The Calm Before The Storm – Rodric Leerling

It’s hard to keep mum when you are about to sign off for a challenging and exciting new media sales project. These last days clearly were the calm before the storm.

Roller coasting from high to low ref ambition – Rodric Leerling

Two totally different games with ref mentor duties. It started with a young, highly ambitious young lad and ended with a jumbled, uncertain old guy.
I could help both with a sound advice. The first to keep going but not to be over-doing it. The latter to step it up or quit in order not to get in big trouble in the near future.

Social Selling en Employee Advocacy – Rodric Leerling

Net in het nieuws: Facebook past het reclamebeleid aan. Ze realiseerden zich kennelijk dat ze teveel van hun oorspronkelijke doel waren afgedreven, nl. het ondersteunen van connecties en berichten tussen vrienden en familie. Vandaar het besluit om voorrang te geven voor posts van vrienden en familie boven die van merken en uitgevers. Ze doen dit ongetwijfeld om relevant te blijven en hun positie als sociale marktleider in de toekomst te garanderen.

The Cool Projects I worked for (Part 3 – Influencer Marketing) – Rodric Leerling

MTG NL – influencer marketing, MCN, video concepts development

The Cool Projects I Worked For (Part 2 – Foreign Media Representation) – Rodric Leerling

In my original business plan, foreign media representation was given a pivotal role. It was after all my home ground: back in 1988 I chose to become an ad sales guy and specialize as ‘foreign media rep’. Over the years I met and visited many print publishers and there are always magazines that needed a reliable media rep. I later decided to specialize in the B2B sector and build my portfolio likewise. But boy, has the market changed drastically in a short time….

After talking to the doctor and my physiotherapist ….. – Rodric Leerling

It’s finally time to get into physical action again! A gradual build-up of physical exercise is on the roster after talking to the specialis this week.

Meet the ‘no-yellow-referee’ – Rodric Leerling

The rookie ref confided to me during half time he’d rather not issue yellow cards. At least, he hadn’t done so in his last 20 or so (lower youth) games and he seemed convinced it didn’t fit his refereeing style.

The largest American ethnic group? Germans!

Read this interesting Tweet to follow the full story by @TheEconomist: https://twitter.com/TheEconomist/status/904003314983034880?s=09

or online at https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21642222-americas-largest-ethnic-group-has-assimilated-so-well-people-barely-notice-it

 

The orthopedist finally showed his face and left again – Rodric Leerling

The student doctor invited me in and left me again sitting in a small room. He had to consult his superior and left me waiting. Consulting the actual specialist who hadn’t shown his face yet despite my third visit to his assistant.

But just before the student left me, I suggested the orthopedist to come and see me this time. Which he did. But the questions he asked made me wonder if he really grasped the situation. He couldn’t find any mechanical cause to the swelling. Neither on the X-ray, nor on the MRI could he find anything that could be the root of the swelling. His job was done. He was going to refer me to a rheumatologist to see if he could find the cause of the inflammation. Goodluck and have a nice day.

It felt like a cold shower. After eight weeks of blood tests, x-rays and various medication, I was back to square one. At home, I had the urge to call my GP, and ask his opinion as he mentioned (non-classic) rheuma as possible cause, but he was on hols. I instead called my insurance company what to do. They suggested to have a sports medical consult, in the same hospital. I only needed a referral from the orthopedist or my GP. The latter being on hols, I called the orthopedist’s assistant. To my big surprise, he refused to refer me to his colleagues at the sports unit. No explanation, sorry we can’t be of help.

So now we wait for another week till my GP is back. Ask for a referral and a ‘2nd opinion’. That’s 12 weeks since the knee started swelling. I have given it a proper rest, I would say, but still no changes. Oh, and the rheumatologist can see me late September. Maybe I should give them a call as well.

 

Don’t Put Your Trust In The Rain Radar App – Rodric Leerling

We were kindly advised to evacuate the hotel terrass within 15 minutes. The waitress looked pretty serious and pointed to the sky. The rain radar was predicting heavy rainfall with thunderstorm and we’d better move indoors.

We decided however to wait a while and not immediately follow her sincere advise. While we continued our conversation I thought I felt a first raindrop while temperatures were close to 30C and getting very humid. But nothing happened and it stayed dry for the rest of the day. Well, at least in Amsterdam, while other places got the full rain menu.

The rain radar tool is supposed to predict rain. A no-brainer. Predicting rain at a specific time and location. But it’s apparently not very accurate where the delivery will take place. Aren’t we focussed too much on our smartphone and at the same time getting dependent on information from our electronic devices? Why not check things with our own eyes and study the skies instead of our screens.

Here’s my analogue weather approach: check the position of birds flying high or low (flying low is due to low pressure). Smell the air of plants discarding their waste at low pressure, producing the smell  of compost. Sudden low pressure is known for predicting bad weather. Can I recommend a combination of digital and analogue assessments for future local weather predictions? It might save your outdoor meeting.