My Life on this planet.

An interesting discussion on the Fleming radio 1 : scientists managed to create light that moves as a spiral. To know more about it, listen to the program (in Dutch). Why can this be important? What can be done with this?   You should also know that light is an electromagnetic radiation of a wide range of different wavelengths that results in different kinds of visible and invisible light but at the same time is also particle-like consisting of discrete packets of energy, i.e. photons, the so-called wave-particle duality . This means that light moves as a wave but only hits something in one place with a certain energy that can be sufficient to move very small things such as molecules. This is different from a wave at the beach that reaches the coast over a certain distance although also with a particular energy.   Possible scope of spiralled light -  Thalidomide as example Softenon with active substance thalidomide was used as an example how this light m...

Dead and violence in USA President Trump says Minnesota's mayor is a weak person but I don't think so as he dared to fire four of his police officers after one of them put his knees for about 8 minutes on Mr George Floyd, a black man, his throat until he was death. The president didn't dare or didn't want to condemn the officers while in a tweet threatens that looters will be shot (such tweets should not be deleted as some claim but instead warn people but also intelligence agencies so they can intervene).   Indeed, violent clashes broke out after the video made the arrest public. It is even worse because Mr Floyd was already handcuffed and thus limited in his movements while he didn't seem to fight against his arrest. Other videos suggests the knee on someone's neck is likely a normal way to restraint someone until they are handcuffed (and thus not until they are dead) but can no longer be used. Thus, this incident will further increase distrust between...

Economies are restarting, a necessity Societies are slowly restarting their country, including opening borders so people can travel again. In Belgium shops opened while schools for some students restarted. People can also restart non contact sports. But, we're also reminded to continue to keep a distance from others and to continue washing our hands regularly.  Unfortunately, for many people this restart comes too late as the economy plummeted worldwide and companies need to fire people or close completely when they couldn't survive two months of inactivity. And, although many people acknowledge this lockdown was necessary, up to 25% of businesses say they won't survive a second lockdown; I also think " Mr Doom " is more realistic when he says that the recovery will be much slower than the IMF thinks it will. And yet, bars and restaurants still can't reopen in Belgium while also tourism that includes travel agencies, airline companies, hotels and others suffe...

Imagine a couple have a restaurant this is busy and thus they decide to employ a waiter. The waiter works hard and makes suggestions to improve the interior and service and the owners agree. The changes result in an increase in turnover and as he is an ambitious person with a strong character and suggests more changes  that the owners reluctantly accept as they are not sure about them but the business flourishes even more and becomes the best restaurant in the town. As he is good, the owners decide to give him more responsibility. After a short time he tells them a second waiter is needed and they agree and make him head of staff. Although this results in an increase in expenditure, they accept this as it allows the owners to have a free day. After a short while and as the restaurant is busy, the main waiter request to hire a second person with knowledge of wines so the restaurant can attract more people who like wine and so increase prices as they are too low for their stan...

An article and video to explain the statistics behind the coronavirus deaths but also to record illnesses.   Excess mortality I'm in favour of using excess deaths (excess mortality) as a starting point to determine the severity. Of course, it doesn't need to be only death as the seriousness of something can also be defined as numbers of people who can't perform normal activities as is done for flu or heatwaves. But, as we're in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic that kills, I'll continue with excess mortality i.e. how many people die more compared with the average of the same months in previous years (see figure 1 for explanation). This excess death (and if data is available excess sick) informs quickly whether a day, week, month and year is normal or not.   Already this is done in the healthcare sector when GPs and/or hospital doctors notice an increase in patients and thus record the numbers of patients who are very ill or die to know whether a warni...

President Trump gave a very short press briefing after his disastrous briefing the day before when he suggested that people should inhale or inject disinfectant to cure from the coronavirus, a comment that will remain with him even in history. It's sad for any politician what is currently happening with the coronavirus, certainly when the economy was good and unemployment at a record low. Still, one thing politicians should know: don't hold daily briefings about a serious issue and certainly not to a hostile media as serious mistakes are likely to be made. But, the president should know after 3 years in office that, before tweeting or speaking, you first check with advisors so you don't need to contradict earlier tweets or speeches as that looks amateurish. Ordinary people can make mistakes as they don't have advisors who can correct them before publication. Yes, people may celebrate this may be the end of President Trump (unless events may decide differently) but...

Again a journalist who may think that President Trump may not survive the coming presidential elections by repeating he didn't do enough to halt the coronavirus crisis . I'm not sure this is a good strategy from opponents as he can repeat again and again what he did before any other country. Indeed, at the end of January President Trump ordered the closing of USA's borders for people coming from China and later acted on Americans returning from China. And yes, he had to defend this decision as not everyone agreed. And again and again because opponents can't say this was good. Later when the catastrophe in certain European countries became clear, President Trump ordered on March 12 the closing of the USA for Europeans , a move condemned by the EU that only a few weeks earlier ruled out to close Europe's Schengen borders although the virus was already obvious in Italy. A few days later the EU was forced to close its external borders while one country a...