Als het om esthetiek gaat, kunnen we de hele dag discussiëren. Maar niet als er iemand gewond kan raken door vallend beton.

Ik twijfel er niet aan dat het beton aan het rotten is. Dat zien we. Maar ik kan me voorstellen dat iemand die dit zegt uiteindelijk charmant wordt: onze eigen versie van Romeinse ruïnes. Dus de veiligheidskwestie lijkt relevant.

Ik kan de veiligheid niet beoordelen. Ik ben geen ingenieur. Maar dat lijkt me wel een belangrijke vraag voor degenen die verantwoordelijk zijn voor de openbare veiligheid.

Zijn de pijlers veilig? Soms degradeert beton en valt het naar beneden, waardoor overhangende delen gerenoveerd moeten worden in plaats van te blijven staan.

Yes, I failed to hear the capitals on "Scientific Revolution." But never once have I ever claimed that 1543–1687 was my period. (I think I was only a year or two out of my master....)

Pay attention to red flags. Don't ignore them because of "an opportunity." It's very rarely worth it. And when you are able to hire your own assistant, don't "kick down." Lift them up, instead, as almost everyone else I've worked with has done. Actively.

Dear reader, this is someone I respected. I was happy for having had the invitation, and felt playful, but then was also really hurt by the rebuke. With that start, I should never have agreed to work for them. I eventually regretted it.

And funding agencies

Once, when I lived in Toronto, a pair of police officers knocked on my apartment door. I was so surprised to see them that I just blurted out the first thought that entered my head: I invited them in for tea. They decided I wasn't who they were looking for, thanked me for the offer, and left.

I'm part of an enclave of historians who work inside a Psychology Institute, which is part of the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences. It's fantastic. We even have a grad programme. Please send me your weird, interesting, thinky students. (We have a lot of fun!)

www.rug.nl/masters/theo...

Now I don't feel so inadequate for being unable to manage meal prep, etc, as a person who lives and eats alone. "Cooking" every day is impossible. But I can put yogurt and fruit and nuts in a bowl for breakfast. And I can add protein to a boxed salad for dinner. With coffee throughout the day.