Less than a month left in Curacao! More excited to go to Aruba than sad to leave Curacao. I've had a decent enough time in Curacao but also struggled with illness that I just now feel like I'm hopefully getting over. Also I feel like there isn't that much left on Curacao that I wanna see.

Aruba looks small but in a good way. Seems maybe easier to get around, denser, more fun than Curacao. I think Aruba's far more touristy/tourist-oriented, while Curacao's more of a normal place with a bit of tourist activity. I like seeing the normal side of places and the tourist side of travel. I feel like I've had a while living in a normal place, working and recovering from illness. Now ready for a bit of artificial fun! :)

Eventually I'll leave the Caribbean, at least that's the plan. Then instead of touristy islands I expect to travel through more interesting to me places that have their cultures geared towards residents rather than tourists. Also hop back on a bike, hopefully electric soon enough.

I've had enough mediocre rum! :)

Delicious rice and beans and stews, though! :)

If you go to the Dutch Caribbean, I'd recommend trying the Indonesian food!!!

I'm genetically endowed with a high propensity for testosterone. 100th percentile in my whole genome sequencing results. I like sex a lot. I think that having a bunch of anti-sex laws is biased against my genetic predisposition. It's like if they had anti-carbohydrate laws for people who have a genetic predisposition for carbs, or anti-(pick a race or sex) laws for people whose genes make them that race or sex.

The Netherlands has legal marijuana and prostitution. Islamic countries have horrendous atavistic punishments for marijuana and prostitution. The Netherlands is a rich and happy country, while Islamic countries tend to be poor and with trouble. Tons of people risk their lives to flee from Islamic countries to Denmark. Maybe more countries should legalize marijuana and prostitution.

Viva la libertad! :)

Apparently cats like rice. At least if it's loaded with oil, salt, and probably protein residues from chicken it was cooked with.

People often base their beliefs on stereotypes and whatever info's going around, rather than science. For example it's a common belief that fruits and vegetables are healthy, but bacon is unhealthy. If you ate only bacon you'd survive and feel satisfied. If you ate only fruits you'd feel hungry and you wouldn't survive long.

I feel lucky to be alive, healthy, and free!!!!! Enjoy the sun and fresh air, explore new experiences, share time with kind people, and do a bit of work! :)

People are very visual, mainly focusing their minds on what they can see. People obsess over breasts but not over clits, even though clits are far more sexually powerful. Practically nobody but a few scientists thinks about subatomic particles or mites or other invisible things, but practically everyone thinks about cats and buildings and things that we see often.

Is the period around age 38-39 difficult for most people? Does thinking about becoming middle-aged negatively affect a person? In my case it happened during COVID fascism, stuck on a small island I didn't want to be on, so I also had external reasons for negativity.

When I started getting gray hairs a few years ago, I started trimming any of them that stood out. Today I'm thinking "fuck it, I'm old enough to have a bunch of gray hairs." :)

"I'm not complaining, I'm just saying the things I don't like." :)

Rock & Roll!!!!!!!!!! :)

Get in the mood elevator, it's going up! :)

How to tell science fact from science fiction: If it sounds like a science fiction movie, it probably is.

Do cats like curry? I'd like to see the data on that. You could run an experiment where you put some curry chicken and some plain chicken in front of a cat, then see which the cat chooses.

If you can do a movie preview voice-over for it, it's probably science fiction instead of science fact:

"In a time when a killer virus, which may have escaped from a secret Chinese lab, causes a global pandemic killing millions..." (COVID)

"In a time when the very industry that society depends on emits carbon that causes catastrophic environmental harm..." (climate change)

etc. :)

Real science would be too boring for a movie trailer voice-over:

"In a time when blood-glucose levels may with statistically uncertain evidence correlate with several uncommon genetic markers and several common lifestyle choices..."

Science marketing, or political BS, sounds more like we're facing certain doom unless you hand over money and power to politicians. Comparable to "giant robots from space are attacking", or any other sci-fi. We need lockdowns, quarantines, and carbon limits! Yeah, right!

A science writer's guide to science BS vs. semi-believable science. :)

Science fictions is what sells, i.e. fears and other salient emotions that trigger people's basic reactions in the reptilian parts of the brain (as with other types of marketing). COVID! Climate change! Protect us!!!

Science fact is what obsessive-compulsive people find after intensely studying something nobody else cares about for months or years. A hundred years later it may turn out to interest a lot of people.

There are exceptions to the above. Occasionally there's a big scientific breakthrough that's exciting for regular people. But not the frequent pseudo-scientific announcements pumped out by political organizations.

Concerned science writers against political BS :)

Hollywood science.

Regular science contains a lot of marketing, too. For instance scientists often coin crazy-sounding terms for the phenomena they observe, in an attempt to make them sound more impressive. Scientists also often exaggerate their findings, e.g. any vaguely humanoid-looking fossil seems to be claimed as another missing link that would be the first modern human, the first hominid, the first hominin, a new species, etc. -- even though probably it's just another minor variant of an already known species.

There's a difference in the scale of regular science lies vs. Hollywood science lies. When a scientist comes up with a fancy new term or exaggerates the significance of a finding, it's a mild effort to gain a bit more prominence and prestige. When a global political organization fakes an existential disaster and pushes lockdowns, carbon taxes, or the like, that has far more serious ramifications.

Idea: curry chocolate. Does it already exist? Probably. Yep, internet is chock full of it. Looks delicious! :)

Instead of a planet with billions of people suffering, couldn't there have been a planet with, like, five people having a good time? :)

Females (in humans and many other species) may often be bogged down with kids and related duties, as one often hears in complaints (in the case of humans), but males are bogged down with fifty competing males for every female, or whatever the ratio is. :)

Influence, aka getting relentlessly ripped off by everyone :)

I see each gray hair in the mirror as a jerk staring me in the face and saying, "Ha ha, you're old and dying." :)

Wear your gray hair with pride! :)

There are tons of frustrations in life. I think that just being aware of that and tolerating things more can at least make some of the frustrations more manageable, and that it's not reasonable or practical to expect things to work exactly as one imagines or wants.

A lot of people worry over what other people think, or what one thinks of oneself. I think it's important to remember as a guiding principle: humans are a jackass species of monkey idiots. Don't take what humans say too seriously. :)

I think that alcohol has undergone much the same transition that cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs have. Food has, too.

Earlier humans, and at least in the case of alcohol other animals too, have used naturally occurring substances with relatively small amounts of active ingredient. For example, wild animals sometimes get a bit tipsy off of naturally fermented fruits. Traditional South American cultures chew on coca leaves to improve their work. There are tons of other examples.

Then humans started making handmade products. Homemade beer, bread, coca tea, homegrown weed, etc. Not that potent, but somewhat more consistent than just using what nature provided as-is. Later still, with industrialization, people have developed far more purified products. Refined cocaine, high-potency strains of weed, distilled liquor, refined sugar.

I think that human brains and bodies, which haven't evolved nearly as fast as human cultures, struggle to process these refined products. I think that the problems we see with hard liquor, cocaine, crack, etc., largely stem from how potent they are in comparison to what our bodies evolved to handle.

I guess mainly stick to moderate drug use? :)

To varying extents depending on which country, one can't freely enjoy one's sexual organ system as one can freely enjoy one's other organ systems. For example, you can enjoy your digestive system by going to a restaurant, your respiratory system by breathing the air freely available most places, or your visual and auditory systems by going to a movie or using your phone. But if you want to enjoy your sexual system you're oppressed by restrictive laws. It's like we're stuck in some horrendous medieval society when it comes to sexuality. Fuck that! Enjoy sex! :)

"A picture's worth a thousand words" is basically a big fuck you to writers. :)

Also, notice it's in words. If it were a picture, it would be a picture of that phrase written out. Or five thousand pictures attempting to capture the elegant simplicity of five words. :)

Idea: $5-20/bottle fancy energy drinks, e.g. collector's items or with special ingredients. Maybe already exists.

Nothing's everything and everything's something :)

I'm going to Bonaire! It's a small island near Aruba and Curacao, in the Dutch Caribbean. I'm interested to see Bonaire, in part because it's not from what I recall reading an independent country like Aruba and Curacao, but rather only an overseas part of the Netherlands itself.

Jejej, Bonaire's not even in my web browser's spellcheck dictionary. I guess it's not a real (independent) country, so that makes sense. :)

Rock & Roll!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Getting infected by bacteria is like hitting yourself on a rock. You're losing a battle to a much older form of life. :)

If we'd inherited a different word for "tax" like "theftguld", people would now probably have a different opinion. :)

It's pretty cool that nowadays you have instant access to a massive global fleet of experts. e.g. if you're sick you can instantly pull up the latest doctor recommendations, scientific findings, patient comments, and so forth from around the planet on any disease.

Our stone-age ancestors would've been amazed. Since we still have much of that stone-age DNA, we should find it pretty amazing! :)

Curacao has turned into NOT my favorite Caribbean island! I've been sick much of the time here, there are large loud dogs practically everywhere, often in the streets (like Sint Maarten, is that a Dutch Caribbean thing?). Car culture, etc. There are also some things I DO like about Curacao, e.g. the Dutch and Indonesian food, the cacti and other plants, the people seem friendly.

The other day I went to a different supermarket than previously, one near my new place. Two of the products I bought there, both imported from Brazil (chicken and rice) seem to have gone way off. Disturbing.

All caught up on my old blogs! I'm gonna try to post more regularly. I've been busy lately so I haven't got around to it for a while, which I suppose often happens. Anyways will try to keep more regular.

Rock & Roll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Yay! Made it to the South American continental shelf! Curacao, while an island often considered part of the Caribbean, is technically sitting on the same base as South America!

Also, just found out (while writing) that September is the hottest month of the year in Curacao, and the readings these days have been considerably above the usual high. So, maybe it's somewhat normal that I'm feeling heat-related health issues.

Weird, after doing a couple of chores left-handed, within seconds, my brain is already I think rewiring itself to feel mildly left-handed or reversed.

I think Curacao has a CARbon-based culture and economy. People drive everywhere, and I think there are some sizable oil businesses on the island (later found out that oil is indeed a big part of the economy). Seems like toxic fumes everywhere, and not many people out walking in the streets. Not my kind of culture. Supposedly second-highest per capita carbon emissions of any country.

Record high temperature for Curacao: 38.3 degrees C in September. Too hot for me!

Looks like October and November are usually only slightly cooler than September.

I think it's gonna probably be unpleasantly hot as long as I'm in Curacao.

Does nearby Venezuela have the same climate? Would maybe explain some of the craziness???

Lots of AC in the works!

Two weeks to figure out the basics of Curacao? One illness?

The Dutch are perhaps my favorite people. They have tolerance and taste.

There's a lot of unique people! :)

 "Sir, the motorcar is dangerous if used improperly...Human stupidity and ignorance is the only danger human beings face in this world."

Timothy Leary

Jejejej!

Carbon capture is a western equivalent of those Shiites who hit themselves on the back with swords. It doesn't fix a problem but it makes people feel like they're absolving themselves of sin.

"There's an idea! Not a good one, but..." :)

Free love faced pushback from a probably overblown HIV scare. Like social proximity from an overblown COVID scare. People are scared of viruses, it's irrational. Viruses used to kill people as snakes or spiders did, so humans evolved a fear of these things. They're no longer nearly as risky but biological evolution of the brain works slowly.

"Writer, do you even know how to fuckin write?!" :)

I'm working on simplifying. :)

Curacao's a confusing land for languages. I think even for the locals. In stores when I go up to the cashier, if I wait for them to greet me so that I can figure out what language they speak, they sometimes seem to wait for me so that they can figure out what language to speak.

I don't really understand Dutch or Papiamento, written or spoken. There's enough similarity to English (for Dutch) and Portuguese and Spanish (for Papiamento) that I can figure out a few words, but not really make sense of much of what I see and hear. I kind of appreciate being able to tune out language more easily. :)

I'm gonna try to learn at least a few basic phrases...

Thank you
Bedankt
Dank je wel!
Danki
Mashi danki!

You're welcome
Bo ta bon bini (maybe literally "you're welcome here" instead of a response to "thank you"?)
Di nada
Graag gedaan

I like how Dutch sounds.
Ik hou van hoe nederlands klinkt

I don't speak Dutch
Ik spreek geen nederlands

Bye
Ayo

How are you?
Con ta bai?

Very good
Hopi bon!

See you later
Te aworo

I'm hungry
Mi tin hamber

I want to eat
Mi ke komer

Hole dushi
Smells good

Cheese
Keshi

Hot pepper
Pika

How much does that cost?
Kwanto esaki ta costa?

Just browsing
Mi ta wak rond

Money
Plaka

In town
Den caya

Go home
Ban kas

A kiss
Un sunchi

Deep kiss
Ranka lenga

A hug
Un braza

Cheat on someone
Ranka orea

Mi dushi
My sweetheart
(Dushi seems like the most common Papiamento word I see or hear. I think it's also a generic word for "good". Sounds funny to me, like "douchy".)

Delicious
Dushi 'om

Funny islands, Curacao and Aruba. They have their own nationality, language, currency, etc., even though they're mainly small "theme park islands". :)

Very good
Hopi bon

Things are going well.
Tur kos ta bon.

Beach
Lama

Made it to Curacao!!!!!!!

So far I like it! Somewhat similar to Sint Maarten, which is also in the Dutch Caribbean, but also a number of differences. Curacao seems more like a "real" place, with people living here, rather than mainly an American tourist destination. More languages here.

Just after getting here, staying at a Dutch/Spanish person's place, went to a Chinese restaurant for Indonesian food. People who talk Chinese, Papiamento, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, German! :)

A tasty bami goreng later -- a huge "medium", not sure what their "large" is like -- went shopping. Tons of new things to see, foods on sale, etc. Giant cacti growing around town. Tons of fruit trees in the garden in this place.

I appreciate the newness. Feels like a new start to travels again! I wanna keep going! :)

Boa noite!

When traveling, if you value trying new things -- which I think is for me and many people one of the main points of travel -- you can justify some extra spending to try new things out. That makes more products affordable. If you'd pay $X for a product type anyways, and you'd pay $Y for the novelty of trying something new, then you can afford $X + $Y for a product. That puts occasional luxuries into the worth-it zone compared to what you'd buy at home.

Curacao seems like a substantially bigger island than Sint Maarten, but conveniently laid out. I think much of the stuff is in the center of the island. The east and west ends seem sparse. I don't feel the need to explore every square inch of the island. Maybe a few side trips. I think I'll mainly focus on the core area. These days I've felt more like society-touring rather than countryside-touring.

Feels like I'm in a somewhat different area of the Caribbean than the other parts I've been. Still recognizably Caribbean, but I think a noticeably different vibe.

Exciting day!!! First day I actually got to see Curacao. I arrived at night, then had a full day's (and night's) worth of work indoors yesterday. Today I woke up late then went for a walk. Covered much of the popular touristy areas of Curacao. Beautiful city, they do a pretty nice job of making it attractive and interesting even if it's touristic.

Early during my walk, just because I saw it on the map near the route I was planning anyways, I went to a location marked as a crashed plane. I looked around for a few minutes but couldn't see any wreckage. A car drove up and the driver asked me somewhat suspiciously what I was looking for.

I explained that I'd been looking for the plane wreckage but couldn't find it, showing him my map. He explained that it had been there for years but recently they took it away. He also offered to drive me to the beach or into town.

We drove for a bit, as he explained things about town. Seems like an interesting enough place for such a small island. Not just a lot of tourists but also some Dutch students come for part of the year, turning certain areas into party centrals. Nice looking beaches.

During the drive he told me he was a police officer, and showed me a badge in a storage compartment in the car. He acted very sociable, and drank something that smelled like it had a lot of alcohol while driving.

When we got to town I asked to get out to walk around. He asked me for a tip. I didn't have appropriate change so I went into a store and got some change, then tipped him. It was a phone store, so while there I piked up a screen protector I'd wanted to buy. Also bought some socks and some local food and drinks. Quite a tasty island so far!

The Dutch people seem quite friendly. I've known a few in other countries, but Curacao has a Dutch colonial past and there are still tons of Dutch people here. They're also quite beautiful, at least the ones in Curacao. Tons of attractive people all over town.

Walked to the other side of town, Otra Banda. Not as touristic but still somewhat. Did a few more errands. On the way back caught some live music and more beaches and sightseeing. Exhausted, went back to the place. Threw up a bit on the way, I think from guzzling like two liters of soda, which I bought so that I'd have the bottle for water back at the place.

Super hot in Curacao, hard to stay out in the sun even in the evening. Somewhat drier than other Caribbean islands. Found some Venezuelan beer in the supermarket, I think the first Venezuelan product I've bought??? Or maybe some of the coke around the islands is also from Venezuela?

Keep it stupid, simple! :)

It's been in some ways an insanely busy time. In other ways a sanely un-busy time. :)

As a guy there's this ongoing biological pressure to have more and more sex. Without that, would civilization even bother to do anything?!

Live an interesting life. Use drugs and other stimulating activities? What's the difference? Anyways, have a constant stream of positive and interesting experiences. :)

If you have a nasal voice or a clogged nose: learn Portuguese! :)

Analogy (n.): The science of the ass.

Went to the airport with a short runway (Princess Juliana in Sint Maarten), got some footage of planes taking off and landing a few feet away. Met some Americans who were traveling for one of their birthdays. Hi Cashmir! :)

I'm practicing social nearing.

What's "the answer"? It's a trick question. :)

Feeling ready to move on from Sint Maarten right as my time's up! :)

Isn't happiness worth a few saturated fats? STDs? Etc.? :)

Had a great encounter with someone I met on my last day before leaving Sint Maarten tomorrow!

Rock & Roll!!!!!!!!!! :)

Going to Curacao!

Just booked a ticket. Not 100% sure the details make sense, but it seems like the best available choice. By the way, if you can book directly through the airline it can work more smoothly and cost less than with third-party websites or travel agents.

At least it feels like a relief to have a ticket and a plan after a while of waffling! Nothing against waffles, by the way, I'm a big fan.

Somewhat stressful process to decide and act on the next destination, in part due to the COVID madness. Anyways, we'll find a way to work things out. There are stresses and uncertainties anyways in life, I think it's important to go through with life anyways.

Going the closest to Venezuela I'll ever have been! Luckily not in that territory itself. Looking forward to a new country/island! Feels like I've started to stagnate in Sint Maarten. But it's also a dense little island so I'm still enjoying it and learning and growing.

Looks like an interesting and beautiful country, Curacao. Can't wait to explore. Seems smallish? I think somewhat bigger in area and population than Sint Maarten, though. Maybe another language or two, do they speak Dutch and Papiamiento? Looks like maybe some way less expensive places to rent there?

I'm feeling anxiety and positivity about this! :)

After arriving, turns out they do speak Dutch and Papiamento. It's an interesting island. Unfortunately I've been sick much of the time here, but I had a chance before getting sick to see many beautiful places!