Why this *site*? Is it some organisation? Is it work, a hobby or for profit? Honour? Glory? World peace? Is there a ‘mission’?		No organisation, no work, no hobby, not for profit, no honour, no glory and no world peace Reading , researching, thinking, analysing and talking about science and societal topics with friends and colleagues is the hobby, just for the fun of it. But not without consolidating the result in a concrete product; sometimes in cooperation with others, sometimes not; sometimes for others, sometimes not; sometimes in communication with others, sometimes not. These www-listings are only trivial spin off products, only relevant for a selected few. As the main file became too big (over 1 Mb) it became to much of a burden to send it by mail to my contacts (friends, (former) colleagues and a few network contacts) that expressed interest. So, no; no mission either.

…reasons for selecting these *countries* and not others? Will there be others, Belgium perhaps?	Well, the big ones is an obvious choice. Chance, contacts or curiosity played a roll for others. Others countries forthcoming might be Ireland or ‘Europe-Asia Relationship’. But it is all informal and leisure, it will not be in a day.

Isn’t this a lot of work and shouldn’t you be paid for this? A web site like this costs, doesn’t it?		It is and it isn’t a lot of work. There is Dutch proverb that covers the ground best; ‘every day a thread makes a sleeve in a year’, meaning that by doing a little bit each day it will result in something big at the end. The first ‘threads’ go back to the late nineteen eighties but it took a few years before the first list (as an ASCII text file) was drawn up in a systematic fashion. Subsequently it adapted, evolved, migrated, upgraded etc. to its present state. And it will probably do so for quite some time. And ‘no’, payment is not necessary. But yes it costs; € 2.20 per month even with no site at all and only a computer to look at email.

Does anyone take notice of this site?		Well, this thing is for the personal convenience of myself, some friends, (former) colleagues and a few specific interested parties mainly, all with a similar interest regarding science-education-technology-innovation and policy. Mind you, social media nor the cloud existed! The www-information spans (through personal contacts) only about two thirds of the globe, information is lacking about the other part... so far. Usage is not actively traced, tracked or counted either. But yes, it is (widely; 2/3 of the globe) noticed, appreciated and sometimes even mentioned as a (back)link (which is interpreted as a compliment). All www-information presented is or was public on internet or in press. As the content and deep link addresses change rather fast, some information is not up to date anymore but perhaps the URL address contains enough specifics so that interested parties still can find the desired organisation or content. Spring 2013 It was noticed that the website ranked around the 100,000^th of 30 million; don’t think so – a flaw in the algorithm is more likely as a(n empty) test page with about the same ranking was observed too. ;-)

Do the URL owners pay you for their reference at your website and documents?		No, nor is there any other sort of compensation or benefit involved.

Why don’t you start a business with all this?		Good question. Supply without demand is no market however. All info at this site is public; ‘demand’ can help itself by ‘googling’ a bit. So there is little confidence in this, truly being a business opportunity. Besides, there are some wonderful colleagues in public service already doing just that, with the backing of governments and public administrations! (And we are connected, as with our peers from other countries; so the globe is effectively covered.) Probably, there is good reason that it is a public service and not a private one.

What would an interesting job offer look like for you? What about secondments?		That’s an intriguing question. All other things being equal, anything ‘less work & more money’ is preferable, logically. That would lead to more time for ‘brain work’ (reading interesting books, doing some research and networking)! In addition, subjectively, a multinational or foreign GO, NGO or agency with an office within my fields of interest and specialties, in the Netherlands or nearby in Belgium or in Germany would be tempting. Especially if the working floor is multilingual / internationally oriented. Having good memories and experiences with secondments, shorts foreign stays of that sort are appreciated; if the added value is bigger than that of serving within the Netherlands (and helping foreign colleagues to adjust).

….interesting resume, interesting site. How would you describe yourself it a few words?		As an eternal student: I read, listen, think, learn, talk about things and then act (for improvements). Whatever my age is or will be, whatever my occupation is, will be or was; the ideal of universal man remains a guiding and leading principle.

…Large Scale Facilities (LSF). How do I know what use or significance those *facilities* would have for my research?		That’s a point! Any facility might have a multi purpose use for as multi many scientists, so that is the idea behind the ‘small remark’ at the end; webmasters might consider mentioning LSF specifics (technicalities, availability to others researchers or organisations, procedures for this etc) so that the facility may be used to its full potential. If that is not the case, an old fashioned phone calls might work.

*Webmaster, did the ‘unpublished’ PM notes serve any policy purposes?*		No. It only consolidates some personal inquiries or explorations, usually resulting from some unfinished discussions with friends etc. It is OK to use the notes or notions for further personal inquiries of your own.

…What are the *next* site’s projects?		Of course each year there will a dozen other (brain work) projects but you will not see any trace of that on this site (or anywhere else perhaps). For 2025-2026: * Issuing the 10^th Time Line /Inventory of Future Studies R Ö

…referring to your webmaster information ; tell something more about the experiences in - Singapore; - Indonesia; - Greece - Germany; - Switzerland?		Well, people are friendly and interesting really everywhere and it is fascinating to observe them in their different cultural settings, to adjust & work with them. Orderly Singapore felt like a glimpse of the future. Most frightening was the matter of fact statement and attitude during a tour, that the rain forest in South East Asia will have disappeared in the next five to ten years. Indonesia, still in the possession of some rain forests and a beautiful and promising 4^th country in the World, faced the gross problem of unruliness and disorderliness beyond any imaginable and manageable degree; how on earth will it catch up with the future if the present is already such an out of proportion problem in so many respects? But Greece had also a high degree of unruliness and disorderliness as the society disorganised as a result of the multitude of simultaneous strikes and counter strikes during the stay; it did not feel EU-like. Germany was so orderly that it was impossible to have a swim and a meal after 18.00 hours! And in Switzerland, orderly and very clean; only a hitch hike from a taxi was a scary event but it really was a hike, fortunately.

...and your holidays? You Dutch seem to have a lot of them.		Jealous? You have reason to. The Dutch are pretty wise, productive and do have a good balance with quality time. Well, quite a number of years France was favourite holiday destinations. A few times Italy was a very nice to be, especially as the family in law had still a few living contacts from the war over there and some places to see again. The last few decades more and more parts of Scandinavia were visited. Short vacations? Belgium’s Ardennes, Luxemburg‘s Ardennes (learned diving there, thanks to a smart arrangement between the owner of the hotel and the local diving club), Germany but also Lanzarote (Spanish isle) and Paris/France.
Back to start		Terug naar start 14/4/2025

Isn’t this a lot of work and shouldn’t you be paid for this? A web site like this costs, doesn’t it?

Does anyone take notice of this site?

Do the URL owners pay you for their reference at your website and documents?

Why don’t you start a business with all this?

What would an interesting job offer look like for you?

….interesting resume, interesting site. How would you describe yourself it a few words?

Back to start

Terug naar start