#but billions of little countries is not necessarily an improvement

[miscopia]

it's fun to watch the world crumble around you and you just know someday you're going to be screwed over too but it's nice to see all the bad people get screwed first

#but also we don't need to get rid of all the companies #we need to replace their owners with better people #that's like saying we shouldn't have any countries #we need better rulers of the countries #but billions of little countries is not necessarily an improvement #gen z #screwed #end #world #news #amazon #tesla #twitter #bezos #jeff bezos #elongated muskrat #elon musk

[superkilometerfilter]

Rolling Back Odometer – Why Is It Illegal?

Rolling back odometer means changing the numbers which show the miles that a car has already covered. In the past, people manually rolled back digits on a mechanical instrument. However, as modern vehicles have digital odometers, new approaches have been introduced to interfere with their normal functioning and display faulty mileage. Odometer rollback can remove hundreds or even thousands of kilometers from a dashboard. This method is becoming common in our daily life and people with fraudulent purposes frequently use it to measure distance incorrectly.

Any form of odometer fraud, including odometer rollback, is illegal. It is a federal crime in the United States and a federal statute regulates it. Moreover, many states have specific regulations that outlaw the federal statute. It is against the law to disconnect, reset, alter or stop an odometer. It also forbids any kind of conspiracies regarding this matter. Using or selling a car that shows misleading mileage as well as purchasing or trading with a device causing odometer malfunction is unlawful. Besides, nobody should accept and trust an incomplete disclosure statement. Of course, forging such documents is illicit and the consequences will be serious. 

Altering mileage reader is illegal in 25 European countries as well. Even though it’s forbidden 15% of the EU population experience “clocking”. Due to the fact that there is not a common regulation for the whole continent, the penalties vary from a little fine to imprisonment by state. That gave a rise to fraud and it causes the loss of billions of US dollars to the United States and the European Union.

Hence, artificially changing the mileage in a vehicle is illegal and the person responsible will face criminal charges. Taking into account the country or the state you are in the verdict may be drastically different. So, it is important to know why people change the mileage and what to do if you suspect odometer fraud. 

IS MILEAGE IMPORTANT?

As you have seen Rolling back odometer is not legal, but people still do it. The reason behind this is that we give too much importance to miles and km. Any automobile has a higher resale price when the mileage is lower. Therefore, if a person decides to roll back the distance and then sell a car, he/she can make a big profit. And still, why do vehicles with less mileage have more value? 

First of all, it is because of the misconception that a higher distance on the dashboard necessarily means old and requires a lot of finances for maintenance. although sometimes this can be correct, the truth is that our world has improved significantly in technology and distance is not as much of an issue. It does not mean that mileage is unimportant, but there are several factors that require more attention. For instance, one of the most crucial elements is how and for what purpose an owner used the car. If he or she used to drive on free highways instead of bad terrain, an auto will be in better condition. Thus, numbers on the odometer are not the only thing you need to look for while buying a used car.

The second important factor is insurance companies. They calculate the price of their service according to the distance you covered. Consequently, high numbers on the odometer automatically mean more monthly payments. To avoid additional expenses for the insurance, car owners might try tampering with the mileage. 

To summarize, Rolling back odometer is common till today. People use it to reduce odometer km showing on the odometer and evade further payments for their policies. In addition, it is believed that an auto with high miles is too old and everyone tries to stay away from such vehicles. All of these may encourage owners to commit illegal acts.

HOW TO CHECK ODOMETER ROLLBACK?

Despite the criminal charges, the existing law does not prevent altering mileage. Ever-growing cases of odometer fraud are a bright example of it. Based on the data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 450 000 cars are sold with misleading mileage solely in the United States. It costs U.S. customers more than $1 billion every year. Pre-owned cars are also a big challenge for the European Union. European Parliament report shows that it estimates annual damage between the lowest of €1.31 billion to the highest of €8.77 billion.

Thanks to technological development, mankind has created unique devices that make our life easier and more comfortable. Every tech company compete with each other to invent and offer something new on the market. However, this competition does not always have a positive effect on us. Such an example in the car industry is a Rolling back odometer. People use different types of illegal electronic devices to reset the mileage. This is why you need to know how to check odometer fraud.

The first thing that you should do is to check the appearance. If you notice worn-out tires and scratches on the speedometer but the owner claims that the car is relatively new, it is likely that someone altered the odometer. Plus, take a look at the pedals and make sure they correspond to the distance shown on the dashboard.

Always request official documents and carefully compare the information to the ones that are shown on the odometer. Such documents can be service invoices, log books, or workshop reports. Plus verify oil changes – it can contain important information for you. Oil changes should be recorded in a log book. For example, if a manufacturer recommends an oil change for every 20 000 kilometers and the owner changed the oil 5 times, you can conclude that the vehicle covered nearly 100 000 km. 

After all, if you are still not sure, contact the automobile clubs and professionals to check the vehicle for you. It will cost you some money, but it is worth it when you are about to make an investment worthy of several thousand U.S. dollars. 

As many potential buyers pay attention to the mileage, sellers more frequently started artificially resetting it. In order to avoid being a victim of a scam, try to check as many details as possible.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU SUSPECT ODOMETER FRAUD

There is no doubt that mileage has a huge importance in our life. People found different solutions to interfere with the normal functioning of the instrument cluster and somehow alter the kilometers. To achieve this they delete, stop, roll back, and freeze odometers. Even though such actions are illegal, Rolling back odometer is massively used every year. Modern cars, especially the ones with digital speedometers, are the major targets. Even using a vehicle with false mileage is illegal, so it is crucial to know exactly how to react if you suspect odometer tampering. 

As soon as you realize that the odometer was illegally changed, first what you have to do is to report the case. You can call the police or contact any local law enforcement departments. They will help you to solve the problem or tell you exactly what steps you need to take. Always remember that using false mileage or hiding odometer fraud is against the law and you may face serious charges for it. So, do not hesitate and reach out to the appropriate services as soon as possible. 

MILEAGE BLOCKER – A LEGAL SOLUTION

A mileage blocker is a high-quality modern device that stops recording mileage while a car is in motion. The team of ‘Super Kilometer Filter’ from Germany has developed the tool for testing and tuning purposes. How does it work? The mileage blocker simply halts the process and the system will not add any further miles to the original distance. In addition, the system will not store the information in control units, which makes original data untraceable. The device is unique for its characteristics:

Mileage blocker has do-it-yourself (DIY) installation guidance. By following several steps, you will install the device by yourself. Hence, instead of going to a professional mechanic, you will save your time and money.

The real data is untraceable, and nobody (including you) will know what is the correct mileage on a car;

It includes different modes and you will be able to choose which one is better suitable for you;

Its premium quality components are heat-resistant and work in every condition without an issue;

You will not see ‘error’ signs on your dashboard;

Mileage blocker is the only one which has its mobile application.

It is important to remember that the mileage blocker was not invented to break the law. It has the purpose of testing automobiles. Car manufacturers have to test them several times, so it is useful for them for testing and tuning purposes. Mileage blockers do not delete or roll back any distance and you have to remember that using this device on free highways is unethical and if doing so you may face criminal charges.

We have a great news for you! You can buy the mileage blockers online. For further details look through the support page or reach out to customer center.

TAKEAWAY

Rolling back odometer is an unethical practice of artificially changing the mileage in a vehicle. Even though countries developed the law to fight against it, people still continue to use them. Unfortunately, there is not an effective solution to this issue. Consequently, European countries and the United States face the damage of billions of U.S. dollars.

The innovative team from Germany – Super Kilometer Filter (SKF), has developed the device for legal use. Mileage blocker alters the mileage recording process in the way that it does not store data in the control units. Hence, you don’t need to roll back or delete the already existing information. This device is made of premium quality components that make it possible to work under any weather conditions. Keep in mind that the goal of this device is to use it for testing or tinning purposes.

[spadevoyage54]

Dating News For Gen Z

If you're looking for dating news, you've probably heard about the billion-dollar matchmaking empire Tinder, which recently unveiled a new machine-learning algorithm to flag potentially offensive messages. It seems that Gen Z is a little more safe interacting with virtual dates than real-life ones, and the new feature can help women avoid receiving dick pics. In addition, Tinder is also improving its messaging system, which flags potentially offensive messages. Gen Z virtual dates are safer than in-person contact For Gen Z, virtual dating is a natural way to meet new people. Forty percent of Tinder users plan to continue using video dates. And nearly half of students who attended career events through Handshake said they prefer video meetings. These trends point to the safety and ease of using virtual media as a means of meeting people. And these new ways of meeting people aren't just for the young. According to Pew research, the majority of Generation Z holds progressive and liberal views. The resurgence of Black Lives Matter and climate protests are further evidence of this trend. In fact, Gen Z users should be aware that people they meet online don't necessarily stand for the same causes they support in real life. A recent article in VICE highlighted the practice of "wokefishing," or pretending to support progressive causes, in order to attract others. Video chatting is also a safe way to meet potential dates. According to Tinder, half of Gen Z users use video chat, while Bumble has seen an increase of 21% in video chats since the pandemic started. When using video chats, you can see your match's appearance and gauge their comfort level. Video chats are also a great place to conduct small talk. The results of this research are encouraging. Tinder's machine-learning tool flags potentially offensive messages A new feature introduced by Tinder has significantly reduced the amount of harmful language that users can send on the dating app. "Are You Sure?" prompts users to think twice before sending potentially offensive messages. The tool's AI has learned from Tinder members' feedback and will continue to improve as the app grows. Tinder has already implemented several harm-reduction features, including a "Does This Bother You?" prompt and background checks. The app recently introduced another safety feature called "Are You Sure?" A new machine-learning tool that asks users if a message is offensive will also flag messages that are less likely to be reported by other members. Tinder hopes to eventually develop a personalized algorithm that will recognize harmless messages that may have previously been ignored. The new system is available in nine languages and eleven countries, and plans to roll out the feature worldwide. casual dating The company also plans to continue improving the "Are You Sure?" prompt and educating users on how to identify bad behavior. In January 2020, Tinder will begin using AI technology to flag messages that might be offensive. Tinder will use the new tool to learn the recipient's preferences. The AI tool will automatically ask users to click "yes" if the message bothers them. Then it will direct them to a form for reporting the offending user. It's unclear when the feature will roll out globally.

#online dating

[potteresque-ire]

More ask answer about Word of Honour (山河令, WoH) and the so-called “Dangai 101 phenomenon” under the cut ~ with all the M/M relationships shown on screen, does it mean improved acceptance / safety for the c-queer community?

Due to its length (sorry!), I’ve divided the answer into 3 parts: 1) Background 2) Excerpts from the op-eds 3) Thoughts This post is PART 1 ❤️. As usual, please consider the opinions expressed as your local friendly fandomer sharing what they’ve learned, and should, in no ways, be viewed as necessarily true. :)

(TW: homophobic, hateful speech quoted)

After WoH had started airing, I had waited for one of China’s state-controlled media to publish opinion pieces about the show. Specifically, I’d like to know ~ what is the administration’s current take on Dangai  (耽改), as a genre? How does it characterise the closeness of the same-sex leads—the closeness that is suppressed when the original IP, of the genre Danmei (耽美) was converted for visual media presentation?

This is important, as China is a country where the government’s attitude becomes the official public attitude. The state opinion pieces will be quoted and parroted, especially if they come from heavy-weight sources (state-controlled media also have their importance/influence hierarchy). Production of the upcoming Dangai dramas will adjust their scripts accordingly. Marketing tactics will also adjust, make sure it doesn’t spread “the wrong message”; Dangai and Danmei dramas have both been pulled off shelves during or immediately after its airing before (Addicted 上癮 and Guardian 鎮魂, respectively), despite having already passing the censorship board.

If a heavy-weight state opinion piece pans the one-lead-fawning-over-the-other scenes in WoH (there are a few of them), for example, scenes / lines of such suggestive nature will likely disappear from the upcoming Dangai dramas for at least a year or two. If the critique spills over to a harsh stance against the presence of queers in Chinese media, all future Dangai dramas can become strict “socialist-brotherhood” stories, their “no homo” message reinforced by, for example, by inserting a female lead (or changing one of the leads to female).

Whether the official public opinion equates the true public opinion or not, public behaviour in China is quickly driven by the official public opinion. Example: the Xi regime’s conservative stance on queer issues has already translated to a quick deterioration of queer tolerance in China; open expressions that were tolerated, even welcomed, just several years ago are now met with significant hostility in the public.

This is a reflection of the nature of their government. A quick thought experiment may explain this. Take … jaywalking. It’s probably fair to say we’ve all committed this “crime” before?

Will you still jaywalk if your government declares it immoral to do so? Where I am, in the United States, the answer is definitely a no. The public will probably laugh at (and make memes about) the poor official who made the declaration, kindly ask the government to do something useful for once (f*** off), and keep jaywalking.

Now, what if the declaration comes with a law that includes a one-year prison term + lifelong criminal record for jaywalking? Let’s say this law is fully executable and irreversible, given this being a thought experiment—nothing you, or the public, can say or do can contest it.

Will you still jaywalk, even if you disagree with government’s stance that the act is immoral? You’ve got a neighbour who continues to defy the law. Will you think twice before letting your young loved ones go out with them?

Very soon, jaywalking becomes “bad”—even though such “badness” had little moral basis at its origin. It is bad because the government has “characterised” it to be so—an authoritarian government that doesn’t allow challenge of the characterisation.

The retention of queer elements in Dangai is the jaywalking in the example. The Chinese government stepping in to characterise (定性) an event, a phenomenon etc is common, and the people know the drill well that they fall in line quickly.  

If a powerful state-controlled media publish a negative opinion piece on the queer elements in Dangai / Danmei, therefore, those elements can disappear overnight.

My question had been: will the state do it? The Xi regime has made its distaste for LGBT+ representation in visual media abundantly clear with its NRTA directives. However, while the Chinese government typically puts ideology (意識型態) as its Guiding Principle, exceptions have always been made for one reason. One word.

Money.

TU is a legendary financial success story every production company (Tencent itself included) wants to replicate. As a result, there are ~ 60 Danmei IPs (book canon) with their copyright sold for Dangai dramas; this long line of Danmei dramas in the horizon has been nicknamed “Dangai 101”, after the name of the show “Produce 101” Dd was dance instructor in. These dramas are all competing to be the next TU by profit.

Adoration from fans is nice, but money is what matters.

C-ent is currently in a financial bleak winter. The anti-corruption, anti-tax-fraud campaign started by the Xi regime in 2018, which cumulated to a sudden (and unofficial) collection of 3 years of back-taxes from studios and stars, has drained a significant amount of its capital; the number of new TV dramas being filmed fell 45% between 2018 and 2019, and production companies have been closing by the tens of thousands. The tightening of censorship rules also means production is associated with more risk. The commercial sector outside c-ent is also eager for replications of TU’s success—they need more “top traffic” (頂流) idols like Gg and Dd whose fans are sufficiently devoted to drive the sales of their products. Such “fan economy” would benefit the government, even if it doesn’t have direct stakes in the companies in and outside c-ent. People’s Daily, the Official State Newspaper, previously published a positive opinion piece on fan economy in 2019, estimating its worth at 90 billion RMB (~13.7 billion USD) per year.

But if the state allows the queer elements in Dangai’s to pass the censorship board (NRTA) for profit, how can it do so with the current “No homo” directive in place? From previous experience (scarce as it may be), the queerness has to be sufficiently obvious for the shows to make the profit everyone is wishing for. Dangai dramas in which the leads’ romantic relationship remains subtle have not sold the way TU does, even if they are well-reviewed and feature famous, skilled actors (as Winter Begonia 鬓边不是海棠红 last year.)

NRTA, and the government behind it, can’t just say I’m turning a blind eye to the flirting and touching for the money. What can it say then?

Here’s what I’d thought—what it can say, or do, is to “characterise” these Dangai dramas in a way that leave out its queerness. It did so for TU. TU’s review by the overseas version of People’s Daily devoted a grand total of two characters to describe WWX and LWJ’s relationship—摯友 (“close friend”). The rest of the article was devoted to the drama’s aesthetics, its cultural roots. (The title of the article: 《陳情令》：書寫國風之美 Chen Qing Ling: Writing the Beauty of National Customs).

How could it do that? The State’s power ensuring few questioning voices aside, I’ve been also thinking about the history and definition of Danmei (耽美)—Dangai’s parent genre as the causes. Based on the history and definition, I can think of 3 ways the queer elements in Danmei (耽美) can be characterised by the state, 2 of which provide it with the wiggle room, the movable goalposts it needs should it choose to want to overlook the queerness in Dangai.

The 3 characterisations I’ve thought of, based on the history and definition of Danmei (耽美) are:

1) The queer characterisation, which focuses on its homoerotic element. * Summary of the characterization: Danmei is gay.

2) The “traditional BL” characterisation, which focuses on BL’s historic origin as a “by women, for women” genre. The M/M setup is viewed as an escapist protest against the patriarchy, a rejection of traditional gender roles; displays of M/M closeness are often “candies” for the female gaze. * Summary of the characterization: Danmei is women’s fantasy.

3) The aesthetic characterisation, which focuses on beauty—from the beauty of the characters, the beauty of a world without harm to the romance. * Summary for the characterization: Danmei is pretty.

The queer characterisation (1) is well-understood, and likely the default characterisation if it is to be made by the fraction of i-fandom I’m familiar with. Most i-fans I’ve met, myself included, would likely and automatically associate the M/M relationships in The Untamed  (TU) and WoH with queerness.

The “traditional BL” characterisation (2), meanwhile, equates Danmei with BL as the genre of homoerotic works developed in 1970’s Japan for women comic readers, and has been widely interpreted from a feminist point of view.

Under such interpretation of “traditional BL” works, the double male lead setup wasn’t meant to be an accurate depiction of homosexuality. It wasn’t about homosexuality at all. Rather, it was about the removal of women and along with it, the rage, the eye-rolling, the unease women readers had often felt when attempting to interact with mainstream romance novels of the time, in which the female leads had mostly been confined to traditional women roles, and their virtue, their traditional feminine traits.

The M/M setup therefore acted as a “shell” for a het relationship that allowed removal of such social constraints placed on women. The lead with whom the woman audience identified was no longer bound to the traditional role of women, such as being the caregiver of the family. The lead could instead chase their dreams and roam the world, as many contemporary women already did or aspired to do; they were no longer limited to playing the passive party in life and in the relationship—and they enjoyed such freedom without risking the love, the respect the other male protagonist felt for them.

BL, in this traditional sense, has therefore been interpreted as an answer for, and a protest against the heteropatriarchal gender norm still dominant in societies deeply influenced by Confucianism, including Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China. The M/M setup is, at heart, (het) women’s fantasy. The inclusion of two young-and-beautiful male leads also satisfy “the female gaze” ~ the popularity of BL among het women has therefore been compared to the popularity of lesbian porn among het men. In both cases, the audience is drawn not for the homosexual element but by the presence of double doses of sexual attraction.

(Please forgive me if any of my wording comes as disrespectful! I’m not used to talking about these topics.)

The availability of the “traditional BL” characterisation (2) is key to bypassing queerness as a topic in the discussions of Danmei (耽美).

The aesthetic characterisation (3) is very closely related to 2) in origin, but deserves its own point as a characterisation that can stand on its own, and may be more obscure to the English-speaking fandom given the common English translation of Danmei (耽美) as Boy’s Love.

Boy’s Love, as a name, amplifies the queer characterisation (1) and de-emphasises the aesthetic characterisation (3); Danmei (耽美), meanwhile, does the reverse.

Where does the name Danmei come from?

When BL was first developed in Japan, it used to have a now out-of-fashion genre name: Tanbi. Tanbi was borrowed from same name describing a late 19th century / early 20th century Japanese literary movement, known as Tanbi-ha and was inspired by Aestheticism in England. Aestheticism “centered around the doctrine that art exists for the sake of its beauty alone, and that it need serve no political, didactic, or other purpose”. Along the same line, the core belief of authors of Tanbi-ha was that art should celebrate beauty and reject the portrayal of ugliness in human nature, the darkness of reality:

…Tanbi writers argued that the ideas of naturalism writers such as “objectivism,” “truth is more important than beauty” and so on would “oppress human beings’ desire” so as to “lose beauty and human nature.” Accordingly, they insisted on “acute mental and emotional sensibility” [Ye, 2009].

(Source, with more details on Tanbi.)

Neither romance nor homosexuality were requirements for works in the original Tanbi-ha genre. BL borrowed the name Tanbi because its early authors saw their work created under the same principles: the emphasis on the beauty of their characters, their love (romantic and platonic), in a world that was also beautiful and untouched by ugliness such as sexism and homophobia.

The stubborn persistence on keeping one’s eyes trained on the beautiful, the willingness to turn a blind eye to reality for the sake of the beauty is built-in in the genre’s name. Tanbi  meant more than beauty, aesthetics; its kanji form was written as 耽美;  耽 = to sink, drown in, to  over-indulge in; 美 =  beauty.

Tanbi, therefore, literally means to drown in, to over-indulge in beauty.

Over time, as the genre expanded its writing style, Tanbi eventually fell out of favour as BL’s genre name in Japan. However, as it gained popularity in the Sinosphere in the 1990s, starting with Taiwan and Hong Kong, the kanji of Tanbi was retained as the Chinese name of the genre.

In Mandarin Chinese, 耽美 is pronounced Danmei. A hyperfocus on the aesthetics, the utopian aspects of traditional BL is therefore retained in Danmei by its name. People’s Daily could therefore devote its review of TU on its aesthetics. Realism, including politics and all discussions of social issues, can therefore be swept aside in the name of respecting the genre’s tradition.

I’ve mostly been reading about and observing c-fandom, and I believe these 3 characterisations have all attracted its own kind of fans. Fans who care and talk about queer issues even when it isn’t encouraged by their sociopolitical environment, who shine a light upon these issues in their fan works. Fans who treat the M/M leads as if they were a traditional cishet couple, such as calling one of the leads 老婆 (wife) and assigning him biologically female functions when needed (via, for example, the ABO trope). Fans who insist the works must meet their beauty standards, rejecting those that fail (for example, if the leads are not good looking enough) by claiming they’re there for Danmei, not Danchou (耽醜, “over-indulgence on ugliness”). Fans who are drawn to the genre by a combination of these characterisations.

By the history and definition of the genre, all the above reasons for fanning Danmei are as valid, as legitimate as one another.

I thought about this related question then: are c-fans of the second (traditional BL characterisation) and third (aesthetic characterisation) groups homophobic? When I first asked this question, I—a fan whose fandom experience had been entirely in English-speaking communities—assume the answer was yes. I thought, in particular, the insistence of treating Danmei’s M/M couples as cishet couples in a homosexual shell had to be conscious queer erasure. How can anyone ignore the same-sexness of the leads? How can anyone talk about Danmei without associating it with homosexuality?

However, as I read more—again, specifically about c-fandom, and in Chinese—I realised the answer may be a little more complex.

Previously, I had largely thought about homophobia in terms of individual attitudes. This has to do with my current environment (liberal parts of the United States), in which the choice to accept or reject the queer community has become a close to personal choice. Pride flags fly all over the city, including the city hall, every summer, and most churches welcome the LGBT+ community. I hadn’t considered how an environment in which queers have never enjoyed full social exposure, in which education of related topics is sorely lacking, would affect Danmei’s development as a genre.

In such an environment, it is difficult for Danmei to evolve and incorporate up-to-date understanding of RL queerness.

The consequence I can see is this: Danmei is more likely to be “stuck” in its historical characterisation as (het) women’s fantasy inside than outside the Great Firewall, with its queerness de-emphasised if not erased—and it draws fans who are attracted to this kind of characterisation accordingly. This is, perhaps, reflected by the fact that the (het) women-to-queer ratio of Danmei / BL fans is significantly higher in China than in the West (Table 1 in this article summarises how Danmei / BL fans have split between different genders and sexual orientation in the Sinosphere vs the West in different research studies).

Another driving force I can see for Danmei to retain BL’s traditional feminist and aesthetic characterisations: women in China are not free from the social pressure that led to the birth of BL in 1970’s Japan. While many of them have achieved financial freedom through work and have high education, the young and educated have been subjected to immense pressure to get married and have children especially in the past decade.

In 2007, the China’s state feminist agency, the All-China Women’s Federation (中華全國婦女聯合會), coined the term 剩女 (literally, “leftover women”) for unmarried, urban women over 27 years old. The government started a campaign that, among other things, associated women’s education level with ugliness, and their unmarried status with pickiness, moral degeneracy. The reason behind the campaign: birth rates are plummeting and the state wants educated women, in particular, to nurture a high quality, next generation workforce. More importantly, the government sees a threat in the M/F sex imbalance (high M, low F) that has commonly been attributed to the country’s “one child policy” between 1979-2015, which encouraged female infanticide / abortion of female foetuses in a culture that favours surname-carrying boys. The state fears the unmarried men will become violent and/or gay, leading to “social instability and insecurity”. Therefore, it wants all women, in particular those who are educated, to enter the “wife pool” for these unmarried men. (Source 1, Source 2: Source 2 is a short, recommended read).

For Chinese women, therefore, patriarchy and sexism is far from over. Escapist fantasies where sexism is removed—by removing women from the picture—are therefore here to stay.

Danmei is therefore not queer literature (同志文學). The difference between Danmei and queer literature is highlighted by this reportedly popular saying (and its similar variations) in some Danmei communities:

異性戀只是傳宗接代，同性戀才是真愛 Heterosexuality is only for reproduction. Only homosexuality is true love.

The attitude towards heterosexuality is one of distaste, viewed as a means to an end the speaker has no interest in. On the contrary, homosexuality is idealised, reflecting the disregard / lack of understanding of some Danmei fans have towards the RL hardships of c-queers. The ignorance may be further propagated by gate-keeping by some Danmei fans for safety reasons, keeping queer discussions away from their communities for fear that their favourite hangouts would meet the same uncertain fate of other communities that previously held open queer discussions, such as the Weibo gay and lesbian supertopics. Such gatekeeping can, again, be easily enforced using tradition as argument: the beauty 美 is Tanbi and Danmei (耽美), remember, includes the beauty of utopia, where ugly truths such as discrimination do not enter the picture. A Danmei that explores, for example, the difficulty of coming out of the closet is no longer Danmei, by its historical, aesthetic definition.

[I’ve therefore read about c-queers viewing Danmei with suspicion, if not downright hostility; they believe the genre, by ignoring their RL challenges and casting them as beautiful, even perfect individuals, and in some cases, by fetishising them and their relationships, only leads to more misconceptions about the queer community. Dangai, meanwhile, has been viewed with even more distaste as potential weapons by the state to keep gays in the closet; if the government can shove the Danmei characters into the “socialist brotherhood” closet, it can shove them as well.

I haven’t yet, however, been able to tease out the approximate fraction of c-queers whose views of Danmei and Dangai is negative. The opposing, positive view of the genres is this: they still provide LGBT+ visibility, which is better than none and it would’ve been close to none without Danmei and Dangai; while Danmei may skim over the hardships of being queer, fan works of Danmei are free to explore them—and they have.

This article provides insights on this issue. @peekbackstage’s conversation with a Chinese film/TV director in Clubhouse is also well worth a read.]

That said, Danmei can only be dissociated from the queer characterisation if there’s a way to talk about the genre without evoking words and phrases that suggest homosexuality—something that is difficult to do with English. Is there?

In Chinese, I’d venture to say … almost. There’s almost a way. Close enough to pass.

The fact that M/M in traditional BL has been developed and viewed not as queer but as a removal of F also means this: queerness isn’t “built-in” into the language of Danmei. The name Danmei itself already bypasses a major “queer checkpoint”: it’s impossible to refer to a genre called Boy’s Love and not think about homosexuality.

Here’s one more important example of such bypass. Please let me, as an excuse to put these beautiful smiles in my blog, show this classic moment from TU; this can be any gif in which the leads are performing such suggestive romantic gestures:

How can I describe this succinctly? In English?

Two men acting in love? Er. That’s… the definition of gay, almost.

Two men acting gay? Well. GAY.

Right. Fine. Let’s go negative. Queerbaiting? … Still gay, because the word “queer” is in there.

[Pie note: for the record, I don’t think TU or WoH is queer-baiting.]

Personally, I find it impossible to describe the GIF above in English that I do not automatically associate with RL romantic love between two men, with homosexuality. But can I do it in Chinese?

… Yes.

There’s a term, 賣腐 (pronounced “maifu”), literally, “selling 賣 the rot 腐”, derived from the term known among i-fans as fujoshi and written, in kanji, as 腐女. Fujoshi, or 腐 (“rot”) 女 (“women”), describes the largely (het) female audience of the Japanese BL genre (>80%, according to Wikipedia). Originated as a misogynistic insult towards female Japanese BL fans in the 2000s, fujoshi was later reclaimed by the same female BL fans who now use the self-depreciative term as acknowledgement of their interest being “rotten”, for BL’s disregard of the society’s traditional expectations on women.

賣腐 is therefore to “sell the rot” to the rotten women; ie. the suggestive romantic gestures, exemplified by the GIF above, between the M/M leads are catering, performing fan service to their target audience.

[賣腐 is also a term one will see in the state opinion pieces.]

There’s nothing gay about this term.

I’ve therefore found it possible to talk and think in Chinese about Danmei while giving little thought to queerness. The history and definition of Danmei allow that.

Again, I’m not saying any of this to excuse homophobia among in Danmei and Dangai fandoms. The point I’m trying to make is this — given that Danmei has three potential characterisations, two of which can be discussed without abundantly evoking queer concepts and vocabularies, given that history of Danmei, as a genre, already favoured characterisation 2 (traditional BL), the government addressing homosexuality in its opinions on Danmei and Dangai is far from a given.

By extension, the popularity of Dangai may mean a lot or little to c-queers; by extension, the state can approve / disapprove of Danmei and Dangai in a manner independent of its stance on homosexuality, which is itself inconsistent and at times, logic-deying (example to come…).

This is both good and bad, from the perspective of both the government and the c-queer community.

For the government: as discussed, the “triality” of Danmei allows the state to “move the goalpost” depending on what it tries to achieve. It has characterisations 2 (the traditional BL characterisation) and 3 (the aesthetic characterisation) as excuses to let Dangai dramas pass the censorship board should it want their profit and also, their promise of expanding the country’s soft power overseas by drawing an international audience. These characterisations also allow the state to throw cold water on the popularity of Danmei / Dangai should it desire, for reasons other than its queer suggestions—despite the Xi regime’s push against open expressions of queerness (including by activism, in media), it has also been careful about not demonising c-queers in words, and has countered other people’s attempts to do so.

Why may the government want to throw cold water on Danmei and Dangai? They are still subculture, which the state has also viewed with suspicion. In 2018, a NRTA directive explicitly requested that “c-ent programmes should not use entertainers with tattoos; (those associated with) hip-hop culture, sub-cultures (non-mainstream cultures), decadent cultures.” (”另外，总局明确要求节目中纹身艺人、嘻哈文化、亚文化（非主流文化）、丧文化（颓废文化）不用。”).

Subculture isn’t “core socialist values”. More importantly, it’s difficult to keep up with and control subculture. 環球網, the website co-owned by People’s Daily and Global Times (環球時報), ie, The State Newspaper and The State Tabloid, famously said this on its Weibo, on 2020/03/04, re: 227:

老了，没看懂为什么战。晚安。 Getting old. Can’t figure out what the war is about. Good night.

The State also cannot stop subculture from happening. It doesn’t have the resources to quell every single thing that become popular among its population of 1.4 billion. What it can do to make sure these subcultures stay subcultures, kept out of sight and mind of the general public.

Characterisation 1 (the queer characterisation), meanwhile, remains available to the state should it wish to drop the axe on Dangai for its queer elements. I’m including, as “queer elements”, presentation of men as too “feminine” for the state—which has remained a sore point for the government. This axe have a reason to drop in the upcoming months: July 23rd, 2021 will be the 100th birthday of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and the state may desire to have only uniformed forces and muscled, gun-toting “masculine” men gracing the screens.

What about for c-queers and their supporters (including group I fans)? What good and bad can the multiple characterisations of the genres do for them?

For c-queers and their supporters (including group I fans), their acceptance and safety are helped by the Dangai genre, by the Dangai 101 phenomenon, if and only if the state both characterises the queer elements in these dramas as queer (characterisation 1) AND their opinions of them are positive.

Personally, I had viewed this to be unlikely from the start, because a queer characterisation would mean the censorship board has failed to do its job, which is embarrassing for the Chinese government.

Characterisations 2) and 3) are not bad for c-queers and their supporters, however, and definitely not “enemies” of Characterisation 1);  they can not only serve as covers for the queer elements in Dangai to reach their audience, but also, they can act as protective padding for the LGBT+ community if the content or (very aggressive) marketing of the Dangai dramas displease the government — with the understanding, again, that the “traditional BL” arm of the Danmei community is itself also highly vulnerable by being a subculture, and so its padding effect is limited and it also deserves protection.

The downside to achieving LGBT+ visibility through Dangai is, of course and as mentioned, that these dramas are, ultimately, deeply unrealistic depictions of the c-queers. The promotion of these dramas, which has focused on physical interactions between the male leads for “candies”, can encourage even more fetishising of queers and queer relationships. The associated (character) CP culture that makes and breaks CPs based on the dramas’ airing cycle may also fuel negative perception of queer relationships as attention-seeking behaviour, something that can be initiated and terminated at will and for the right price.

Finally, with all this said, which characterisation(s) have the government taken re: Dangai and/or WOH? And what opinions has it given to its characterisations?

PART 1 <-- YOU ARE HERE PART 2 PART 3

#pie metas #yizhan #bjyx

[eightyonekilograms]

Someone on the Discord brought up fertility

Just like last time I'm lazy and just going to dump it instead of editing.

[5:10 PM] Me: Oh boy, I have thoughts about this

[5:12 PM] Me: I haven't brought it up here but demographics has been one of my covid obsessions. I got a couple books about it (What to Expect When No One's Expecting, One Billion Americans, etc.), read all the articles, etc.

[5:15 PM] Me: I agree with you about a couple things: namely that if we had "infinite free energy" we'd be a a lot better off in many ways including demographically, but I disagree with most of your other points.

[5:18 PM] Me:

Also we need not assume decline in population growth is chronic.

This is a tricky statement because there's a social aspect and a mathematical aspect. Socially you're correct in the sense that whatever trends are driving the current decline could, in theory, reverse at any time. But mathematically, population decline is exactly symmetrical to population growth: it's exponential (technically it's logistic, but that's the same as exponential in the short term), because having fewer people means fewer people to make more people later on.

[5:20 PM] Me:

Infact there is some evidence to suggest that we actually did more science when we had 4-6 billion people.

I disagree with the implication here: we used to do more science because there was more low-hanging fruit, which is now plucked, and further discoveries require more resources (human and financial). Actually one of the big reasons I disagree with Ray Kurzweil and the other singularitarians is that when they show these impressive-looking exponential curves about scientific progress, they quietly hide under the rug that these increases are requiring ever-more investment (again, in both people and money) to accomplish. Just to pick a random example, every time chip manufacturers go to a new process (14nm -> 10nm -> 7nm -> 5nm -> 2nm etc.), the cost to build the fab basically doubles. I remember a couple years back Intel had to spend $5 billion to hit a new process shrink; now TSMC needs to spend $28 billion to hit their next target: https://www.wsj.com/articles/tsmc-to-spend-up-to-record-28-billion-in-advanced-chips-capacity-11610623587)

[5:23 PM] Me: I will try to find it but I came across a paper a little while ago laying out in detail that the cost of new scientific discoveries has been steadily increasing over time. It's not that there's anything necessarily going wrong with the scientific process, this is just what you'd expect as we pick low-hanging fruit: the later discoveries necessarily become harder. But if you extrapolate that trend out forever you eventually hit a point where every single person needs to be a scientist, and every dime of capital in existence, needs to be used to make any new discoveries.

[5:26 PM] Me: (In most fields we're a long way from that point, but it actually is here or nearly here in e.g. particle physics. What I have been hearing from leading-edge particle physicists is that we've got maybe one or two more generations of particle accelerators left before we reach a point where, to probe any further (e.g. to see if string theory is true), we'd need to build accelerators the size of the Solar System, which would take more raw material than the mass of the Earth. Barring some new theoretical breakthroughs, we might actually nearing the "end" of high-energy physics.)

[5:30 PM] Me: Fortunately most fields aren't at that point, but my point is that the more we discover, the more human capital is required to make further progress. That's a tricky enough proposition with a growing population, never mind a shrinking one.

[5:36 PM] Me:

I don't think it is safe to assume lowering population growth is a biological disorder so much as a conscious choice most people in the younger generations are making for a variety of obvious reasons.

I agree with this, but it's important to dig into that a little and understand the reasons. For example, I'm not yet convinced that there is a mass epidemic of people choosing childlessness because of anxiety about e.g. climate change. In internet comments sections you certainly see lots of people making that claim, but talk is cheap and randos on the internet can say whatever they want. In terms of the actual reasons, the data I've seen shows that number of children continues to track closely with a couple data points, mostly housing costs, expected lifetime income and uncertainly about future income flow.

[5:40 PM] Me: Third, I think you should give more weight to the concerns Rhys brought up than you currently are. The environmental stresses of more people is certainly a big issue, but I think it's one that can be dealt with without too much struggle with increased deployment of clean energy (one of the few optimistic data points lately is that there's a staggering amount of wind and solar power being deployed every year) and a couple of lifestyle changes like eating less meat. Not to say these are easy, but contrast with the pretty serious problems of population decline, particularly the social safety net.

[5:41 PM] Me: And I don't just mean the explicit ones like Social Security, but even market-based, privatized ones like retirement savings have a hidden reliance on a growing population.

[5:42 PM] Me: When you "save for retirement", you're not stockpiling food and water to live off when you no longer work, you're collecting financial assets that you expect to sell to someone else and live off that income. But if there's no one to sell to, that doesn't work.

[5:44 PM] Me: This is a problem that's starting to show up at the top end of the income stack: see this WSJ article about retirees who can't find anyone to buy their $3 million homes: https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-growing-problem-in-real-estate-too-many-too-big-houses-11553181782. It's easy to have schadenfreude here at those poor rich people who can't unload their huge mansion, but remember that this is inherently a problem which will start at the top of the income brackets and gradually make its way downward.

[5:46 PM] Me: You can push this problem back for a while by increasing taxes on the rich, and I do indeed think those should go up, but in a declining population that only buys you a little time. Remember that "money" is nothing but a claim on some fraction of total economic output. e.g. when you hold a dollar bill, you're essentially holding a note entitling you to one-zillionth of American GDP.

[5:47 PM] Me: At a certain point once population falls then total aggregate output necessarily falls too, and at that point taxing the rich hits rapidly diminishing returns: you're just claiming a bigger share of falling output

[5:49 PM] Me: One thing to keep in mind here is that most economies, but especially the U.S. economy, are primarily driven by consumer spending, i.e. normal people just buying and selling stuff to each other.

[5:50 PM] Me: This is why e.g. mass immigration isn't as huge a deal as a bunch of nativists like to think: immigrants get jobs, but they also spend money on goods and services just like anyone else: they generate labor demand as well as taking up supply

[5:51 PM] Me: But what I'm driving at here is that, again, a consumer-spending-driven economy with a falling population is going to get poorer pretty much by definition: fewer people buying stuff means fewer jobs to produce that stuff.

[5:54 PM] Me: Or to put another way, to use a ridiculously simplified model, GDP = Population X Productivity, and so if you take the derivative, then GDP' ~ Population' + Productivity'. So in a falling population environment, you need a lot of heavy lifting in terms of forever-increasing productivity in order for economic growth to be positive. And while there might be improvements down the pipe, frankly we kind of seem tapped out on productivity growth already

[5:55 PM] Me: Now, one possible response here is that we should work out how to have an economic system which delivers prosperity without endless growth, and I do agree we need that. But just saying that doesn't fix the problem that right now we don't have it and people will be poorer in a world without growth.

[5:56 PM] Me: And in such a world, I think it actually becomes harder to successfully transition to whatever post-scarcity economy can fix the problem, because people will be caught up in fighting over a shrinking pie.

[5:58 PM] Me: The neoliberal capitalist mindset of "a rising tide lifts all boats" isn't totally true and has been used to justify all kinds of nasty plutocratic behavior, but it isn't entirely false either. Without growth, at least in the system we have now, wealth distribution inherently becomes a zero-sum game. And that could get really ugly.

[5:59 PM] Me: So, that's most of what I have to say about why a falling population would be bad. But that's the easy part. Where this gets really complicated is why it's happening and what to do about it

[6:00 PM] Me: Now, I think one of the reasons I've been so fascinated by this is that it's been a pessimistic year, and falling birth rates are kind of the perfect pessimistic problem because I don't really see an easy way out. Also I'm just annoyed by partisans in general, and this is a perfect problem for that because it sort of frustrates partisans on all sides.

[6:02 PM] Me: e.g. the left mainly talks about the economic causes and proposes a variety of policy solutions, but an ugly little secret here is that government policy to increase birth rates has basically a perfect, unbroken track record of total failure

[6:03 PM] Me: All kinds of countries (mostly in Europe, but also in East Asia) have implemented all kinds of pro-natalist policies, and for the most part they have accomplished pretty much nothing. (Amusingly, this even goes back to antiquity: in the first couple centuries AD Roman Emperors were also concerned with falling birth rates, and implemented a variety of reforms that didn't do anything)

[6:03 PM] Me: You could always say they didn't go far enough, but at some point you're making an unfalsifiable hypothesis

[6:06 PM] Me: Meanwhile on the right, they're constantly talking about cultural factors, but this runs into two problems: it's again a set of mostly unfalsifiable hypotheses, but even worse since they're all tangled up in the Right's usual rants about The Way Things Ought to Be, but even if they turned out to be true, it seems like a hopeless cause because we basically have no levers to change culture.

[6:07 PM] Me: "Why does culture develop in the direction it does" is one of those huge questions I'm not sure we'll ever have a complete answer for, but I think it has to mostly involve technological determinism.

[6:08 PM] Me: https://www.sciphijournal.org/index.php/2017/11/12/why-the-culture-wins-an-appreciation-of-iain-m-banks/ <-- this is a great article explaining what I'm talking about, as well as explaining why you should read Iain Banks

[6:09 PM] Me: But my point here is that all the cultural changes the Right laments as causing people to have fewer children, assuming they're even correct which I am definitely not granting, are pretty much all products of industrialization. You can't roll them back without undoing the Industrial Revolution. At least not without an insane level of authoritarianism

[6:10 PM] Me: So on the policy side we have a bunch of levers which don't do anything, and on the culture side there are no levers at all.

#meanwhile on the discord

[flirting-with-psychology]

100 good questions to ask your friends at 4:02 am when you can’t sleep (can also function as an asks list)

Are you bothered by your cosmic insignificance? Maybe just a little bit

Do you mourn for a place or person you’ve never known? I mourn for the college experience I didn’t quite manage to have, and for the utopian life from the end of The Good Place that is impossible to get in real life

Do you really think there is somebody for everybody? Hopefully

Do you place any value in gender roles? Anyone can do whatever they want but I do associate some things with gender

Do you have to be related to be family? I don’t consider non-relatives my family

Are your platonic relationships just as valuable as romantic or family ones? I have always put a lot of weight on romantic relationships

Are you in love? Do you want to be? Not quite but I want to be

Do you think you can put love into categories (family, platonic, romantic, etc.) or is it just one general sensation? I can put it into categories

Would you be happy with a life without romance? No

Are you always going to be a little in love with somebody? Yes, probably Captain and Candy Cane

Would you change your appearance if you could? Yes, but not surgically

Do you have the feeling you’ve lost something you might have had in another life - whether it be a person, a place, a world, a language, etc.? I feel like I could have had a different life experience if I was born a decade or two sooner

Do you believe in reincarnation? No but I wish I did, there are definitely things I want a second chance at

Would you want to be reincarnated? Yes

Do you think you’re special, or just another person amongst billions? Can you be both? I would like to be special but probably not

Do theoretical ethical debates have any value? Is it important people discuss ethical dilemmas, e.g. the trolley problem? Yes, they are interesting and can often lead to real-life scenarios

Did you have imaginary friends? Do you still have them? I did when I was a kid. I still like to make up characters but I don’t consider them imaginary friends

Are you religious? Do you think your religion is ‘correct’? I am not religious, and I think it is most likely that there is no god or spiritual force

If you aren’t religious, do you wish you were? Why? I don’t really wish I were but sometimes I can understand the desire to believe your life will have a guaranteed happy ending

Do you want a grand adventure? Yes

Do you have somebody, whether it be a friend or stranger, who you think you could have loved if the circumstances were different? Yes

How long does it take you to fall in love with somebody?Is the sensation of ‘falling in love’ or ‘being in love’ better? I’m not sure where exactly like turns into love, and I have never experienced being in love in a relationship

Is love about convenience or something more? Can it be about both? It would have to be about more than just convenience

Do you think you really understand your gender and sexuality? I have not really questioned it much. I am a cis girl and I am happy being a girl, but I think if I were born a boy I would probably be happy being a boy too. I am mostly straight but maybe just a little bit bi, although I don’t think I would have romantic feelings for a girl

How fluid is your concept of gender and sexuality? Not too fluid but idk

What’s the most life-changing choice you’ve made so far? Probably where to go to college

Are you afraid of growing old? Yes

Would you want to live forever? How about for a billion years, a million, a millennium, a century? I think I would get tired and lonely living forever, but a few centuries would give me enough time to try things

Do you believe in some form of god/s? No

Are your choices fated or of your own free will? Free will

Do you have a hunch about how you’re going to die? Lately I’ve been fearing dying of covid, but hopefully not

Do you believe in star signs? No

How old do you have to be to be considered an adult? Legally 18, socially probably like 30

Was your childhood happy? I think so

What are you missing from your life? A passion

Have you ever met someone who had a very similar personality to your own? Did you get along? Not any more so than regular friends

Do opposites attract? Not really

Is your life what you expected it would be five years ago? No, even if you take out the pandemic I still thought I would be doing something interesting with my career

Do you know what you want out of life? No

What makes a person ‘good’? Are you a ‘good person’? I guess if they help people? I would not necessarily say I am a very good person but I think I am more good than bad

What fundamentally matters do you? Love and fun

Is freewill an illusion? Not spiritually, but maybe capitalistically

Do you create art? How do you define art? I make jewelry and other crafts, and videos. Art is stuff that is there to be entertaining or beautiful, rather than just utilitarian

How often do you lie? Is all lying inherently bad? Are you generally truthful? I rarely lie and I usually disapprove of lying but in some cases it can be ok

Do you want to be remembered after your death? What for? Something I create

Is true world peace ever possible? Idk. Not looking like it

Do you have to suffer to truly understand the human condition? What is the human condition? How can you really experience it? Who the fuck knows. Everyone experiences things differently, even if you suffer the same thing

Are you free? Will you ever be? Can anyone be truly free? I am legally free but not free of capitalism

Do you hold yourself to higher standards than you hold others? Yes

What do you expect from a friend or partner? Someone with a sense of humor who is easy to talk to, and romantic for a partner

What question could you ask to find out the most about a person? No idea

Do you justify all your beliefs or have you just inherited/absorbed some? I’m sure I have abosrbed some

Which beliefs do you have that is most likely to be wrong? Idk maybe still supporting Harry Potter even though I don’t agree with JK Rowling’s anti-trans beliefs

Can human really understand the complete nature of the universe, space and time? No

Is a conscious what makes someone a person? Probably

What do you think about artificial intelligence? It’s kinda cool but I don’t understand how it works

Do you thinks humans are obsessed with escapism (books, video games, movies, etc.)? Are you looking for an escape? Do you think that’s a bad thing? Yes but it’s not a bad thing

Are we eventually going to ‘run out’ of new combinations for music, art, language, etc.? Is there a limit to human creativity? I doubt it

What do you think the next era of music will be like? Who knows, I barely even listen to this era

What do you think the next era of fashion will be like? Masks will be incorporated into it

Do we live in tumultuous times, or do they just seem so strange because we’re living in them? It’s hard to say

Would you want to meet a clone of yourself? Would you like them? No, and I probably wouldn’t

How confident are you, really? Not very

How consistent is your perception of time? Not very

What age should people be allowed to vote? Should children and teenagers be allowed to vote? 18 is probably a good age, I think it’s hard to make an informed decision as a kid. I know I would either want whoever my parents wanted or whoever was more attractive

How do you feel about the idea ‘an eye for an eye’? Probably not a good idea in general

What’s the worse thing a person can be? A murderer

How do you feel about monogamy? I would like to have it

Can you be in love with someone and still fall in love with someone else? Probably

What’s the tragedy of your life? Losing all my potential

Would your life make a good play? No it would be hella boring

Should people be prosecuted for crimes that weren’t considered crimes at the time? No

Would you fight for your country? Do you feel a sense of loyalty to your nation? I feel some loyalty I guess because it’s home, but I would not fight

Do you believe in gender equality in every aspect? I believe in equal opportunities but not forcing people to act a certain way

Do we have a moral obligation to care for others? To what extent? I think as a society we need to take care of people and probably set up government resources to do so, but the specific people who do that should be the ones who feel fulfilled by it

Do you crave approval and/or praise? Yes

Is there comedy in all tragedy and tragedy in all comedy? Idk

Are you ever going to be satisfied? I hope so but knowing me, probably not

When you are sad, do you listen to music that conveys your emotions or music that makes you happy? Music that conveys my emotions

Is your music organised by mood or sensation or do you just listen to everything at any time? Most of the time I just shuffle it but I do have some playlists

Would you marry a friend if they needed you to (e.g. for citizenship)? Probably not

Are you a deep person? Eh

Given the chance to live your life on Mars, with no hope of returning to Earth but with the promise of scientific discovery and glory, would you take it? Not unless there was already an established society on mars with opportunities for entertainment and community interaction

Are you who people think you are? Not really. I think I am more extroverted than people think (even though I’m really an ambivert), and a lot of people think I should do sales or customer service which I hate even though I’m ok at them

Do you think you would be happier if you had been born a different gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, nationality or religion? I might be happier if I was a boy, but only if I was an outgoing boy. And I might be happier if I was in one of those happier-on-average countries

What’s your toxic trait? Are you trying to improve yourself and fix it? My toxic traits are stubbornnes, procrastination, and lack of motivation, which are by nature extremely hard to work on

Do you anger easily? Maybe a little but I also let go of it easily

Are you a jealous person? Yes

If you lost all your memories, would you have the same personality? I assume not

Given the chance to reset your life (with none of the knowledge you currently have), would you take it? Maybe

Is hate as strong as love? Who do you hate? No. I hate Mitch McConnell

Do you speak multiple languages? Which do you dream in? What language would you want to learn? I only speak a little french and italian, I am not fluent. I dream in English. I might want to learn Gaelic

Do you draw meaning from your dreams, or do you disregard them? Sometimes I draw meaning

How would you describe yourself when you love? Do you love forcefully, unconditionally, gently, quietly, desperately? Probably desperately lol

Is unrequited love real love? I think so

Is your perception of yourself similar or the same to how others perceive you? Idk

Are you overly analytical? Yes

Do you ever feel that you are really a terrible person, and only act good out of societal or some other obligation? Occasionally

Do you believe in magic? Are you superstitious? No, but I wish it was real

What belief do you have that isn’t logically grounded, but you still firmly believe in? That I’ll end up with an interesting or exceptional life. Idk if I firmly believe it but I would like to believe it, because the alternative is depressing

#survey

[purplesurveys]

1009

survey by spiritt

Do you play minesweeper or solitare or anything to pass the time? That’s what I did on my old Windows laptops whenever the internet would go out for a long period of time, but I haven’t had to do so in a while now. I’d sometimes play pinball as well, but in the end solitare ended up being my favorite.

Do you believe in life after death? No, I just think of it as sleeping for a very long time which is comforting enough for me to be okay with death. If I think too hard about what can potentially come after, I just get overwhelmed.

What do you think of Oprah? I don’t really think about her in any type of way. I know she had a wildly popular talk show and that she made fortunes out of it and that she occasionally gave out a lot of freebies to her screaming audience from time to time, but other than that I guess I never really cared.

Do you write a lot of surveys or do you just take them? Answered this super recently; I just take them.

What's something you're really good at? Beating deadlines, playing with dogs, and overthinking. Sometimes I do these individually, and sometimes I do them all at the same time loooool.

How big is your bedroom? Not very. I was supposed to have a much larger room in the house, but my sister and I were meant to share it. But after sharing a bedroom with my parents and siblings in our old house, I didn’t want to have to share with anyone anymore – so I called dibs on the bedroom that was meant for my brother; and considering my brother was only 4 when we moved in, it’s not the biggest room in the house. But I took it because I jumped at the chance of finally having personal space, and that’s the story of how I ended up having the smallest bedroom in the house haha. I never saw a reason to complain about it though, honestly...I’m only here to sleep, cry, work, and take surveys. As small as it is compared to other rooms, it provides me with all the space I need.

Do you like to go bowling? I do love bowling. But going to bowling alleys is just so expensive I never really get to go and play a few rounds. And because I’m a bit of a sore loser, I like to keep the bumpers up whenever it’s my turn, ha.

Do you usually remember your dreams? I remember them for a few hours but unless I write them down, I’ll also forget them within the day.

Do you think they mean anything? I don’t think they necessarily reveal a lot; but my dreams are very reflective of what I’m going through and/or my emotions at a given time. So I wouldn’t say they reveal, but rather reiterate.

Have you ever had a crush on a teacher? Yes, but only in high school. In college, one of the professors from the communication research department is super gorgeous and has the most amazing posture and wardrobe, but I never took her classes.

Besides bzoink, which websites do you frequent? Google Suite, YouTube, Reddit, andddd I’ve recently gone back to Twitter because I missed society, tweeting out my thoughts, and being updated with news. Isolation was also starting to not be good for me, so I had to go back.

Who was the last person to come to your house? My grandma and one of my cousins. They came for a quick catch-up and my cousin even got pizzas for us, heh <3

What's your birthstone? Do you have anything with it? Diamond. No, not yet at least.

Have you ever had carpal tunnel? Nope. My wrist has felt exhausted many times before, but I don’t think it was actually carpal tunnel syndrome.

Are you one of those people who is really smart but has no common sense? Hahahahahaha. Yeah I can be, and I’ve occasionally been told that before. I can be a little ditzy, I guess.

Do you think fast? Yes, but I’d rather not. It’s a lot of pressure to think on my feet most of the time.

What browser do you use? Chrome, but I’m increasingly thinking of making the shift to Safari because I’ve just been starting to realize how sleek and clean it looks. I probably wouldn’t simply because I’ve been on Chrome ever since I discovered the internet lmao, but I’ll give it a couple of trials nonetheless and see if I like it.

Are you clumsy? Yep. Tripping is a regular, familiar occurrence.

Paste the last thing you copied. “We were unable to authorize the payment you used to sign up for WWE Network, and as a result your WWE Network subscription has been cancelled.” I’m still figuring out how bank stuff and online payment work and so far no one has wanted to accept my subscriptions. Must be doing something wrong that I haven’t found out yet. I feel welcomed to adulthood, indeed.

Have you ever eaten at Hooters? No. We don’t have them here; but even if we did I dunno if I’d wanna go inside.

Do you like turtles? I certainly don’t dislike them.

Do you have to have goggles when you swim? No. I don’t mind the discomfort tbh, it’s not all bad.

How long can you stay awake? Just a few hours shy of 24.

Where were you going the first time you were on a plane? Boracay.

Do you have a good memory? Too sharp for my own good.

Are you usually more blunt or polite? Eh, I’ve pretty much mastered both. I use either tone whenever necessary.

Does it take a long time to get to know you? Except in the case of this blog, yes.

Is there a specific historical period that you're interested in? Anything but the Middle Ages; for some reason I find that particular period very uninteresting. The whole thing about the knights and peasants and land and feudalism just never grabbed my attention.

Tell me something funny that happened today. I went to PhilHealth today to get my ID and was super excited to take another step into being an independent adult and getting to stuff another Grown-Up™ ID in my wallet. The ID I got is nothing more than a flimsy fucking piece of paper. Barely an ID. This is also the same health insurance corporation whose higher-ups were discovered to have stolen P15 billion from the people’s funds, so. My country never disappoints; a comedy show through and through.

Do you know anyone with a really obnoxious laugh? No.

Do you hold grudges? Yes.

How much was your allowance when you were a kid? P100 a day back in high school.

Can you do push-ups? Very shakily.

I usually assume people online are girls. Do you do anything like that? ??? That’s weird, but okay. Also no I don’t generalize like that.

When you were growing up, did your family move around a lot? Only when I was an infant, so I don’t even remember those times at all.

Do you use public transportation? No. I would if they invested in it and improved on it, but I don’t see that happening.

What's your favorite punctuation mark? I don’t have one.

Have you ever had surgery? No.

What's something you're really proud of? The way I’m slowly learning to be independent. Life-wise, singlehood-wise...it’s terrifying most of the time and I still break down at least once a day. But I’m still alive and doing this survey and breathing, so I must be doing something right. Here’s to feeling and getting better; I know I want to get there.

#survey #surveys

[aquasheik]

Several business with the incredible capacity

Small companies take many shapes and sizes. According to a record by StorageWorks in 2016, these are among the sectors as well as locations of a company with the highest internet revenue margins, or the percentage of earnings left after eliminating expenses related to supplying items and also solutions. While not an ideal sign of profits, these sectors provide fantastic possible for those looking for a stable, safe market in which to release a recently established enterprise. Click the following to the advancement site!

1 Physician Workplaces

Medical professionals offer a needed function in all locations of society, developing a means for people to attend to both significant as well as small health and wellness complaints. Doctors can detect ailment, create personalized treatment plans, and also, if needed, admit individuals to regional health centers to deal with severe conditions. While the private practice climate has changed over the last several decades, relocating away from standard little offices to a consortium model, clinical offices can still provide a profitable company possibility.

Ordinary net profit margins for clinical methods been available in around 11.5 percent, showing substantial potential for interested business owners. While the obstacles to access are very high-- physicians must participate in four years of undergraduate education, four years of clinical college, a minimum of 3 years of residency, as well as pass all licensing examinations-- the price of service can offset high labour expenses. Insurance policy compensations can be tens of thousands of dollars for straightforward treatments, offering substantial income in exchange for on-demand services.

2 Food Vehicle Procedure 

Typically seen as the new frontier in food solution, food trucks are making a mark in virtually every significant metro area. Offering a hassle-free as well as an affordable alternative to sit-down dining establishments that typically surpass convenience food and fast-casual dining establishments in terms of high quality, food trucks are a trend that shows no sign of waning. Today, there more than 4,000 food trucks in operation, comprising a sector valued at $1.2 billion.

Beginning a food vehicle is a reasonably inexpensive endeavour, with the lowest price quotes can be found in under $30,000. While a car can be pricey, a fully furnished food vehicle still calls for significantly much less funding-- both in the beginning and also throughout operations-- than a physical restaurant.

While a traditional dining establishment is stuck in its blocks, food vehicles can extend their reach as well as travelling to different communities and also events to gain a cult-like complying with for their most recent dessert-based empanada treat. Most importantly, they can accept contemporary Factor of Sale (POS) innovation like an iPad sales register to phone deals as well as track consumers.

While no education and learning are practically needed to start a food vehicle, successful business is usually run by practiced cooks who can compose and also carry out an excellent food selection.

3 Landscaping as well as Gardening

From golf courses to property houses, landscapers play a vital duty in beautifying homes of all shapes and sizes. Offering solutions like mowing, plant food therapies, planting and cultivating new development, landscaping companies can discover jobs practically anywhere by supplying solutions that might not be feasible for homeowners and also local business owners to carry out individually.

The cost to start up a landscaping firm is tiny; with no modern room called for outside of storage space and a modest investment in landscape design equipment, it's feasible to get off the ground for $10,000 to $20,000. Thought about mainly unskilled work, human funding costs are usually reasonable in this market too.

Landscaping companies might encounter concerns in chillier climates that see heavy snowfall, as well as thus experience no requirement for mowing, gardening, or yard therapies throughout the winter. However, lots of enterprising companies supply raking and salting when the weather condition turns, changing seasonal solutions right into a year-round operation.

4 Institutions and Direction

Educators provide a global requirement, supplying required abilities and also sources for youngsters as well as adults alike. Taken into consideration an essential part of self-improvement as well as a lawful demand early in life, the education industry commands billions of dollars on an annual basis.

Electrical outlets for education exist in several kinds, giving a wide-open field for those interested in possibly educating or coaching developing minds. Professionals can operate in locations including:

While all academic models have different frameworks and goals, the sector's average web revenue margin is a respectable 10.5 percent. This is mostly due to the reduced requirements for the establishment in many of the much more secondary services in the industry; tutoring as well as examination prep companies, for example, do not necessarily need a physical area or significant assets.

While employing educators can mean dealing with those with training licenses as well as college education and learning, tutors and test preparation staff members are typically university students or recent grads, offering a pool of lower cost, active labour.

5 Celebration Providers

There's no wrong time for an event, making the event services sector an excellent chance for those seeking security and also profitability. Even in times of economic depression, weddings, birthday celebration events, as well as company holiday parties, remain to play a role in social schedules, offering constant profits streams. On top of that, event solutions can be flexible as well as versatile, covering planning, event catering, bartending, and offers, to name a few functions.

Party-focused operations have considerable earning potential, boasting minimal expenses, the capability to costs virtually all outside costs, like alcohol, to customers, and also comprehensive services. This allows for employment opportunities in a wide variety of events. Furthermore, some solutions used by celebration firms, like offering alcohol or food service, require different licenses and certifications, making this a task most event hosts can not do alone. Even with this, labour costs are frequently reduced, as bartending, offering, and arranging do not demand formal education and learning.

Least Profitable Local Business

In taking a look at the most rewarding small companies, it is essential to check out the other side of the coin: those companies with limited margins that make maintaining profitability even more of an obstacle. By typical internet profit margins, these are the least lucrative small businesses of 2016.

Oil as well as gas extraction (-7.6%): With such high overhead expenses, even the profits available in this high-demand field can't make up the large equipment and human funding demands.

Assistance activities for mining (0.6%): Mining can be incredibly costly, calling for substantial equipment expenditures, very educated labour, and also slow-moving procedures, leading to income streams that can not always sustain costs.

Beverage manufacturing (0.8%): The combination of expensive manufacturing tools, storage facility room, and incredibly low-cost items makes it tough to begin in the beverage market.

Grocery as well as related item vendor dealers (1.9%): With many various item sources, consisting of large as well as small ranches and suppliers, sourcing and also supplying groceries leaves little room for big profits.

Grass and also Garden Supplies Stores (2.0%): While possibly lucrative in states like Florida as well as California, the majority of areas of the country do not need year-round access to grass as well as garden devices, making it hard to get ahead in this specific niche area.

[hemant3693sworld-blog]

Seven facts about coffee you probably didn't know 

Coffee is the world's favorite hot drink with an estimated 2.25 billion cups drink every day globally. We discovered seven reasons why you might want to get yourself a cup of coffee right now. As a bonus you'll find a simple recipe for a unique coffee cocktail. So without wasting time, lets move to the Benefits of Coffee.

Top 7 Benefits of coffee

Coffee boosts brainpower 

Coffee with sugar can turn you into a little genius for a while because the combination of caffeine and glucose activates certain sectors of your brain. The caffeine and coffee acts as a mild stimulant to the central nervous system. This neuronal activity triggers the release of the adrenaline that will affect your body in several ways. Your heartbeat increases, blood pressure rises, breathing tubes open up, sugar is released into the bloodstream for extra energy. Depending on the level of intake it can help improve attention and concentration Remember that slump right after lunch? If you wish your boss would announce a little siesta time? Well, if you are not in Spain caffeine can improve wakefulness during the post-lunch dip. We know that working hours may be tough sometimes Coffee is effective in boosting brain performance for those suffering from jet lag or shift work sleep disorder. However never drink coffee on an empty stomach, since that will do the direct opposite. The effects of caffeine tend to be less pronounced in regular coffee drinkers.

Coffee increases blood pressure

You might want to keep off the coffee if you are going to have a blood pressure test within the next two days. If you have high blood pressure ask your doctor whether you should limit or stop drinking caffeinated beverages. On the other hand hypertension or low blood pressure can be a serious and life-threatening problem If not treated. A tiny cup of coffee can battle a hypertensive episode, a situation where your blood pressure is too low. Add a cup of caffeinated beverage to each meal to raise your blood pressure.

Coffee makes your immune system stronger

Coffee is known for its energy-boosting caffeine effect. It's an abundant source of nutrients and helpful chemicals that can aid your immune system. According to scientists from several countries, coffee reduces the risk of premature death. This is because coffee alters your immune system making it stronger and healthier Coffee contains a lot of antioxidants and phenolic compounds that play a crucial role in cancer prevention. It also improves your liver, heart and digestive system. Still try to stick to natural freshly ground coffee. Instant coffee contains fewer nutrients and more chemical additives and one more important fact for Parkinson's disease Research suggests that, among other factors the potential preventive effect may be due to caffeine too. Coffee relieves a headache. The caffeine can cure headaches and migraines People are aware that caffeine is found in coffee, tea, soft drinks and chocolate But may not know that caffeine is also contained in a variety of over-the-counter medications. That's why it's an ingredient in a lot of traditional pain relievers. It can make them as much as 40 percent more effective. Caffeine increases the strength of the medication, and how quickly it works. So enjoy the stimulating and pain relieving properties of caffeine in moderation.

Coffee reduces stress

Coffee acts well as an anti stress substance due to the release of dopamine and serotonin which trigger a good mood. One cup or even just the smell of coffee can calm your nerves. This could explain the lower risk of depression among coffee drinkers. Drinking between two to four cups of coffee every day appears to reduce the risk of suicide in men and women by 50%. Moreover caffeine is one of the most common stimulators of the central nervous system, and it's common stimulation is what keeps depression at bay. Interestingly only the caffeine contained in coffee has this effect as opposed to the caffeine found in tea, soda or chocolate which does not stimulate the central nervous system as effectively.

Coffee improves your memory

Coffee can positively affect mood, enhance awareness and memory abilities. The stimulators and neuro mediators obtained from coffee not only boost your mood and productivity but also improve your memory. Of course this only works with your short-term memory but this is good enough because all Information is initially stored in a short-term memory and only an hour later does it enter our long-term memory under particular circumstances. At times when it gets a little too difficult to focus a coffee break will offer a welcome change of mind by enhancing Concentration and stimulating moods. All in all, coffee is an enjoyable drink that can help boost energy and increase the ability to learn and remember.

Coffee helps you lose weight

Hey coffee lovers, file this under best news ever Coffee can keep off and help you lose excess weight. It can temporarily suppress your appetite and may stimulate minimal calorie burning. When the level of the hormone leptin is low, your body starts storing fat, and you gain weight. Coffee however increases the hormone levels in your body. Now you know why coffee lovers take longer to gain weight and why exercise yields more results for them caffeine gives you an added boost at work or during exercise.

And here's our bonus: An amazing coffee cocktail recipe. If you're looking for something sweet to pair your milk, this cocktail recipe is a must. It is deliciously smooth and refreshing and it's bottled ready to take on the go. Make your favorite coffee Let it cool off then fill an ice cube tray with the coffee place in the freezer. on a hot day and the coffee cubes to a glass of milk. Sip a delicious mix and feel wonderful.

Many studies suggest that coffee drinkers live longer than non-coffee drinkers. This may be because of confident official effects and inflammation, lung function, insulin sensitivity, and depression. This may be in part because of a class of phytonutrients found in coffee beans called Chlorogenic acid proven to have favorable effects with studies.

Factors affecting Coffee's nutritional value

Okay so now the question which arises is that which coffee is most beneficial for our body? We know how to choose the reddest tomato, the deepest orange, sweet potato. Since many of the plant pigments are the antioxidants themselves, How do you choose the healthiest coffee? More than a hundred coffees were tested in an experiment and different coffees had different caffeine levels but the Chlorogenic acid levels varied by more than 30%.

Coffee selection may have a large influence upon health. So all those studies that show that you know one cup of coffee does this or that, I mean what does that even mean when coffee can vary so greatly.

As some famous coffee distributors roast there beans so much that they lost their chlorogenic acid content and they have almost 10 times lower chlorogenic acid content as compared to the other types of coffee. It's because they roast their beans too dark the more you roast the less there is they appear to be partially destroyed by roasting and caffeine is pretty stable but a dark roast may wipe out nearly 90 percent of the chlorogenic acid content of the beans the difference between a medium light roast and a medium rose were not enough though to make a difference in total antioxidant status in people's bloodstream. After drinking them they both gave about the same boost other factors such as how you prepare it or decaffeination don't appear to have a major effect.

Bottom line

When milk was added to the coffee in like a test tube antioxidant activity decreased by more than half with just a splash of milk and down like 95 percent and like latte or something with lots of milk okay but what happens in the test tube doesn't necessarily happen in a person. I mean you don't know until you put it to the test and indeed over the course of a day significantly fewer chlorogenic acids made it into people's blood.

Drinking coffee with milk compared to black cuts absorption by more than half. 

Eat milk chocolate and nothing much happens to the antioxidant power of your bloodstream but eat dark chocolate and get a nice spike within an hour of consumption yeah but is that just because the milk in milk chocolate crowds out some of the antioxidant. Rich cocoa milk chocolate contains like 20% cocoa where's a good dark chocolate maybe like 70% or more cocoa.

How much of this cocoa phytonutrient you get into your bloodstream eating dark chocolate compared to milk chocolate but eat that same amount of dark chocolate with a glass of milk and it blocks about half okay. 

If you lied this article then Share the article with your friends to keep them caffeinated.

[arthurhwalker]

Lenovo TechWorld 2019

Disclosure: I attended Lenovo TechWorld 2019 in Beijing as Lenovo’s Guest. I sat in a super fan / brand advocate seat, and attended in that capacity. Lenovo asks that, as part of my participation, I follow all FTC disclosure laws relative to sponsored content. All opinions are my own.

Disclosure: I consumed the majority of Lenovo TechWorld 2019 via an earbud, translators working hard to turn Chinese into English on the other end. Something may have gotten lost in the translation, and I’ve tried my best to get clarity in those cases where I suspect that happened.

Lenovo HQ Tour - Day Zero

The tour wasn’t what I was expecting. It was definitely a marketing experience, designed to influence influencers and the media. It was well produced, had something for everyone, and a little more.

I write extensively about identity and digital identity in my speculative science fiction series. I’ve read Derek Parfit’s work, and Christine M. Korsgaard’s “Self-Constitution”. The philosophical implications of identity are something I’ve explored in great depth. To that end, Lenovo may be one of a precious few tech companies looking to empower (as opposed to exploit) the user, via their identity.

In philosophy, whenever someone is merely a means in the process of your decision making, you’re probably a jerk, or in the process of acting like one. Lenovo sees a person’s identity as more than a means to create markets for themselves, and is looking through the eyes of the user for how they would relate to potential markets instead.

When I stepped into Lenovo’s unmanned employee store, using my face, it sort of hit home what they were wanting to do. The store had a curious assortment of snacks, food, and drinks. Were the contents curated based on the patronage? I wished I’d asked, but I suspect that’s the cases. Instead of a marketing edifice trying desperately to contrive demand, the store felt more like the corner market that served a neighborhood.

It was an odd sensation to have in a high tech store that didn’t have personnel, but still had personality. That of the folks that shopped there, perhaps? There was the quick bite to eat for lunch, necessities people might grab to avoid a trip to the market on the way home, and the afternoon snack. Nothing was arranged to market the goods in a specific way. It felt more like a community pantry that had contents aggregated over time, to suit the needs of the patrons.

I haven’t had that sensation since I was a young person, standing in the corner market of an old neighborhood where some of my extended family dwelled. That’s where the familiarity ended, though.

In China, commerce is just handled differently. On the outside, it feels a little impersonal to use WeChat or Alipay on your phone to make a transaction. However, I saw the flip side, while I was shopping at Lenovo’s pop up store at the TechWorld venue. They had a Lenovo Legion backpack I wanted (well, needed. It was red!), but I didn’t have WeChat set up to pay, or enough cash.

Nevertheless, the young woman helping me was determined to make the transaction happen. The other employees gathered around, and we talked it over. In the end, she became the handler in the exchange. I gave her the money using Alipay, and she used her WeChat to complete the transaction at the point of sale. This sort of economic decentralization happens at the user level in China.

Having based my book series around a global fiscal collapse, it was interesting to see how Lenovo (and to some degree, China) is making sure the future I’m somewhat afraid of, never happens. Where technology doesn’t reach all the way to the ground, to the common person, it will generally either fail at best, or at worst, exploit the common person.

There were other demonstrations of this notion in the home, and workplace, throughout the tour. The extreme care taken to make sure Lenovo’s products don’t interfere with the user, or their other devices shed light on why I keep buying from them. From a very high developmental level, Lenovo’s products put the user first.

TechWorld - Day 1: Commercial

During the commercial keynote, there was a lot of marketing babble, buzzwords, and hype. It was hard to pick out the gems, the bits that really will resonate in the industry. This is to be expected whenever a company goes large on the stage to sell themselves. This isn't criticism of Lenovo, it's a realization of all that is at stake.

Lenovo wants to change China, and by virtue of that, influence change in the rest of the world.

Lenovo has realized what many companies in the West have not. Decentralizing processes, beside transparent data acquisition, has tremendous potential. This is particularly true for countries with large populations. Each person represents an opportunity to create or serve particular markets.

The assumption is that automation will take jobs from humans, and give them to robots. That edge computing will make people in the field obsolete. I don’t think that is the case. Lenovo has seen that the optimization of processes is one of the last ways technology can improve the profits of companies, while helping preserve the environment. We don’t need less people and more robots, we need more efficient processes underlying the work done by both man and machine.

This is marketable both for companies that want to go greener by reducing waste, while saving money on power consumption. The sum of that vision rests with edge computing built on system agnostic, easy to produce hardware, with software to match. So that data acquisition isn't reliant on crafting new products for each industry.

During the first day I wondered if this approach would trickle down to the regular consumer, with edge computing coming to the home. People already struggle to trust that technology in their homes. Lenovo understands that anxiety; from toggles on webcams, to the hardware switches on microphone-equipped smart home devices.  

They intend to start building that trust by using block-chain to track the food supply in China. If they can make the delivery of necessities in China safer, people will learn to trust the technology. In the United States, there is deep distrust of anything resembling this kind of data acquisition. Worldwide, trust is often the barrier to reaching out to better industry practices and economic models.

If Lenovo pulls it off in China, a billion people on the planet will be closer to trusting the decentralization of data, and data acquisition, via edge computing. The counter argument is that it all requires data centers, something on the other side of the edge computing bridge from the Internet of Things. Something to manage that data acquisition, that isn’t necessarily transparent to end users, outside of the institutional control of said data centers.

I know the above paragraphs looks like a lot of buzzwords and technobabble, but decentralizing data will lead to the democratization of technology, economies, and greater control of one’s personal data. The reason underlying this is that Lenovo is using open source type hardware (ARM) and software (Linux) in their edge computing solutions.

I would be the first to point out that this is likely by necessity as opposed to genuinely held benevolent intent if not for a conversation with Lenovo’s Chief Communications Officer, Torod Neptune. I was, perhaps, a little more vocal during the round table than I should have been, but I wanted to know where Lenovo really stood. If their push for the democratization of technology would be inclusive to all people. Mister Neptune assured me that it was, and that the notion was at the top of their ethics hierarchy.

I’m very skeptical when it comes to the good intentions of corporations. If you’ve read my speculative science fiction series, I do not cast corporations, or the government entities responsible for regulating them, in a very good light. I designed the series during the Occupy Wall Street movement. I spent some of the trip looking for where Lenovo had deviated from what Torod Neptune was pitching at the meeting with him. I see problems in the industry, but Lenovo isn’t at the root of them, and they may even swing things the other way at the commercial and institutional level.

That said, Lenovo has some challenges where inclusive access to technology is concerned.

TechWorld - Day 2: Consumer, Small Business, Consultancy

The second day was full of epic wins, and some missteps. Lenovo seemed conflicted, sending a mixed message on stage. I’ll break it down as best as I can.

The Good: There was talk of making technology more democratic, edge computing in the residential consumer market, bespoke cloud services, and access to technology, artificial intelligence, and data privacy for people with special needs. The decentralization of the Internet is the next step, the next big thing, and Lenovo is keenly aware of this. They understand that the market for such is emerging, regardless, and that there is an opportunity for every single person in that market.

The narrative from day one, about leveraging AI, smart data center management, and edge computing data acquisition would trickle down to the average user of tech in the home, and on the street. Lenovo’s message wasn’t that they were creating that market, but that they were ready to provide products thereof, almost like it was an evolutionary imperative that they were merely ready for.

I didn’t think much of the Thinkbook and Thinkplus line until I understood it a little better and who it is being marketed to. If you want to start your own global tech consultancy with automated customer care, and a small office staff, Lenovo is trying to provide hardware, and language translation support to that end. They are making big things for the little guy, and I approve.

The Bad: The second day was sprinkled with casual sexism, with a decidedly male-focused keynote, then capped off with Lenovo announcing a very respectful sponsorship of the Chinese Women’s Volleyball Team. I clapped, I cringed, I wanted to cry, and for various reasons. I feel like a few product managers and executives hadn’t gotten Torod Neptune’s memo about inclusivity.

Others, thankfully, were on point.

Lenovo is far from the only tech company grappling with these issues. Stating that there are many attractive females employed in a particular division of the company shouldn’t be an acceptable means to sell product. The message delivered for Thinkbook, and Thinkplus, were that they were “The Young Man” of the workplace, looking to start his consultancy, or small business venture. That he’d have hardware options for himself, and his female assistant.

The appeal of the Thinkbook / Plus product lines transcends gender, and the marketing should have reflected that. That women were excluded as customers during the keynote was a mistake. Hopefully, when those products start reaching the US, Lenovo doesn’t continue the tragic narrative put forward at TechWorld.

The two women they put on the stage as product managers were there, as directed by the man leading the keynote. One was the product manager for the Yoga Book 2, or Yoga Book C930 as it is also called. I’d have really liked to see her up there by herself, pitching the product, without a guy as the conversational prompt.

It’s important to note that what I saw is not the trend at Lenovo. They released their 2nd annual Diversity and Inclusion report a few days after Techworld. Lenovo’s workforce is 36.2 percent female, up 1.2 percent from 2018.

Traditionally under-represented racial and ethnic groups are on the rise in the executive ranks in the U.S. workforce, at 27.4 percent. Lenovo wants to make it 28 percent by 2020.

When I attended CES earlier this year, I was able to sit in at a conference, hosted by Lenovo, for women in the tech industry to meet and discuss the challenges they face in the workforce. It is these things that stand in contrast to what I saw on stage at TechWorld in China. Definitely, I’ll be paying close attention to whether Lenovo pushes the needle toward inclusion, and equity.

In that, I am hopeful.

Conclusion: TechWorld 2019 Overview

Getting to see the connected narrative of days one and two between artificial intelligence, data acquisition, and edge computing was something I needed. I don’t think people in the consumer market understand the influence of these things in their daily lives, and as a result, are afraid of those influences.

Sadly, companies like Google and Amazon do an excellent job of making it worse by lacking transparency in their data acquisition in a residential setting.

Lenovo talked about GPU virtualization in the cloud during the Day 1 Keynote. I’m giddy at all the possible applications thereof. I hope one day to have an extremely thin and light drawing tablet in hand, 5G connected, that can handle commercial applications, rendering done quickly in the cloud. The primary barrier to that being a reality, is trust.  

Lenovo has a genuine opportunity to change the narrative at an industry level if they can make data collection via edge computing transparent, and democratic. Will Lenovo hold to that narrative? It starts with the people making decisions within, and there is every indication that Lenovo is struggling to move in that direction, in all markets.

That said, there is a genuine effort at high levels of the company to that end.

Thanks for reading.

For More TechWorld 2019 coverage, check out these other Lenovo Insiders, and the Hashtag #LenovoTechWorld #LenovoIN

Adam Fowler

https://twitter.com/AdamFowler_IT

https://www.adamfowlerit.com/

Onica Cupido

https://twitter.com/OnicaCupido

Vernon Chan

https://twitter.com/vernieman

https://vernonchan.com/

Lawrence Mann

https://twitter.com/LAWRENCEcanDRAW

https://www.youtube.com/LAWRENCEcanDRAW

And, our friends from the Lenovo Champions ;-D

https://www.instagram.com/tecnolaura/

https://www.youtube.com/technikfaultier

https://twitter.com/TecnoLocura

https://www.instagram.com/leotechmaker/

#LenovoTechWorld #LenovoIN #SponsoredTrip #Lenovo #Inclusivity #Equity #Technology #LenovoTechWorld2019

[paleorecipecookbook]

Food Allergy vs. Food Intolerance: Why the Difference Matters

Although we have a lot to learn about food intolerances, ever-growing research proves that they aren’t psychological or make-believe. Read on to learn the differences between a true food allergy and a food intolerance, some examples of common food intolerances, and how healing your gut can, in some cases, alleviate the problem.

Food intolerances are very real—and can have serious consequences if they’re ignored. Check out this article to find out the difference between a food allergy and a food intolerance. #wellness #chriskresser

Food Allergy vs. Food Intolerance—They’re Not the Same

Food allergies are on the rise, especially in children:

Between 1997 and 2011 food allergies increased by 50 percent in American children (1)

Today, around 1 in 13 children and 1 in 25 adults in the United States suffer from a life-threatening food allergy (2)

In a true food allergy, a person’s immune system produces immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies in response to her consumption of a particular food. These IgE antibodies initiate a cascade of events that can affect the skin (hives), the respiratory tract (wheezing), and/or the GI tract (vomiting).

In severe anaphylactic cases, an allergic reaction can be life threatening if not treated immediately with epinephrine.

Even more common than food allergies, food intolerances are estimated to affect up to 20 percent of the population in industrialized countries. (3, 4, 5) Food intolerances are not IgE mediated and are thought to be caused by specific enzyme deficiencies, impaired food absorption, and other GI issues. (6) In many cases, other immunoglobulin antibody responses may also be involved (IgA and IgG)—but more on that later.

Food intolerances generally don’t trigger the dramatic or immediate reactions associated with food allergies, but they’re every bit as real, with varied symptoms like nausea, vomiting, respiratory problems, brain fogginess, and skin reactions such as eczema.

If unmanaged, food intolerances can have serious health consequences too. If you don’t know you have a food intolerance and keep eating the offending food(s), you increase your risk of developing an autoimmune disease, neurological disorders, and more. (7, 8, 9, 10)

Five Common Food Intolerances

Let’s explore some common food intolerances that affect millions of people.

1. Celiac Disease

Often confused with a wheat allergy, celiac disease (CD) is not an allergy but rather an autoimmune disease, characterized by an inflammatory immune response to wheat gluten, rye, barley, and related proteins. Affecting 1 to 5 percent of Americans, CD usually manifests as GI disturbances like abdominal pain and diarrhea, but many patients with CD have no GI symptoms and may not even know they have it. (11, 12)

These atypical, or “silent,” forms of CD are far from harmless. Silent CD is associated with higher rates of iron deficiency, anemia, osteoporosis, neurological symptoms, and a nearly fourfold increase in the risk of death. (13, 14)

2. Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance

CD screening only tests for antibodies to a few components found in gluten, but people can react to many other components of wheat and gluten in a condition called non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS). (15, 16, 17, 18, 19) No robust diagnosis yet exists for NCGS. The best clinical description is: “a reaction to gluten that resolves when gluten is removed from the diet, and CD and allergy have been ruled out.” (20)

Despite its inexact diagnosis, NCGS is real—and studies are proving it. Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials indicate that a subset of people who do not have CD or a wheat allergy can and do indeed react horribly to gluten when they don’t know whether they are being given gluten or not. (21, 22, 23)

Up to one in 20 Americans may have NCGS, which can affect the brain, skin, endocrine system, stomach, liver, blood vessels, and more. NCGS can produce a wide range of symptoms: (24, 25, 26)

Bloating

Abdominal pain

Gas and related pain

Diarrhea

Constipation

Tiredness

Headache

Anxiety

Foggy mind

Eczema

Chronic fatigue

Joint and muscle pain

Asthma

Depression

Unfortunately, many health professionals still don’t take NCGS seriously, which does a huge disservice to those suffering. In fact, NCGS, especially if undiagnosed, can be even more serious than CD. Epithelial damage to the gut, systemic immune activation, and systemic inflammation are all linked to NCGS. (27) By continuing to eat gluten, patients with NCGS are at higher risk of developing arthritis, thyroiditis, multiple sclerosis, ataxia, diabetes, and even amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). (28, 29, 30, 31)

3. FODMAP Intolerance

Sometimes, people who think they are sensitive to gluten may actually be intolerant to FODMAPs, or fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. FODMAPs, a type of carbohydrate, are found in many common foods besides wheat, including:

High-fructose fruits

Asparagus

Brussels sprouts

Garlic

Onions

In the case of FODMAP intolerance, the GI tract isn’t fully digesting and absorbing these short-chain carbs, which are then fermented by gut bacteria, creating gas and increasing fluid movement into the large bowel. (32)

FODMAP intolerance is common in people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). By adhering to a low-FODMAP diet, up to 75 percent of people have relief from functional gut disorder symptoms, especially IBS. (33, 34, 35, 36, 37). However, a low-FODMAP diet is not advisable long term because it can decrease microbial diversity and density of beneficial bacterial species. (38, 39)

4. Lactose Intolerance

Up to 65 percent of the world’s population—literally billions of people—may be lactose intolerant. (40) Lactase, the enzyme that digests the milk sugar lactose, is present in infants and young children, presumably to digest breast milk, but many people don’t maintain full lactase function beyond childhood. (41, 42)

Why Eat Dairy, Anyway?

Most iterations of the Paleo diet don’t include dairy. But, if well tolerated, dairy can be a nutritious and beneficial part of a Paleo template. If you’re not eating fish heads, bones, and skin, getting adequate calcium without dairy isn’t easy. Pastured dairy is a great source of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K2 and is a primary source of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a beneficial, naturally occurring trans fat thought to have anti-cancer properties. (43)

5. IgG- and IgA-Mediated Food Intolerances

Many prominent immunologists argue that some (maybe even most) food intolerances do activate the immune system, but rather than being IgE mediated like a food allergy, they are mediated by IgG and IgA antibodies. IgG- and IgA-mediated food intolerances are thought to be related to increased gut permeability and are often implicated in Crohn’s disease and other GI conditions. (44, 45) If the gut is permeable, food molecules can escape and be detected by the immune system.

Symptoms of these intolerances range from allergy-like reactions such as rashes and asthma to GI symptoms like cramps, constipation, and diarrhea and neurological symptoms such as migraines. (46) Unlike IgE-mediated responses, IgA- and IgG-mediated responses can take days or even months to occur, which makes identifying the culprit(s) more difficult. (47)

How to Overcome a Food Intolerance

People with food allergies generally have them for life, although children sometimes can “outgrow” allergies to milk, egg, wheat, or soy. But you might be able to do something about a food intolerance by healing your gut.

Food intolerance circles back to compromised gut health. In most cases, a food isn’t being digested properly and/or or food molecules are getting past the gut lining when they shouldn’t be able to.

Here are some ways to fix your gut:

Increase stomach acid using supplementation and herbs. Stomach acid is needed for digestion. Although many people think they have too much stomach acid, they may in fact have too little.

Get tested and treated for SIBO or intestinal pathogens to reestablish a healthy gut flora.

Eat sauerkraut and other fermented foods and consider taking a probiotic supplement.

Eat fermentable fiber, as prebiotics can be even more effective than probiotics at improving the microbiota profile.

Drink bone broth. The gelatin, glycine, and glutamine in bone broth all have beneficial effects for the gut.

Should You Get Tested for a Food Intolerance?

The most budget-friendly way to identify food intolerances is a 30-day Paleo reset diet, as I’ve outlined in The Paleo Cure, where the most common offenders (dairy, grains, legumes, sweeteners, processed foods, industrial seed oils, and alcohol) are removed from the diet for 30 or even 60 days and then systematically reintroduced.

If your suspected food intolerances seem linked to severe reactions or conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), IBS, or ulcerative colitis, the Paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet, which goes a step beyond Paleo by also initially removing eggs, nightshades, coffee, nuts, and seeds, might be prudent. In a study published in 2017, 11 of the 15 IBD patients who adopted an AIP diet achieved clinical remission in just six weeks! (48) This further supports the idea that the gut and food intolerances are intricately linked.

But because reactions don’t always appear right away, these rudimentary dietary experiments can be incomplete. The next option would be IgA- and IgG-based blood tests.

A lot of controversy surrounds blood tests that screen for food intolerances based on IgA and IgG levels. Some scientists and immunologists claim that levels of IgG and/or IgA antibodies in the blood merely reveal that a patient has been exposed to certain foods, not that they are necessarily intolerant to these foods. (49, 50, 51) I interviewed Dr. Aristo Vojdani, a respected immunologist with many peer-reviewed papers, on this very subject. We explored some of the reasons why not all food intolerance tests are created equal, such as how testing cooked versus raw foods can yield different outcomes, but not all tests measure both. (52)

It’s clear we need more research surrounding reliable, reproducible, and scientifically founded food intolerance testing. However, food exclusion diets based on IgG and/or IgA antibody testing have provided relief for symptoms of:

Ulcerative colitis (53)

IBD (54)

Migraines (55)

Skin disorders (56)

At my clinic, we use the IgG/IgA tests offered by Cyrex Labs. (Your healthcare provider will have to order this for you as this is not a direct-to-consumer lab.) Array 3X identifies gluten and gluten-related protein intolerances. If a patient has celiac disease or NCGS, they are very likely to have other food sensitivities, and I might follow up with Array 4 or Array 10. (57)

Now I’d like to hear from you. Did you know the details of a food allergy vs. food intolerance? Have you ever been dismissed or mocked for claiming to have a food intolerance? Let me know in the comments!

The post Food Allergy vs. Food Intolerance: Why the Difference Matters appeared first on Chris Kresser.

Source: http://chriskresser.com March 09, 2019 at 09:29PM

#paleo #recipe #food #delicious #healthy #yum #diet

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Civil Engineering Interview Questions and Answers

civil engineering interview questions and answers pdf download for freshers experienced technical & typical civil engineer book entrance questions 1. What are the causes of building collapse? The passage of time is one reason. Buildings also collapse due to weak foundations. Earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters can also damage the structure of the buildings and cause it to collapse. Bombings or demolition of buildings is also other reasons. 2. What is Civil Engineering ? Civil engineering is arguably the oldest engineering discipline. It deals with the designed setting and may be dated to the primary time somebody placed a roof over his or her head or set a stalk across a stream to form it easier to urge across. The designed setting encompasses abundant of what defines fashionable civilization. Buildings and bridges area unit usually the primary constructions that come back to mind, as they're the foremost conspicuous creations of structural engineering, one in every of civil engineering's major sub-disciplines. Roads, railroads, subway systems, and airports area unit designed by transportation engineers, another class of engineering. so there area unit the less visible creations of civil engineers. each time you open a water tap, you expect water to return out, doltishly that civil engineers created it attainable. the big apple town has one in every of the world’s most spectacular water system systems, receiving billions of gallons of high-quality water from the mountain chain over 100 miles away. Similarly, not many of us appear to fret regarding what happens to the water once it's served its functions. The recent engineering discipline of sanitary engineering has evolved into fashionable environmental engineering of such significance that almost all educational departments have modified their names to civil and environmental engineering. These few examples illustrate that civil engineers do lots quite style buildings and bridges. they'll be found within the region business, coming up with jetliners and house stations; within the automotive business, perfecting the load-carrying capability of a chassis and rising the crash worthiness of bumpers and doors; and that they is found within the ship building business, the ability business, and lots of different industries where made facilities area unit concerned. and that they arrange and supervise the development of those facilities as construction managers. 3. What are the applications of modulus of elasticity? As the term implies, “Modulus of Elasticity” relates to the elasticity or “flexibility” of a material. The value of modulus of elasticity is very much significant relating to deflection of certain materials used in the construction industry. Take for example the general E value of mild carbon steel is about 200 Gpa compared to about 70 Gpa for aluminum. This simply translate that aluminum is 3 times flexible than steel. 4. Define What is the difference between routing maintenance and major maintenance in school facilities? - The routine maintenance is the minor and consistent repairs that are engaged in the school premises. Examples could include painting, replacement of fixtures, louver blades, furniture repairs, and patching cracks in the school buildings. - The major maintenance could also be a total rehabilitation of the school, either school buildings or any other project within the school community. It could be total restructuring of the lighting system in the school or sanitary system. 5. How are freeway bridges built? After calculating the anticipated traffic for the bridge, cement/reinforced- with- rebar stanchions are spaced over the freeway to accommodate the bridge. An ‘off-ramp’ from the freeway to the bridge is constructed, as is an ‘on-ramp’ to the subsequent road. Cement/rebar slabs are built and lifted with cranes to form the platform, and voila! Drive carefully. Although the bridge deck/roadway is almost always a concrete slab, the structure that holds up the bridge deck can be reinforced concrete, structural steel, or a combination of steel and concrete.                                             Click Here  ----> MCQs 6. What is the difference between absorption & adsorption and sorption? - Absorption generally refers to two phenomena, which are largely unrelated. In one case, it refers to when atoms, molecules, or ions enter some bulk phase – gas, liquid or solid material. For instance, a sponge absorbs water when it is dry. - Absorption also refers to the process by which the energy of a photon is taken up by another entity, for example, by an atom whose valence electrons make transition between two electronic energy levels. The photon is destroyed in the process. The absorbed energy may be re-emitted as radiant energy or transformed into heat energy. The absorption of light during wave propagation is often called attenuation. The tools of spectroscopy in chemistry are based on the absorption of photons by atoms and molecules. - Adsorption is similar, but refers to a surface rather than a volume: adsorption is a process that occurs when a gas or liquid solute accumulates on the surface of a solid or, more rarely, a liquid (adsorbent), forming a molecular or atomic film (the adsorb-ate). It is different from absorption, in which a substance diffuses into a liquid or solid to form a solution. 7. How do you measure concrete? Cubic feet, Cubic yards, Cubic Meter 8. Define What is the tallest man made structure in the world? The tallest man made structure is the KVLY-TV mast which is 2063 feet tall. The worlds tallest man made structure is Burj Dubai which is 800 meter tall. 9. Define What are the uses of alloys in daily life and how are alloys made? - Alloying is not always done to produce a ‘superior’ material, but to produce materials having a desired requirement in the industry or elsewhere. A classic case is of lead solder (containing lead & tin), in which the melting point of the constituent elements are lowered, not necessarily a desirable property. - Alloying can be carried out using hot press method (a sheet of material is sandwiched with alloying material), rolling the heated base metal in a drum full of alloying metal powder, using hot spraying, galvanizing (dipping the base in a molten solution of alloying material) etc. Sometimes the alloying material is added in small proportions to the molten base metal (e.g., in production of different types of steel). 10. What is the worlds largest concrete dam? The Grand Coulee Dam is said to be the largest concrete dam. Currently the world’s largest concrete dam is the Itaipu Dam, an accomplishment of two neighboring countries, Brazil and paraguay in South America. Though it is not finished yet, the Three Gorges (or Sandapong) Dam on the Yangtze River in China will take over as the largest upon its completion, which is slated for 2009.

CIVIL ENGINEERING Questions 11. What is braced excavation all about? Excavations are braced to prevent the cave-in of surrounding unstable soil. 12. What is the meaning of soil reinforcement? Soil reinforcement is the act of improving soil strength to enable it support or carry more load. Two common examples are: - Mixing a soil amendment such as lime into weak clayey soil and re-compacting to improve soil-bearing capacity (often done under the road base in highway construction) - Installing plastic or composite webbing layers (called geo-grid material) alternating with compacted soil to produce a stronger sloped soil structure (often done on steep roadway embankments to improve strength and stability) 13. Define What is aggregate? Aggregate is the component of a composite material used to resist compressive stress. 14. What year was the keystone power plant in Indiana County constructed? 1967 began commercial operation on unit 1. 15. Define What is the force exerted by the Tacoma narrows bridge? The force exerted to the Tacoma narrows bridge was initially the wind resistance. The wind resistance caused the whole bridge to act as a system with forced vibration with damping.                           Click Here For ----> LAB VIVA Questions 16. How do you calculate the power of a centrifugal pump? The input power, that is, the power required to operate the pump should be stated in Hp (horsepower) on the pump’s nameplate. It can also be calculated by the 3-phase power equation: P(in Hp) = VI(1.7c) = Rated Voltage x Rated Current x 1.73/ %Efficiency If this is a consumer grade pump that operates on 120Vac, then the equation becomes P = VI, simply multiply the operating voltage, 120 x current (which is the number followed by the letter “A”. The output power, which really is not technically power, but rated in Gpm (gallons per minute), or capacity should also be on the nameplate. 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In sailing, the ropes used to move the sails around so the boat will move in the right direction when the wind blows. 19. What is absolute pressure? Absolute pressure is simply the addition of the observed gage pressure plus the value of the local atmospheric pressure. 20. How do we calculate absolute pressure? Absolute is equal to gauge pressure plus atmospheric.                                Click Here For ----> Class Notes Pdf 21. What is Gravity flow? Gravity flow is fluid flowing due to the forces of gravity alone and not to an applied pressure head. In the Bernoulli equation, the pressure term is omitted, and the height and velocity terms are the only ones included. 22. 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civil engineering interview questions

30. Define What are the reasons for geotechnical site investigations in Uganda? - To know the soil properties, in so doing be in position to determine whether the particular site is suitable for the purpose intended - To know the history of the site - To know what remedies need to be put in place before construction can start - Based on the soil properties, that can be determined on site and in the lab, design the appropriate foundation for the structure. 31. What do you mean by honeycomb in concrete? Some people call it an air pocket in the concrete or a void. 32. What is the purpose of the gap in the road on this bridge? Purpose of the gap in the road is to allow the road to expand and contract with temperature changes without causing damage or deformation to the road. 33. Define What is the tensile strength of wood? The tensile strength of a material is the value at which the material fails when subjected to a tensile force. (Tensile means a force pulling the wood fibers lengthwise, as opposed to a compression force.) There are a lot of different types and load cases for wood, so there is not one answer to this question. For example, wood used outside will fail at a lower load than wood inside. Wood is also an isotropic, i.e. it has different strength in different directions. Example values of tensile strength vary anywhere from 175 pounds per square inch for Utility Grade pine to 1400 PSI for Dense Select Structural grade Douglas Fir. A good reference for material strength data for most species and grades of commercially available wood can be found in the American Institute of Timber Construction handbook. 34. How many Lbs are there in a yard? A pound (Lb) is a unit of measurement for weight while a yard is a unit of measurement for distance. If you are referring to common measurements used on a construction site, a “yard” is a common abbreviation for a “cubic yard”, which is a unit of measurement of volume. (A cubic yard equals 27 cubic feet.) Since dirt weighs about 110 pounds per cubic feet, a cubic yard of dirt weighs about 2970 Lbs. Since concrete is heavier (150 PCF), a cubic yard of concrete weighs about 4050 Lbs. 35. Define What is a projection line? Projection line is the way, in which the earth is shown on a flat piece of paper. 36. What are moment of inertia and its importance in civil engineering? The moment of inertia measures the opposition any kind of body will have against a certain momentum (along that same axis) trying to rotate that body. 37. Define What is the origin of name Railway Sleepers? When sleepers were added below the railway, lines the trains ran more smoothly and people fell asleep on their journeys. 38. What is BMC stands for in BMC Software? BMC Software founders Scott Boulette, John Moores, and Dan Cloer began a contract programming partnership that operated in and around Houston, Texas. 39. Does brick grows bigger every year. Usually bricks do not grow, but since stuff gets all over, it looks like it grows. 40. How did street originate in the plumbing term street ell? A “street ell” may have gotten its name because it describes a 90° fitting particularly useful in tight, street ditches. When installing water pipes under a street, or from a water service, again under the street, into a home or business, this street ell allows one to change pipe direction with one less fitting, and in less space, than with a standard ell. 41. What is the absolute pressure scale? Absolute pressure is calculated from a vacuum (0 PSI) and atmospheric pressure is14.7PSIa or 14.7 PSI above a vacuum 1PSI on a tire pressure gauge is called 1PSIg = 15.7PSIa 10PSIg=24.7PSIa 100PSIg=114.7PSIa etc. 42. What is the difference between QA and QC? Many people and organizations are confused about the difference between quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC), and testing. They are closely related, but they are different concepts. Since all three are necessary to manage the risks of developing and maintaining software, it is important for software managers to understand the differences. They are defined below: - Quality Assurance: A set of activities designed to ensure that the development and/or maintenance process is adequate to ensure a system will meet its objectives. - Quality Control: A set of activities designed to evaluate a developed work product. - Testing is the process of executing a system with the intent of finding defects. (Note that the “process of executing a system” includes test planning prior to the execution of the test cases.) 43. How did the Romans get water up hills using aqua ducts? Technically, the Romans were not able to get water to move uphill in a general sense. Read the full article

#CivilEngineeringInterviewQuestionsandAnswersPdf

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Chosen Issue: Poverty

Initial Research into Poverty

The existing situation with poverty.

In New Zealand:

There is poverty amidst prosperity: There are around 682,500 people in poverty in this country or one in seven households, including around 220,000 children. Some groups are more likely than others to be in poverty: Beneficiaries, children, Māori and Pacific peoples, and sole parents are more likely to experience poverty than other groups.

Discrimination plays a part in New Zealand poverty, for example Moari and Pacific child populations are significantly disadvantaged compared to other New Zealand children.

‘In the year ended June 2020, almost 1 in 5 Māori children (19.5 percent) lived in households that reported going without 6 or more of the 17 basic needs. The rate was higher for Pacific children at 26.1 percent. These rates compared with 11.3 percent for all New Zealand children. Māori children made up nearly half of the annual fall in the number of children in material hardship.’

Globally:

“Global poverty is one of the very worst problems that the world faces today. The poorest in the world are often hungry, have much less access to education, regularly have no light at night, and suffer from much poorer health. To make progress against poverty is therefore one of the most urgent global goals.’’

The world has made huge strides in overcoming global poverty. Since 1990, more than 1.2 billion people have risen out of extreme poverty. Now, 9.2% of the world survives on $1.90 a day or less, compared to nearly 36% in 1990. But the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse decades of progress in the fight against global poverty and income inequalities, and it jeopardizes the future of a generation of children.

While the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unknown, the World Bank estimates that an additional 88 million to 115 million people will fall into extreme poverty in 2020, with the total rising to as many as 150 million by 2021.

Trends with poverty.

In New Zealand:

Poverty can be a trap. For someone to get out of poverty, they need opportunities such as education, clean water, medical facilities nearby, and financial resources. Without these basic elements, poverty becomes a cycle from one generation to the next.

If families are too poor to send their children to school, their children will have a difficult time earning an income when they grow up. If medical facilities are far away, a parent loses income every time they take a sick child to the doctor. If rent increases in the more central suburbs and areas in Auckland, those with less income lose easy access to services and opportunities such as a job or education in these higher income areas.

The root causes of poverty are not only a lack of access to basic necessities of life like water, food, shelter, education, or healthcare. Inequities including gender or ethnic discrimination, poor governance, conflict, exploitation, and domestic violence (which is a large issue in New Zealand) also cause poverty. These inequities could not only lead a person or a society into poverty but can also restrict access to social services that could help people overcome poverty.

Globally:

Children living in poverty often lack access to quality education. Sometimes it’s because there are not enough quality schools, their parents cannot afford school fees, or because impoverished families need their children to work. Without a quality education, children grow up being unable to provide for their own children and so the generational cycle of poverty will continue.

Living in poverty also means not being able to afford a doctor or medical treatment. It means no electricity, limited shelter, and often little to no food on the table. For young children, improper nutrition can mean stunting and wasting that permanently impact their development. In impoverished countries where many people lack access to clean water and sanitation, poverty means the spread of preventable diseases and the unnecessary death of those with little access to medicine.

Drivers that effect these trends.

In New Zealand:

Income inequality plays a big part. It is not just the average income that matters for whether or not people live in poverty but how incomes are distributed. I can imagine that a poor person in an industrialized country like New Zealand will find it harder to interact within their society, than a poor person in a poor country. The disparity will be more obvious when there is a wider income gap between the rich and the poor. I’m sure with this inequality, the instances of crime are likely to increase when people find themselves looked down upon and disrespected, cycling them through the justice system and in turn possibly pushing them deeper into poverty. They would feel the injustice of their situation even more.

Economic growth alone will not necessarily address poverty and inequality.

The gap between the rich and the poor is large and shows little sign of declining.

Income disparities between Māori, Pacific peoples and Pakeha remain high.

Globally:

Economic Growth is a large factor. Understanding how and when countries achieved economic growth is crucial to understand how some countries left the worst poverty behind and how other countries can follow. However the problem with poverty is that the causes are extremely complicated with different factors contributing to the problem. Ending it requires more than just economic growth. “Developed” countries with strong economies still have a significant number of people who are struggling to survive.

Natural disasters and conflict can add to the cycle of poverty or add people to it: When a natural disaster strikes an impoverished community without functional public institutions, families are more vulnerable and often lack basic resources to recover, thus further submerging a community in poverty or jeopardizing one that had recently emerged.

No one wants to be poor. Sometimes you are born to it and your circumstances give you fewer options. You spend your days trying your best to survive, with no energy left to think about being creative and being concerned about the things that you and I think about daily.

What are the possible solutions we can propose to solve the problem of poverty around the world?

Bring education to the extremely poor to enable them to have better jobs.

Give them Health Care to improve their physical conditions and make them more competitive.

Use the budget allocated for War and Weapons to stop Global Hunger.

Governments should invest in programs and projects that will be beneficial to improving the lives of the poor – to open opportunities for them to lift themselves out of poverty. More schools, better sanitation, a cleaner environment and more income opportunities.

Give people living without electricity access to renewable energy.

Statistics, numbers, and information sources from: 

https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty

https://www.worldvision.org/sponsorship-news-stories/global-poverty-facts#measured

https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/poverty-in-the-world-today

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/top-9-causes-global-poverty

https://www.compassion.com/poverty/poverty-around-the-world.htm

https://www.globalissues.org/article/4/poverty-around-the-world

https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/latest-release-of-child-poverty-statistics

https://nzccss.org.nz/work/poverty/facts-about-poverty/

https://borgenproject.org/tag/poverty-in-new-zealand/

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/124327740/child-poverty-declines-but-mori-pacific-poverty-rates-profoundly-disturbing

https://borgenproject.org/poverty-in-new-zealand/

[coincolumnist-dot-com]

How Bitcoin Improves Financial Access And Inclusion

El Salvador’s decision to use bitcoin as legal tender in their country was recently celebrated by bitcoin HODLers around the world. Yet the International Monetary Fund (IMF) quickly expressed concerns about the legality of doing so. Was this simply a matter of traditional financial institutions guarding their fiat turf from bitcoin, a digital asset they don’t understand? How can bitcoin and its blockchain technology facilitate financial inclusion and benefit 1.7 billion unbanked people throughout the world?While the pandemic greatly accelerated the digitization of assets as stores of value, it also hampered the ability of traditional regulatory and legal bureaucracies to match the pace of bitcoin’s rapid evolution into the premier digital asset of choice. Understandably, those in control of the legacy banking system have cause for concern, since Bitcoin’s decentralized ledger exists outside the control of the traditional international financial system. Computer code runs to validate peer-to-peer trustless relationships that extinguish the need for a bank’s existence. Bitcoin is a digital asset that is more nimble and better designed to meet the needs of unbanked people than the old institutions that failed them. While many of us will use traditional banks in the foreseeable future, Bitcoin has undeniable societal benefits that increase financial inclusion.First, bitcoin is useful for remittances and can act as a quasi bank for the unbanked. Reducing both transaction fees and times vastly improves cross-border payments. Instead of using a money transfer company, a worker in New York might use a service that transfers U.S. dollars into bitcoin and enables a family member in a receiving country to “withdraw” bitcoin, USD, or a local currency. Because anyone can use the blockchain there's no need to send payments through a bank or money transfer service. In general, remittances are cheaper and faster with bitcoin than traditional options. In countries with a weak banking infrastructure, a person can download and use a bitcoin digital wallet using their computer or cell phone. Each public key represents a safer way for users to send and receive bitcoin for day-to-day transaction of goods and services and to pay others. It can also serve as a store of value against local inflation and their country’s currency devaluation. In this way, Bitcoin can serve as an informal banking infrastructure of its own, beyond being used simply as a remittance system. This is important in areas that have little or no access to formal financial systems because of traditional banks minimizing their exposure there due to illicit activities that have limited or forced out local law enforcement. Bitcoin fixes this by providing a secure, convenient way to access financial markets. To be sure, bad actors create a national security concern for the United States. They can and do prey on vulnerable populations to hide the financial transfers of criminal networks. However, the benefits of opening up access to global markets for over 1.7 billion unbanked individuals is worth managing the risks by increased vigilance and monitoring of the blockchain. Delivering on the power of bitcoin goes beyond its store of value as a digital asset. The technology of the Bitcoin blockchain can assist sustainable development through a set of services such as smart contracts for crop insurance, the digitization of supply chains and micro-scale international commerce. As the use of the Lightning Network and Stacks 2.0 becomes more prevalent, people will find innovative ways to provide more inclusive access to economic opportunities in global markets. While there are infrastructure issues such as internet access and electricity that must be addressed along the way, resistance to organizational change by entrenched, old power structures must be constructively handled with laser focus. Both traditional fiat institutions and widespread bitcoin digital asset usage can co-exist and succeed where outdated models of past economic policy failed. It’s time for international banking systems to adjust to a future where they can “walk their talk” of financial inclusion rather than serve financial privilege. We can harness the pure energy of Bitcoin in a culturally appropriate way to help others achieve a transformative future, while avoiding the mistakes of the past.This is a guest post by S.J. Ware. Opinions expressed are entirely her own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC, Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine. Read the full article

#Culture #FinancialServices #Humanitarian #Remittances

[agritecture]

Big Data Suggests Big Potential For Urban Farming

CONTENT SOURCED FROM CITYLAB

Gotham Greens’ boxed lettuces have been popping up on the shelves of high-end grocers in New York and the Upper Midwest since 2009, and with names like “Windy City Crunch,” “Queens Crisp,” and “Blooming Brooklyn Iceberg,” it’s clear the company is selling a story as much as it is selling salad.

Grown in hydroponic greenhouses on the rooftops of buildings in New York and Chicago, the greens are shipped to nearby stores and restaurants within hours of being harvested. That means a fresher product, less spoilage, and lower transportation emissions than a similar rural operation might have—plus, for the customer, the warm feeling of participating in a local food web.

“As a company, we want to connect urban residents to their food, with produce grown a few short miles from where you are,” said Viraj Puri, Gotham Greens’ co-founder and CEO.

Gotham Greens’ appealing narrative and eight-figure annual revenues suggest a healthy future for urban agriculture. But while it makes intuitive sense that growing crops as close as possible to the people who will eat them is more environmentally friendly than shipping them across continents, evidence that urban agriculture is good for the environment has been harder to pin down.

A widely cited 2008 study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that transportation from producer to store only accounts for 4 percent of food’s total greenhouse gas emissions, which calls into question the concern over “food miles.” Meanwhile, some forms of urban farming may be more energy-intensive than rural agriculture, especially indoor vertical farms that rely on artificial lighting and climate control.

An operation like Gotham Greens can recycle water through its hydroponic system, but outdoor farms such as the ones sprouting on vacant lots in Detroit usually require irrigation, a potential problem when many municipal water systems are struggling to keep up with demand. And many urban farms struggle financially; in a 2016 survey of urban farmers in the U.S., only one in three said they made a living from the farm.

Although cities and states have begun to loosen restrictions on urban agriculture, and even to encourage it with financial incentives, it has remained an open question whether growing food in cities is ultimately going to make them greener. Will the amount of food produced be worth the tradeoffs? A recent analysis of urban agriculture’s global potential, published in the journal Earth’s Future, has taken a big step toward an answer—and the news looks good for urban farming.

“Not only could urban agriculture account for several percent of global food production, but there are added co-benefits beyond that, and beyond the social impacts,” said Matei Georgescu, a professor of geographical sciences and urban planning at Arizona State University and a co-author of the study, along with other researchers at Arizona State, Google, China’s Tsinghua University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Hawaii.

(Image: A MODIS Land Cover Type satellite image of the United States, similar to imagery analyzed by the researchers. Different colors indicate different land uses: red is urban; bright green is deciduous broadleaf forest) 

Using Google’s Earth Engine software, as well as population, meteorological, and other datasets, the researchers determined that, if fully implemented in cities around the world, urban agriculture could produce as much as 180 million metric tons of food a year—perhaps 10 percent of the global output of legumes, roots and tubers, and vegetable crops.

Those numbers are big. Researchers hope they encourage other scientists, as well as urban planners and local leaders, to begin to take urban agriculture more seriously as a potential force for sustainability.

The study also looks at “ecosystem services” associated with urban agriculture, including reduction of the urban heat-island effect, avoided stormwater runoff, nitrogen fixation, pest control, and energy savings. Taken together, these additional benefits make urban agriculture worth as much as $160 billion annually around the globe. The concept of ecosystem services has been around for decades, but it is growing in popularity as a way to account, in economic terms, for the benefits that humans gain from healthy ecosystems. Georgescu and his collaborators decided to investigate the potential ecosystem services that could be provided through widespread adoption of urban agriculture, something that had not been attempted before.

The team began with satellite imagery, using pre-existing analyses to determine which pixels in the images were likely to represent vegetation and urban infrastructure. Looking at existing vegetation in cities (it can be difficult to determine, from satellite imagery, what’s a park and what’s a farm), as well as suitable roofs, vacant land, and potential locations for vertical farms, they created a system for analyzing the benefits of so-called “natural capital”—here, that means soil and plants—on a global and country-wide scale.

Beyond the benefits we already enjoy from having street trees and parks in our cities, the researchers estimated that fully-realized urban agriculture could provide as much as 15 billion kilowatt hours of annual energy savings worldwide—equivalent to nearly half the power generated by solar panels in the U.S. It could also sequester up to 170,000 tons of nitrogen and prevent as much as 57 billion cubic meters of stormwater runoff, a major source of pollution in rivers and streams.

“We had no notion of what we would find until we developed the algorithm and the models and made the calculation,” Georgescu said. “And that work had never been done before. This is a benchmark study, and our hope with this work is that others now know what sort of data to look for.”

Robert Costanza, a professor of public policy at Australian National University, cofounded the International Society for Ecological Economics and researches sustainable urbanism and the economic relationship between humans and our environment. He called the study (in which he played no part) “a major advance.”

“This is the first global estimate of the potential for urban agriculture,” Costanza wrote in an email. “Urban agriculture will never feed the world, and this paper confirms that, but the important point is that natural capital in cities can be vastly improved and this would produce a range of benefits, not just food.”

Costanza said he would like to see the researchers’ big data approach become standard in urban planning, as a way to determine the best balance between urban infrastructure and green space—whether it’s farms, forests, parks, or wetlands. That is the researchers’ hope as well, and they’ve released their code to allow other scientists and urban planners to run their own data, especially at the local level.

“Somebody, maybe in Romania, say, could just plug their values in and that will produce local estimates,” Georgescu said. “If they have a grand vision of developing or expanding some city with X amount of available land where urban agriculture can be grown, they can now quantify these added co-benefits.”

That could be very valuable, said Sabina Shaikh, director of the Program on the Global Environment at the University of Chicago, who researches the urban environment and the economics of environmental policy.

“Ecosystem services is something that is very site-specific,” she said. “But this research may help people make comparisons a little bit better, particularly policymakers who want to think through, ‘What’s the benefit of a park vs. food production?’ or some combination of things. It doesn’t necessarily mean, because it has the additional benefit of food production, that a farm is going to be more highly valued than a park. But it gives policymakers another tool, another thing to consider.”

Want to learn more about how urban agriculture can help make cities across the globe more efficient, sustainable and resilient? Then join us at AgLanta 2018: Smart Ag for Smart Cities. This dynamic 2-day conference will explore 7 critical smart city topics, including smart urban development and smart resource management.

#urban agriculture #urban farming #smart agriculture #big data #smart cities #resilience #sustainability #food systems #green infrastructure #urban planning #google