Feeling hot, hot, hot...........

Dear Bloggers,

A few days ago it was hot and humid in all of the Netherlands and I did not want to go anywhere on this day as it is too bloody hot out there. Now, I am not a person who idly switches on the air-conditioning unit when the temperature rises above 27c (If I would have had one as the Dutch climate is normally not having that many hot days.) but today is just a bit different. Going out of the house is not an option as there is no wind and it is 34c degrees in the shadow and outside my kids are in the pool filled with cold water under a huge sunscreen and yes, they are having a good time.

We are checking every 15 minutes on them as sitting outside is not an option, when you walk out of the back door it was like walking into a heated oven or an over-heated sauna. Both of those terms describe a hot day and have lost their meaning through overuse but as a previous resident of Sydney [hot and sweaty during summer days] and Darwin [so hot and dry in Summer that the skin flakes off your hands and feet like fish-scales] I can safely say that today in Lip-City is one of the most hottest and unpleasant I have ever known. One of the most unpleasant because the most unpleasant was one day several years ago when I still worked on a cruiseliner during the Summer, when my I walked from the harbour of Lesbos, in to town when the mercury hit 50c. I nearly ended up suffering from heat exhaustion. I digress…

There are [thank goodness] four fans in the living room area and as I write they are all on their highest setting, going at full blast. It is though, still not what I would call “fresh” in here. I am though, in the lap of luxury compared to most neighbors. Think also for a moment about my numerous friends in caravans or tents on campingplaces as they have booked their holidays several months ago. And what about the ones who are in the holiday parks living in these cast-concrete panel homes that take on the summer heat like firebricks and of course, none of them have air-conditioning…

Discrete indoor summer nudity [or near nudity] is commonplace during these days but it can still get you in somekind of trouble. I like to run around with my top off during these days. But when I need to go outside in the garden I am surrounded by a two-meter high wooden fence. I don’t want to be a neighbour that was accused by his neighbor of flagrant nudity in front of his young daughters. The only way his girls could have seen them was by getting to the bedroom in their home and aiming binoculars in the direction of the garden!

We just need to sweat it out during the summer months and many take a bath every day, whether they need one or not. This can make driving on local buses a fragrant experience. Personally, as someone with a very poor sense of smell, I am grateful for my lot.

These sort of temperatures will I believe, continue through August then start to subside during September. So, as I open yet another bottle of cooling softdrink, (sugarfree of course in my good old days this would have been a beer.) I say cheers to you all living in more moderate climes, roll on winter!

The Old Sailor,

What is the cause?

Dear Bloggers,

I am quite a humorous person and not really that old, ok I have a few grey hares but still I do not except that people stand up for me or feel sorry for me. It is just that my body is refusing to work with me. This means that I have to stop working for a while and that is even more painful for me. The frustrating part is that giving a diagnose is not that easy. I checked on several sites and forums and my goodness there are a lot of sad stories (for some it took more than 4 years to find a suitable diagnose.)






The following parts I found on the internet and now me and the doctors have to pick one of the diagnoses or what ?









Fibromyalgia is considered to be a syndrome—a set of symptoms that occur together but do not have a known cause. There are theories as to what may cause it, but there is not enough evidence to support any single theory. People—especially women—who have a family member with fibromyalgia are more likely to develop it themselves. It has been recognized as a medical disorder only since the 1980s.
Some theories suggest that fibromyalgia may be linked to:
• Oversensitive nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain. Oversensitivity may be due to changes in chemicals in the brain or spinal cord that regulate pain. As a result, the person senses pain more easily, and widespread muscle pain occurs.
• An imbalance in the brain chemicals that control mood, which results in a lowered tolerance for pain and may also cause an unrestful sleep cycle and fatigue. Once this happens, a person becomes less physically active, and the muscles and tissues become more sensitive and painful and more easily irritated.
• An imbalance of hormones such as cortisol and growth hormone. Their release is controlled by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus. Imbalances of these hormones can result in fatigue, mood changes, concentration and memory difficulties, a lowered tolerance for pain, and other symptoms.
• A disturbance in the deep phase of sleep. Some chemicals, such as growth hormone, are secreted by the body during this phase of sleep. If sleep is disrupted, the body produces less of the hormone. Disturbed sleep may be both a cause and an effect of the pain of fibromyalgia.
Many people connect the beginning of their fibromyalgia symptoms to a certain event. These events can include an illness such as the flu, an injury or surgery, or emotional trauma and stress. An event of this type combined with other factors, such as increased sensitivity to pain and an ongoing sleep disturbance, may lead to fibromyalgia syndrome in some people.





Or is it Lyme disease?





Lyme Disease Symptoms
• The initial infection can occur with minimal or no symptoms. But many people experience a flulike primary illness or a characteristic rash several days to a few weeks following a tick bite.
• The flulike illness usually occurs in the warm weather months when flu (influenza) does not occur.
• The rash is a red rash that grows in size daily. It is called erythema migrans.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines this rash as a skin lesion that typically begins as a red spot and expands over a period of days to weeks to form a large round lesion, at least 5 cm (about 2 inches) across. A red circular spot which begins within hours and is smaller is usually a reaction to the tick bite.
When the rash occurs at the site of the tick bite, it is called a primary lesion. Multiple secondary lesions can occur that are a reaction to the infection and are not due to multiple tick bites. All of these lesions can grow up to the to the size of a football. This growing in size is characteristic of Lyme disease.
• Left untreated, symptoms of the primary illness usually will go away on their own within a few weeks although the rash may reoccur.
• Later, additional symptoms may occur. The organs affected later may lead to the following conditions:
Facial palsy is paralysis of the facial nerve that causes the facial muscles to be uneven (This may get better without treatment.)
Nerve inflammation causes numbness and tingling in the arms or legs
Intermittent episodes of arthritis last about a week and usually involve the knee or wrist. These may recur over periods of weeks to months, and if the Lyme disease remains untreated, about 10% of people who have these episodes develop persistent arthritis in the knee. Occasionally, people with Lyme disease can present with an acute arthritis in the knee without a clear history of a rash or other joint complaints.
Inflammation of the heart (carditis) results in irregularities in heart rhythm.


I am all at sea ......................... lalalala, long live the painkillers.





All in all I am fitting nearly in both pictures, is there anybody that is not a 100% sure of what it is. But it is time to hurry with at least a treatment.

The Old Sailor,

Ilussions of love (in words)

Dear Bloggers,

Love is meaningless or....

Love is an Illusion

Just a while ago, I had observed that older couples are less loving towards each other compared to younger couples.
Naturally, I asked myself .. why so?
I could have settled for a simpler answer like - the feeling has faded or they no longer love each other or whatsoever.
However, I refused to take this for granted.



I remembered myself absurdly asking my female friends about this (to get some female perspectives) during our casual conversations.
But I wasn’t satisfied with the answers… and soon, I gave up.
It was only in recent years, I finally found the answer for this old little puzzle of mine.
I found all my answers on the web, nothing has to stay unknown if you know where to look for.(Google and Wikipedia are great tools.)



The ultimate purpose of human being is to breed and have children and continuing the next generation.
Everything in our life is geared towards that goal.
The survival of species is the ultimate quest in all living creatures.
It’s biological, it’s instinctive, it’s in our Will, something which is beyond our conscious control.
Not surprisingly, that these parts were rediscovered by the next generations again, such as the study of subconscious mind by Sigmund Freud and Evolution by Charles Darwin.

Although they produced their thoughts on paper years ago, they are based on the human being, the species was more important to them than any other matter.
Falling in love is a ‘blind biological urge’ in us - love is basically an illusion which pull men and women together.
Love in our mind is magical, sweet, sensational and is a symbol of happiness.
But little did we know that these emotions come together with Love as a whole ‘package’.
When human are able to get positive emotions out of something, we gain satisfaction.
The brain is giving a special treat if we are satisfied.
And this satisfaction is what keeps our desire alive.

It’s instinctive, and we are basically slaves to our own instinct and desire.
I believe that the truth is ugly.
Marriage is a trap to confine couples together.
Living as a husband and wife means halve both of their rights and double the duties. Having children will require the couples to put in more effort and resources to maintain the family.



It is not easy to satisfy your partner when there are children and she is scared that they might walk in.
Furthermore, one of the two is too tired to take the time to make really love to eachother, and to get a woman started that has known you for such a long time is not that easy.
As she knows all the things that you are not that good at, and she knows how to turn you down.
As a man you feel really hurt, and think that she does not like you anymore.
You are not able to seduce her with only a smile or a little joke.(men can be real insecure about their sexlive.)

She is not busy anymore with reproducing herself and is not worried that her husband will run away from her and their kids.
Maybe is this the key that so many couples are splitting up now a days.
As it is not easy to adjust your feelings all the time.



We got focussed on what was between us in past times, but the Love has changed into Liking you.
That is what we simply forget, eventhough you enjoy the softness of her skin, and the deepness of her kisses when she is aroused.
But making love is different, as reproduction is not the drive anymore.
And why men are parading with a young girl after they got divorced, as these girls bodies and minds are still being fully focussed on reproduction.
Men overall have much higher sexdrive and they regain their hunting skills if they are being turned down to often.
They start doubting themselves between there fourties and fifties.
The so called midlife crisis, were the time comes that the children have grown up and she is not paying enough attention to her partner. At this moment he will start reconsidering if he is not a good enough for her. All men will be a hunter forever it is just the comments of his surroundings or religic backgrounds that might hold him back from doing these things.(If you want to keep him happy, give him enough to live for.)



Therefore, only a force as strong as Love can ‘blind’ us, bringing men and women together under the same roof.
When we are finding our potential partners, we do not think of making babies with them, rather, we think of Love.
It seems that we have no choice but to fall in love and the illusion of love (which gives extreme positive emotions) will conveniently wipe away all the misery of a married life and having babies.

Buddha’s magic word - Emotions arise from Desire, hence an Illusion.

This perfectly answered the question I had and I think it is safe to conclude the reason why older couples are still together is due to respect and responsibility rather than still genuinely loving each other.
They simply got used to eachother with all the ups and downs in their relationship.

I always believe human are polygamous by nature.
But due to the development of human culture (of the different role between men and women), and more importantly the influence of religion such as Christianity, the nature rule has been replaced by human rule, championing the monogamous way.



Hmm...we simply can not afford an extra girlfriend in this expensive luxury lifestyle we are living, that is in at least 90% of the cases.
The ones that can, lead normally a double life as the wife should not find out.
(As poligamy is not accepted in our modern western culture.)
In certain cultures that are less developped than ours, polygamy is not that strange and having more wifes is accepted.
This is of course more natural, even I don't believe in the fact that women have to depend fully on a man.
If one of them complains about having a headache, you simply have a lot more options to have sex.



I whole heartily agree that biological drives are stronger then a reasoning on love. However, I am sure I will never follow his way of remaining single and living in solitude life till the end of my day.
I do want to have a life-long companion (wife) and a family.
This is my reasoning - if human are biologically a social animal and hardwired to fall in love, then why should we go against the nature? Biological is stronger than Reasoning, hence if we insist on following the literal Reasonings, wouldn’t it be a challenging difficulty for human to adapt to this deprived-of-instinct-fulfillment-life?
Wouldn’t it be a distress to live in a life where at one hand, we can’t take love seriously as we know it is just an illusion and on the other hand, we persistently being pestered by our biological instincts to fall in love.
We would be trapped in a no-man’s land.

That to me, is a miserable lose-lose situation.

I had a wicked thought while I was writing this blog.
I questioned, why do parents are willing to put their lives at stake in order to protect their children?

In many circumstances, the parent may even trade life to make sure the survival of their children.
It seems divine and noble in the first glance.
But it is not logical.

If the parents are willing to sacrifice themselves, despite saving their children, they lose their lives.
Not only that, they will have absolutely no control over the fate of their children once they are dead.
(if later on the children faced danger again and die, then the sacrifice of the parents will be futile.)

More logical would be:

If the parents are not willing to sacrifice themselves, their children will die but the parents are able to retain their lives. If they are healthy enough, they could breed again and replace the dead children with new children. They could oversee the growth of these new children and will able to drive their fate to a certain direction.

Many parents will choose the first option, much to the influence of our instinct.
I may sound a little sadist and not politically correct, but I am only treating this just as a daily thought-exercise, nothing more.

This gave me a little idea that human are not 100% rational and logical as we would like to believe in ourselves.
I have to admit that nothing in this world ruled by humans is rational, but this might change some peoples minds.

That we are all living in a bubble, I figured out that I write the best stories when I feel miserable and my relationship knows some troubles at the moment.

I know that it is a lot of wishfull thinking but Old Sailor’s magic words are:”Live life as long it is there, pray for less fights, spend your last money on a drink and fuck if your life is depending on it.”

The Old Sailor,