The Dynamism Of Light – Walking on a Cloudy Day

Byrichard
Reading Time: < 1 minute

If we did not have seasons, and weather, then walking the same route several times a week would get boring. Thanks to the weather we see plants get sown, we see them grow, we see them harvested, and then we see new plants planted. Over time, we recognise plants at an earlier and earlier stage of development. Today I saw that cherries are close to being ready to be picked, so it may be time to prepare Foret Noir.

Looking from Crans towards Lausanne etc.
Looking from Crans towards Lausanne etc.

I installed WordPress 5.8 alpha on my local computer to play around with. I won’t play around with it today because I have to be focused on something else until tomorrow evening. Tomorrow evening, I will regain the freedom to study what I feel like studying.

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Day 58 of Self-Isolation in Switzerland – Writing For Future Generations Now.
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Day 58 of Self-Isolation in Switzerland – Writing For Future Generations Now.

Byrichard

I’m writing for future generations now. As I looked at the stats for the most recent posts i see that readership is low. I’m tempted to start writing about something else as a result. In two or three weeks if we’re still seeing low numbers of new cases I might.


The biggest change since two days ago is that when I went to the shops I saw that InterDiscount and other places are open. Restaurants are open too. I saw some people in these places but without counting.


Inspiration to write usually comes from meeting people and having conversations but it’s at least 58 days since I met someone new and had a different conversation so it’s hard to explore new ideas.


The CSS front page I’ve been working on for the past three or four days is almost ready to be shared. I still need to tweak three or four things. I’m happy about this. When I replaced the time I spent on social media with playing with CSS I gave myself a great opportunity to learn two or three new skills. I was afraid that I would be confused and lost but so far I’ve found the opposite to be true. I’ve found it relatively easy.


The biggest challenge is getting the content to be desktop and mobile-friendly so every experiment I run has to look good on both. So far this has been a good experience. It’s something that I haven’t done, possibly since social media came along, and distracted us. It’s a shame that social media didn’t grow in quality of conversations but it has benefited my drive to learn something new.


We have to keep upskilling, and upskilling by working on a website is good, because we learn skills that others can see and assess within seconds. The more time I spend tweaking the first page the better it will look, and the more knowledge I will come away with.


See you tomorrow for day 59. We’re just two days away from two months without being within two meters of another person.

The day 16+ and 5+ year Olds Could Get Boosters And Vaccinate

The day 16+ and 5+ year Olds Could Get Boosters And Vaccinate

Byrichard

This is the day 16+ and 5+ year olds could get boosters and Vaccinate in Switzerland. For 16+ year olds, at least in Vaud, we are now eligible for vaccination, as long as we’re in the country. I am not. I have to wait until I get back. This is a big step forward. Being able to get a booster is good. 5+ year old children should be able to get their first vaccine shortly, although the details are not clear yet.


I wish I was in Switzerland to enjoy the weather. For once, it is snowing, so for once it would be interesting to look at the landscape. I was bored with seeing sunshine every day for years in a row. By the time I get back, the landscape will be boring again. If it wasn’t for the growing number of new cases, I would be driving from CH to Spain on Sunday, not two weeks ago.


Reading


I am still reading every day. I am currently reading a book about the Camino De Santiago. The journey describes quite a few days of rain, and the thoughts of a single woman, on a long hike, for a change. Plenty of books have been written by men. Fewer have been written by women. It is nice to get that perspective for a change.


I usually read until I can’t keep my eyes open, and sometimes I read during the night if I wake up. For two weeks I haven’t listened to audiobooks as I haven’t had moments of solitude. Usually I listen when I walk alone. I still ignore podcasts, I get my news from tweets and news websites. I also get news from sources where I am not forced to spend a specific amount of time. Text is easy to skim quickly.


That’s it for today. I had no daily walk so there is no news on that front.

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A Curious Little Fox

Byrichard

I enjoy to go on walks that last from one to two hours and to explore the area where I live. In doing so I see interesting wildlife. Just yesterday I came across a furry little fox. I didn’t have my proper camera so I had to go home and get it. This is some of the footage I managed to get.

He’s cute isn’t he?

Roman Fish Salting in the Mediterranean

Roman Fish Salting in the Mediterranean

Byrichard

Roman Fish salting bath
Roman Fish salting bath


For years I heard about Roman pisciculture baths near the sea in Spain and I thought that this is where they would keep fish for eating, like they did in medieval Europe. That idea is wrong. The pisciculture that you have near Javea, Cadiz, and other parts of the Mediterranean coast were for the production of Garum and other salted fish versions.


The Vault ceiling of a water pipe built by the Romans


A Water channel, with the roof missing.


If you walk by the coast you can see this channel, and you can even walk along it. If you look out to see it looks like this. If you look the other way it has been filled in and exploration would require excavation, and that would require a permit. This is one of the smaller channels.


One of the waterways leading from the sea to the water containers.


The channels are deep enough for me to stand in. The experience is interesting because they block the sound of the sea. Someone who has studied the process in depth should produce sketches to give us an idea of how this would have looked. I feel no need to know how it smelled.


Channel from the pond to the sea
Channel from the pond to the sea


This channel Is at least two meters wide and three or more meters deep. I don’t know which way water would have flowed.





You can see one of the tanks in this satellite image.


Another satellite image to give you some context





For a better understanding of Fish satling during Roman times I recommend reading this paper. .


The answer to the question of why the really large salting factories are found in the western
Mediterranean, Brittany and the Black Sea, but not in the Eastern Mediterranean
probably lies in the fact that the large-scale factories were designed to handle the
massive catches of migratory species along particular routes. They are therefore found
chiefly on the key migration routes along the Straits of Gibraltar and the North
African coast; through the Kimmerian Bosphoros; and in the Bay of Douarnenez
(Brittany) where there are migrant shoals of sardines

Quantification of fish-salting infrastructure capacity in the Roman world


The site is accessible on foot, as long as you are wearing good shoes.

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