(2010) Using the standard administrative boundary adopted by the metropolitan planning authority – the Melbourne Statistical Division (MSD) – the metropolitan area covers a mammoth 7,673km2.
(2018) Google gave me 9990km2
Compare this with Friesland at 3250km2
Telephone calls for example. Each village seemed to be it's own "local" calls area - anything outside that was charged at STD rates and all calls were timed. I used to give my Mum money so that she could call me on a regular basis - it was 6 times cheaper!! than me calling Australia.
Public transport was another - the cost of owning a car was (and still is) artificially expensive - but there was no "trade-off" by making public transport more affordable.
I suppose I see things differently now, with acknowledgment of redistribution of wealth, infrastructure and standard of living. "Privatisation" has also played a role, of course.
Ha, it's only taken me 25 years to do some map overlays to verify my original observation.
We are still in "the middle of nowhere" as far as our internet services...In speaking with our Telecom technician (trying to squeeze out some more mb's) - he said that (unfortunately) the Netherlands went with the "copper option" at a time when there was a choice with new technology being developed. Other countries (most notably the Scandinavians) chose another path.
This must have played on my mind - I woke up this morning trying to think of some advantages of being a small but wealthy country.
One that I came up with is that for a recent election, it was all done "on paper only" to avoid the risk of Russian interference - now that's fairly topical. The Europe-US "Trade War" is also of concern to me - a bit close to home - and just what will be the consequences of the TRILLION dollar deficit? - we've only just come through the last financial crisis caused by "them".
I even found myself reading
A Small State? The Size of the Netherlands as a Focal Point in Foreign Policy Debates, 1900–1940
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09592296.2016.1196062
Interesting. I might delve into this even further...
Despite some rain in Brabant on Wednesday morning, this July 25 is now officially the driest on record. The rain shortage adds up to an average of 261 mm, compared with 257 mm on July 25, 1976, according to weather forecasters at website Weeronline. But it depends on what happens next month whether or not 2018 goes down in the record books as the driest since records began in 1901, the weather forecasters say. By the end of August 1976, the shortage of rainwater had risen to 363 mm. Although there may be some rain late on Friday and on Saturday, the warm and sunny weather will continue well into August.
a new "helper"
and I found the Courgette Slicer ("spaghetti" maker) after a bottom of the cupboard disappearance of 3 years!!
Ah, yes it was a quiet week - too bloody hot to do much work - at least I haven't had to mow for 3 weeks! Definitely the hottest year since I have been here.
We did have a farewell dinner with Andrew & Terry at the "new" Teahouse in Grou (The old one burnt down last year),
and a toasted sandwich at Zuildlaren (where the waterfront could do with some new investment money).
Ben news...
Fake snow for the winter collection
from a Diplomacy and Statecraft site... (aka "things to do on a Sunday morning")
and found this quote
After the 1850s, a slightly more optimistic narrative gained prominence. The Netherlands might be a small nation but, nonetheless, it remained one worthy of a continued independent existence. It could, and should, prove this to the world at large by “perfecting itself,” to borrow a phrase from the noted reformist prime minister, Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, in 1869. Moreover, in 1898, Queen Regent Emma called upon her people to become “great at DIPLOMACY & STATECRAFT everything a small country can be great at.” In other words, the Dutch should let go of any power-political aspirations in favour of bettering themselves and thereby providing a shining example of virtue to others. The accompanying dominant narrative was that the Dutch, rather than experiencing a relative “decline” in power and status, had transformed into an experienced, cultured, and satiated “elder state” whose duty was to counsel its younger, more exuberant, and impulsive neighbours in the ways of virtue.
After the 1850s, a slightly more optimistic narrative gained prominence. The Netherlands might be a small nation but, nonetheless, it remained one worthy of a continued independent existence. It could, and should, prove this to the world at large by “perfecting itself,” to borrow a phrase from the noted reformist prime minister, Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, in 1869. Moreover, in 1898, Queen Regent Emma called upon her people to become “great at DIPLOMACY & STATECRAFT everything a small country can be great at.” In other words, the Dutch should let go of any power-political aspirations in favour of bettering themselves and thereby providing a shining example of virtue to others. The accompanying dominant narrative was that the Dutch, rather than experiencing a relative “decline” in power and status, had transformed into an experienced, cultured, and satiated “elder state” whose duty was to counsel its younger, more exuberant, and impulsive neighbours in the ways of virtue.
Interesting. I might delve into this even further...
Driest July 25th on Record
Despite some rain in Brabant on Wednesday morning, this July 25 is now officially the driest on record. The rain shortage adds up to an average of 261 mm, compared with 257 mm on July 25, 1976, according to weather forecasters at website Weeronline. But it depends on what happens next month whether or not 2018 goes down in the record books as the driest since records began in 1901, the weather forecasters say. By the end of August 1976, the shortage of rainwater had risen to 363 mm. Although there may be some rain late on Friday and on Saturday, the warm and sunny weather will continue well into August.
Courgettes Galore...
and Baby Boo, Sweet Grey, Butternut, and Queensland Blue Pumpkins.
a new "helper"
and I found the Courgette Slicer ("spaghetti" maker) after a bottom of the cupboard disappearance of 3 years!!
Ah, yes it was a quiet week - too bloody hot to do much work - at least I haven't had to mow for 3 weeks! Definitely the hottest year since I have been here.
We did have a farewell dinner with Andrew & Terry at the "new" Teahouse in Grou (The old one burnt down last year),
and a toasted sandwich at Zuildlaren (where the waterfront could do with some new investment money).
Ben news...
Fake snow for the winter collection
Cutting it short today - have to go to The Hague (Den Haag) to take some documents to the Oz Embassy - for Ben's Australian Passport. They are being very helpful - as Ben tries to arrange it all by remote control - he doesn't yet know whether he will be in Tokyo or Shanghai to pick it up.
