People around me in real life often express their confusion about me having a personal blog, given my strong interests in privacy. Besides wondering why I would even have a personal blog since they never seen one before (they obviously don’t know better), they question why I would choose to share my personal life or thoughts, online with the public, without the need for (social media) friendship. Asking me “why would anyone you don’t know be interested in your posts?”.

However, they fail to understand that I have the choice to decide what to share and with whom. Having the power of choice, allows me to control the content I share with the world.

The Choice & Control

When I post on my personal blog, I have complete control over what I share and how it is presented. Unlike on those large tech social platforms, they track my location, my contacts, the frequency and timing of my interactions, and my usage habits, such as through trackers, to profit from my data. This is one of the reasons I stopped using big tech social media, besides that it can also be addictive.

Posting on my personal blog is like choosing to host a dinner party. I choose who to invite and what’s on the menu (unless we decide together). Being on big tech social media is like having a hidden microphone under the table at the dinner party, recording everything, including a silent whisper or fart, for a marketing company. I’m good with the dinner party but not fine with the microphone.

I value my privacy and data, and I don’t want them to be misused or exploited for someone else’s gain. Especially these days when it is one data breach after another.

Privacy isn’t about keeping secrets or being anonymous; it’s about having control and having a choice.

You shouldn't confuse privacy with secrecy. We know what happens in the bathroom, but you still close the door. That's because you want privacy, not secrecy. Everyone has something to protect. Privacy is something that makes us human. — Privacy Guides

I haven't been feeling very energized lately, my main focus will be getting some high-value rest.

​Since becoming single again, I can focus more on my small group of friends and perhaps get to know new people. Due to work and limited free time, most of my energy went into the relationship before. I’m also hoping to get into reading again and am attempting some garden maintenance. In the meantime, I’m continuing to watch my favorite new anime shows.

It’s been the same old routine; meaning not much has changed.

So, I’ve noticed that I’m feeling somewhat burnt out; I’m trying to take plenty of rest whenever I can.  Also, I feel like I’m on the brink of getting sick. So, these days, I’m just going to work and then come home and stay in my peaceful comfort zone. As a result, I have also been ordering in food more than I would have liked, but it's not particularly junk food because I always consider my personal health.

One thing that brightened me up was my mom’s unexpected invitation to join her on a holiday to Valencia, Spain. It’s been a while since I’ve had a break from the daily grind, and this trip might just be what I need. We’re planning to go on a last-minute trip in mid-May. She generously offered to cover the entire cost of the trip, knowing that I’m currently on a tight budget. My 75-year-old mother is still quite mobile. I feel like she wants to experience more of the world with me before it’s no longer possible. So, I am going to look into that. She asked me to look up places to stay and the other logistical things.

Besides all that, I have found a couple interesting websites and applications.

Websites

• The Mindless Scrolling Calculator
• • Find out how much of your life you’ve already spent scrolling.
• 2of3 by Ente
• • Turn one important secret into 3 recovery cards you can keep in different places. Any 2 cards bring it back.

Applications

• Little Snitch
• • Protects your privacy and prevents your private data from being sent out to the Internet without your knowledge.
• Wispr Flow
• • Makes writing quick and clear with seamless voice dictation.
• Setapp
• • Large collection of powerful Mac apps available by subscription.

I’m thinking about signing up for Setapp, and I’m really enjoying Wispr Flow so far! But I’m a bit worried about the 12-15 Euro monthly fee, as it feels a bit steep compared to other monthly subscriptions. If I remain on the free tier, I’m limited to dictating a maximum of 2000 words per week.

In the meantime I've tried various browsers, but I keep returning to Safari on macOS. It appears to offer robust privacy controls and anti-fingerprinting features while being efficient with memory usage. The latter is particularly crucial for the MacBook Neo, given its limited 8GB of memory. It has yet to cause me any problems, although.

Speaking about the MacBook Neo, it replaced my main custom build computer for daily use for now. I connect it to my LG 34-inch ultra-wide screen, and voila!

Media

Starting in April, I have been enjoying watching new anime series on Crunchyroll. Such as the start of season 4 of "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime".

Yuna, is always sleeping with me untill it becomes to warm.

Camera: Google Pixel 9 Pro

After doing some research, I eventually came across the "official" website about Otroverts. And according to the questionnaire, I’ve been identified as an Otrovert!

To my surprise, the Eurasian Magpie has returned to my garden for yet another season. I believe it started like two years ago, or I never noticed it earlier than that. Only spotted one of them this time.

I will never forget that it guards my garden against crows.

Guess what? I just found out I’m on the Kagi Small Web! I was thinking about adding myself, but it looks like someone already did. Thanks a bunch to whoever added me!

TL;DR: Geen verrassingen achteraf. Bij Zonneplan wordt er direct rekening gehouden met de situatie waarin je meer zonne-energie teruglevert dan verbruikt, waardoor je geen onterechte energiebelasting hoeft terug te betalen.

Apologies, this post is in Dutch. I might consider rewriting it in English. If you reside in the Netherlands and are not fluent in Dutch, please use a translator for now.

Dynamische energie leveranciers

Voor wie het niet weet, Tibber en Zonneplan zijn beiden een dynamische energieleverancier. Je hebt dan te maken met marktprijzen per kwartier of uur, zonder al die extra marges die ouderwetse energieleveranciers hanteren. Als je je energieverbruik kan sturen naar de goedkopere momenten, zoals in de middag, hou je geld over in je portemonnee en maak je gebruik van groenere stroom.

Ondertussen zat ik twee jaar bij Tibber, maar ben ik onlangs overgestapt naar Zonneplan omdat ik geen grote verrassingen meer wil bij de jaarafrekening. Bij Tibber krijg je namelijk een jaarafrekening als je meer stroom teruglevert dan verbruikt.

Onverwachte kosten

Tibber keert maandelijks de stroomprijs, inkoopvergoeding én energiebelasting uit als je meer stroom teruglevert dan verbruikt. Het probleem is echter dat je in dat geval geen recht hebt op de energiebelasting. Deze moet je daarom alsnog terugbetalen bij de jaarafrekening, wat tot honderden euro’s kan oplopen.

Hier een voorbeeld van de periode april 2025 tot en met maart 2026. Ik heb in totaal €583,76 ontvangen, waarvan ik €451,17 aan energiebelasting moet terugbetalen. Uiteindelijk houd ik op jaarbasis +€132,59 over; een soort 'winst' eigenlijk. Hoewel het fijn is dat ik energie-neutraal ben en geen energiekosten heb, is het vervelend dat je bij de jaarafrekening ineens een groot bedrag moet terugbetalen. Bij Zonneplan is dat anders: zij bieden de optie om met vaste voorschotten te werken, waarbij direct rekening wordt gehouden met de energiebelasting.

Vaste voorschot

Bij Zonneplan heb ik het momenteel zo ingesteld met een maandelijks voorschot van -€13,00, zoals aanbevolen door Zonneplan via hun app; waarbij ze rekening hebben gehouden met mijn voorgaande jaarverbruik. Ik controleer dit maandelijks in de Zonneplan app of deze gemiddelde kosten ofwel verwacht verbruik nog klopt, waarbij ik het maandelijkse voorschot gelijk kan bijstellen.

Zonnebonus

Nog een extra reden dat Zonneplan aantrekkelijk maakt is hun Zonnebonus.

Met de zonnebonus krijgen zonnepaneelbezitters een extra vergoeding bovenop de marktprijs voor de stroom die zij overdag terugleveren aan het net. Voorheen ontvingen klanten van Zonneplan bij teruglevering de marktprijs plus een vaste terugleveropslag van 2 cent per kilowattuur. Daar komt nu een bonus van 10 procent bovenop. Oftewel: bij een marktprijs van 15 cent, vergoeden we bijna 19 cent.

Met andere woorden, een beloning in plaats van terugleverkosten (boete).

Over een jaartje zal ik je vertellen hoe het mij bevallen is bij Zonneplan. Ik kan je nu al vertellen dat ik de app van Zonneplan een beetje chaotisch vind in vergelijking met de app van Tibber.

Very relaxing dog from someone that I recently visited.

Camera: Google Pixel 9 Pro

Another week has flown by, and here I am, writing down another week’s note. I’m not sure if it’s really grabbing anyone’s attention, but at least I’m getting more consistent, at least with one thing. Because I’m still struggling with working out; it’s tough to get back into the flow.

Since the start of the week, I’ve teamed up with a colleague to start carpooling because we live so close; around less than 10 minutes apart. I wasn’t really keen on it at first, thinking it would be a hassle or that I’d miss my independence. But with the fuel prices skyrocketing due to global events, it turned out to be a smart move to save money by carpooling. Plus, I can fill up my tank in Belgium, which would save me about 40 cents per liter.

Besides that, things haven’t been too exciting in my personal life this week. It was just another typical work week, which has been a bit draining. I think I could really use a long holiday to recharge!

I did play Jenga on Easter, and it was a special moment for me because it reminded me of playing the game back in my younger days.

Technology

• I’ve been busy working on the custom CSS for Pagecord.
• • I really value Olly’s interest and support as the developer of Pagecord.
• I’m also trying to figure out my new defaults, but for macOS, since I got the new MacBook Neo.
• • I recently discovered LocalSend, and it’s amazing for sharing files between macOS, Windows, and Android!
• I’ve also taken steps to make my domain name more secure since I switched to yeechie.nl as my main domain from itchy.nl.
• • Hardenize report
  • Internet.nl report

Custom CSS for my Pagecord blog has been keeping me busy. Liking the results so far for light and dark mode (no toggle, unfortunately on the website). One of the two “issues” is that the custom CSS can only be 8 kb big, and the online editor doesn't let you do some things, showing me an invalid or insecure warning. But at least minifying the code helps, which lets me style even more. If it could be larger than 8 kb, I could add (more) accessibility fixes according to the WCAG.

The things you can do with modern CSS these days are astonishing: less JavaScript, more CSS.

I discovered these stairs while wandering through Utrecht's massive public library. What if it were made of actual books?

📷 Ricoh GR III HDF

It seems there’s a new personality type out there, besides just introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts. It’s called otrovert, and I’m starting to think I might be one of them! I'm going to be learning more about it...

As mentioned before in a short note post, I have bought myself a new MacBook Neo and I am definitely loving it. I’ve found myself using it more than my main gaming computer. I even purchased a dongle, Bluetooth keyboard, and mouse, and sometimes I connect it to my big 34-inch widescreen. 

At work, I took some more time off because technical issues persisted and there wasn’t much work to do. This gave me more time to familiarize myself with the MacBook Neo and practice a bit of mindfulness and self-reflection.

I’ve recently become a fan of Upfront products. What I really appreciate is that they use few ingredients. Their packaging is clean, simple, and practical. I’ve already tried a few of their products and will continue using them, such as “Eiwit Matcha Latte”, “Oats Appel Kaneel”, “Eiwit Rijst Pudding”, and their “Creatine”. 

Regarding sports food, I’ve been a bit off track with my calisthenics practice lately. I’m working on getting back into a regular routine, but it seems like daily distractions are getting the better of me.

Besides how much I enjoyed the MacBook Neo, the next best thing was going to the cinema with Linda. We saw the new movie Project Hail Mary at the Vue Cinema in Eindhoven, and I absolutely loved it! I didn’t expect the comedy; I was expecting something else entirely, like a different kind of space movie. I give it a 8 out of 10.

I’ve been experimenting with the custom CSS on this website.

And let’s not forget that hay fever season is here, and my nose is definitely feeling the effects! :'(

I bought myself a MacBook Neo and I am so glad that I did! It's also my first Mac ❤️ I'm considering a Mac Mini in the future; hopefully, it will have the M5 by then.