Forgetting to say that my former piece of heaven is now for sale.
I don't know why I feel bad (just a little) about that.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Privacy in a public blog
There are several reasons why this blog does not get updated, if not sporadically.
The main one, of course, is the novelty effect (the lack thereof). It is not the newest coolest thing anymore.
Then, writing a blog is ultimately a waste of time. And, lately, there are other wastes of time competing with this. Facebook (it is a waste of time, but I'm spending (too much) time on it these weeks), the old classics Google Earth and Google Maps (Street View is the ultimate violation of privacy. That's why it's so cool)...
But there is another factor. Privacy. So, why does privacy matters in a blog that can be rad by anyone? Well, for some imperscrutable reasons, the process of creating the post is private, even if the completed post itself is not. I feel shy/embarrassed/add your favourite lame excuse here writing a blog post with someone in the same room. That someone obviously couldn't care less, but anyway. Nobody said human beings are simple things.
Incidentally, the latter's one reason why I spent so much of my life in front of a computer (Commodore 64, then Commodore Amiga, but with my faithful 64 on one side, then a 486 which was my introduction to the wonderful world of PC. The rest is history).
Incidentally again, I grew more fond of my fellow human beings with the years. That changed me from a pathologically shy person to a shy/very shy person with occasional moments of extrovertion, and even some friends.
Enough incidents. The long period with no posts has not been uneventful. Job-wise, I did some sort of jump into the dark, by moving departments within the company. So, I stopped being a well-known and respected member of the old department, and started being the new guy in a department I didn't know deeply. Eventually, I slowly discovered that I was not so well-known or well-respected in the old one, and I wasn't so new or unknown in the new one. What happened after simply made me think that the jump in the darkness was actually a good idea.
Still job-wise, the company I work for is less rich than it used to be. There was a downsizing in January. It was incredible to see that the fired people were accepting their fates, while the people who stayed were more emotional. One would have expected the opposite. But everything was so sudden and unexpected, therefore one could expect the unexpected to happen.
About Dutch life: I begon an inburgering language course. The purpose is to turn a foreigner into a burger, that is a citizen integrated into society. A little hard (6 hours a week, all during work days), but great fun. And my Dutch starts to suck a little less. Still a long way before becoming a burger. Also, I got my first fines. Once I went through a red light with my bike, and a police's motorbike was standing there. The second time, my bike lights stopped working shortly before a place where policemen were waiting. And, of course, they resumed working shortly after.
The main one, of course, is the novelty effect (the lack thereof). It is not the newest coolest thing anymore.
Then, writing a blog is ultimately a waste of time. And, lately, there are other wastes of time competing with this. Facebook (it is a waste of time, but I'm spending (too much) time on it these weeks), the old classics Google Earth and Google Maps (Street View is the ultimate violation of privacy. That's why it's so cool)...
But there is another factor. Privacy. So, why does privacy matters in a blog that can be rad by anyone? Well, for some imperscrutable reasons, the process of creating the post is private, even if the completed post itself is not. I feel shy/embarrassed/add your favourite lame excuse here writing a blog post with someone in the same room. That someone obviously couldn't care less, but anyway. Nobody said human beings are simple things.
Incidentally, the latter's one reason why I spent so much of my life in front of a computer (Commodore 64, then Commodore Amiga, but with my faithful 64 on one side, then a 486 which was my introduction to the wonderful world of PC. The rest is history).
Incidentally again, I grew more fond of my fellow human beings with the years. That changed me from a pathologically shy person to a shy/very shy person with occasional moments of extrovertion, and even some friends.
Enough incidents. The long period with no posts has not been uneventful. Job-wise, I did some sort of jump into the dark, by moving departments within the company. So, I stopped being a well-known and respected member of the old department, and started being the new guy in a department I didn't know deeply. Eventually, I slowly discovered that I was not so well-known or well-respected in the old one, and I wasn't so new or unknown in the new one. What happened after simply made me think that the jump in the darkness was actually a good idea.
Still job-wise, the company I work for is less rich than it used to be. There was a downsizing in January. It was incredible to see that the fired people were accepting their fates, while the people who stayed were more emotional. One would have expected the opposite. But everything was so sudden and unexpected, therefore one could expect the unexpected to happen.
About Dutch life: I begon an inburgering language course. The purpose is to turn a foreigner into a burger, that is a citizen integrated into society. A little hard (6 hours a week, all during work days), but great fun. And my Dutch starts to suck a little less. Still a long way before becoming a burger. Also, I got my first fines. Once I went through a red light with my bike, and a police's motorbike was standing there. The second time, my bike lights stopped working shortly before a place where policemen were waiting. And, of course, they resumed working shortly after.
The four seasons in Dutch, with English translation
lente or voorjaar - autumn
zomer - autumn
herfst or najaar - autumn
winter - autumn
Well, there have been 6 consecutive sunny days! So, that's not too bad.
zomer - autumn
herfst or najaar - autumn
winter - autumn
Well, there have been 6 consecutive sunny days! So, that's not too bad.
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