. We now hear about Swiss covid numbers once per week. The body that was in charge of monitoring the situation has been dissolved, the state of emergency has been lifted and the pandemic is being ignored.


Meanwhile France, next door, is blood clot read on the RTS map of European infections. The pandemic is far from over but the Swiss government has decided to pretend it is.


That’s where devices like the Aranet 4 come in. For as long as Switzerland was taking the pandemic semi-seriously I felt that such a device was a waste of money and a gimmick. When Switzerland decided to ignore the pandemic such a device became crucial because we need to know how risky the environment we are is. The higher the co2 level, the higher the risk of Covid-19 transmission.


You can set the device to update every minute, two minutes, five minutes or ten minutes. The battery lasts for two years and there are two apps. The first Aranet 4 allows you to keep a log of the air situation over time and see the trends. Aranet 4 display allows you to see the display but nothing else. In theory every mobile phone can access an Aranet 4 without the need for pairing with the display app.


I go to the shops as soon as they open and in the time it takes for me to shop the reading goes from 540ppm to 600 within a few minutes of the shops opening. I have not been later in the day, to see how much further it climbs. The point is simple. co2 rises very quickly, whether you are home alone with closed windows, in a car, or in a shopping center.


We see people queue to wash their hands and disinfect their trollies, but they fail to wear a mask. Masks are the single and best line of defense and people are washing their hands instead.


Aranet 4 devices are great because they are small, light, easy to carry, easy to read and the data is easy to keep an eye on. It allows you to assess air cleanliness within one minute of walking into a room. You can see how quickly opening windows can make a room safer. You can also see whether a lift or hallway is safe. Surprisingly I got low readings in a lift.


Aside from checking that shops, lifts and hallways are safe you can also use it when you visit friends or family. When you step into a room, you can go and open the windows, and when you see that the Aranet 4 shows that the air is fresh you can take the mask off and behave more normally.


And Finally.


The Aranet 4 is expensive for what it does and outside of a pandemic where governments of several nations fail to keep people safe I would class it as a luxury. Due to Switzerland and other EU countries deciding to pretend the pandemic is over the situation has changed and such a device becomes worthwhile. It provides us with a quick way of assessing the level of risk in a room, so that we may decide whether to stay, leave, or open windows. It allows us to quantify whether removing the mask is a risk worth taking or not.


I do not carry this device unless I plan to spend time indoors. It is not designed for falls, being exposed to the outdoor elements etc.

Wearing a Dumb Watch Or a Classic

Wearing a Dumb Watch Or a Classic

Byrichard

Before the pandemic I liked to track sports, whether walking, indoor climbing, cycling, walking or more. I have tracked sports activities for two to three years at this point. I think I have almost 3000 tracked activities. That’s tracking my walks and more almost every day for at least ten years.


Recently the English, Swiss, Danish and other governments decided that they would declare the pandemic over, with no concern about the reality on the ground, or the warnings by the WHO not to assume that the pandemic is over. I also keep reading about how serious long Covid is, so despite the billions spent on propaganda to tell us that the pandemic is over, I am not convinced.


This does come with a psychological cost. While others can return to normal life, and either ignore the risk because they have already fallen sick, or ignore the risk because they don’t read hard news like some of us do, there is a social divide. On one side there are people who want to be careful and reach covid zero before resuming normal life, and on the other the people who don’t worry or pay attention to the details.


This summer we have a choice to make. Do we self isolate, to stay safe, and continue to wear masks, or do we give up and give in, and play Covid roulette? The data shows that solitude and masks are much better than long Covid but others are not careful. It is within this context that I am tempted to give up on fitness watches, and smart watches. What value is there in tracking our every move, our every breath and our every heart beat if we’re going to dine alone, walk alone, and ride alone?


I hardly look at Strava, Garmin Connect or the Apple Fitness app. I was excited that I walked five and a half million steps in a single year, but at the same time where is the end of this pandemic? Where is the safe social event? Where is the guarantee that a state or country is covid free.


The shift from pandemic mode, to no pandemic mode, in Switzerland was from one evening to the next morning. Within 10 hours we went from masks and being cautious to no covid passes, no masks, no social distancing, no event restrictions or anything else. In other words we went from being able to do things without danger. Now that there are no safety measures it is better to shop online, and not to do anything social in meat space.


I don’t expect any summer waves. What I am frustrated by is that we could profit from the summer virus lull to get to Covid Zero and eradicate the problem. Instead society is going to do everything it can to leave the pilot light burning for the virus, so that, when Christmas and New Year comes, we will have another tragic winter.


It is within this context that I am tempted to wear dumb watches again, to downgrade from the iPhone 8 plus to the iPhone SE and more. It is hard not to lose hope for the future. I haven’t lost hope. I study two to three hours a day now, four if you consider podcasts as studying. I am working towards a future, because I see no short term possibilities, during this pandemic. I am not depressed. I am despondent. I am going through the motions, whilst waiting for hope to reappear.


A Solar Powered Watch in Spain
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A Solar Powered Watch in Spain

Byrichard

A solar powered watch in Spain


If you were a solar powered watch would you prefer sunny Switzerland or sunny Spain? Luckily my watch has now tried both. The watch likes that you walk with your watch wrist facing the sun and the wrist without a watch to be on the shady side.


I know this is not an ordinary thing to think about but it is key to having a watch charge as you wear it. So are your sleeves. If your sleeves cover the watch then it will not charge either. There is even a sleeve mode for these watches. It tries to save power.


I tried strapping the watch to my bag but like a baby trying to sit up it falls flat on it’s face and does not charge. If you want to strap it to a bag find a way to keep it solar panel side up.


In the end I just held it in my hand on the sunny side, and tried to keep it facing the sun. I think that I managed to preserve the charge, but not to generate more power than I used.


The weather is still not summer weather. It is December weather in the north. On a summer day keeping the watch in the sun would be easy. I still managed to get 100 percent from the panel even just for short bursts at a time. I will keep playing and see how best to use it.

The Curse of The Electric Light Bulb
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The Curse of The Electric Light Bulb

Byrichard

Have you ever considered how nice it would be to wake up when the sun comes up, and to end the day when the sun goes down? In summer the days would be long and filled with memories. In winter we would head to sleep when the sun sets. Every day we would either gain three minutes or lose three minutes.


The curse is not the light bulb itself, of course, but rather in the ability for people to make noise for extended periods of time. For all the talk of blue lights, yellow light, reducing distractions and more, the real challenge is to live somewhere where neighbours or family do not wake you too early, or keep you up too late.


The Balcony


Although many people fantasise about balconies I have grown to hate them. People either sit on them all day and smoke so you never have fresh air, or they sit out at night, talk, yell and make noise all night long. By creating the balcony architects have created a way for people to inconvenience their neighbours. I find balconies and gardens to be uninteresting.


For me there is more pleasure in going out for the day, in going to climb, to walk, to ride a bike or to do something else for a day, to spend time in the fresh air, while doing sports.


A balcony, is like a summer beach. It’s nice to walk on in the evening or in the morning, but it’s boring to sit on it all day. I’d rather be in the outdoors doing something active, rather than passive.


The Sound System


Apartments are built to stop the noises from fridges, toilets, dishwashers and washing machines being transmitted across from one apartment to another, but soundproofing against televisions and other audio systems is lacking. This means that every single day you are at the mercy of neighbours suffering from hearing loss. The noise is just loud enough to be heard, but not enough to be enjoyed. It invades your personal space.


Until I moved into an apartment, I never understood why people wanted to spend money on white noise machines, but over the last two or three years I do. The problem with white noise machines is that you need to find one that is loud enough to cover the noise, without being too loud to prevent you from sleeping. I have yet to find the ideal solution.


Duration


When written down, the issues above do not look that problematic. Close the windows and you deal with the issue of smoke. Find a white noise machine and you deal with the issue of noise. The problem is that both of these problems can last from 1600-0300, or even longer. That is a long time to be inconvenienced, especially every two to three weeks.


Impact


Quality of sleep, and consistency of sleep are both impacted. It means that every two to three weeks your sleep pattern is shifted by a number of hours resulting in fatigue or other problems. It also makes it less interesting to make early plans. We’re in a pandemic so there are no real plans for early in the morning. Out of Pandemic it does have an impact. Being able to go to sleep when the circadian rhythm says “bed time” is useful to avoid fatigue. A few years ago, when I was sleep deprived I was breathalised, to see if I had been drinking, which I hadn’t, but I thought, “my sleep deprivation is the danger at the moment.”


Common Courtesy


When I watch television I normally put it loud enough for me to hear, but not so loud that it can be heard through walls. When I listen to music, podcasts or audio books I listen with earphones. This prevents too much sound making it through the walls. No one has complained about me making noise, but I still have that habit anyway. I prefer to be unheard if possible.




A River Runs Dry, Wood builds a Natural Dam and Corn Grows Eratically.

A River Runs Dry, Wood builds a Natural Dam and Corn Grows Eratically.

Byrichard

When rain becomes a treat you get used to looking at rivers that are running drier and drier with every passing day. The river pictured below is so low that you see the river bed in many parts. It’s a meter or more below it’s usual level. Imagine being a weather forecaster during a drought. Today it will be dry and sunny, as it has been for a few seasons.



In periods of heavy rain the water reaches to the tree roots currently covered in moss. At the moment they are high and dry. In another part of Switzerland some people decided to empty a pool into a local river. It didn’t explain why or how. The water was chlorinated and it caused fish in the river to die and they will now be fined.


One of the consequences of the lack of rain is that branches and logs that fall into a river bed have a tendency to accumulate for months at a time. When the rains finally come they serve as a means of transporting all that wood down the river until it gets blocked. As in the example below we see that two or more logs that got jammed across the river blocked smaller branches and detritus from getting by. They piled up and now we have the natural wood dam/mess.


River built dam
River built dam


Over my walks I have looked at corn, out of curiousity and for a long time everything looks normal, until one day you come across the condition we see below. This is called Corn Smut apparantly. scroll down that page. There are plenty of interesting names for corn ailments.


Corn smut
corn smut


When you go on your daily walks look around you. See what unusual things you spot, and document or take note of them when you do. Nature is interesting. Keep attentive.

A Tractor Ploughing A Dry Field in Switzerland

A Tractor Ploughing A Dry Field in Switzerland

Byrichard

Today a tractor was ploughing a dry field. A cloud of dust was not that visible but you can see that rain would now be welcome. I walked by the usual river and looked down and the rocks in the riverbed are uncovered. There is no water running over them anymore. I notied that in another field pumpkins seem to be ready.


A dry Field In Switzerland
A dry Field In Switzerland


https://twitter.com/meteosuisse/status/1432303148119560193
Lack of rainfall in August


MétéoSuisse note encore qu’après les deux mois d’été très humides de juin et juillet, des précipitations inférieures à la moyenne ont été enregistrées dans la plupart des régions de Suisse en août

Météo – Un mois d’août plus frais mais avec moins de pluie – 20 minutes


Years ago I used to use weather apps to see when it would rain and I would even do things extra early to avoid being caught by the rain. Now I use weather apps for the opposite. Now I even consider driving to somewhere where I could be caught by the rain. I am bored of never seeing rain. I like rain. I like the sound. I like the smell, I like that it cleans everything. I also like that being indoors when it’s raining feels cosy.


Rain would also break the monotony of being able to go for a walk every single day without questioning whether the weather the weather is good enough. The weather is always good enough. The weather is so good that rivers are running dry. The climate has changed.


For several weeks I did not touch YouTube and as I have time to spend time there again I found that I am repulsed and don’t want to use the service anymore. Between the sensationalist content that is pushed on us, the non stop adverts and a general feeling of malaise the site is one I think I should now avoid. Its golden age is over, and now it’s time for it to become Yahoo or flickr.