The importance of a fan

It depends on the wealth and how they got it.

If they earned it themselves then no as they have to struggle to get it.

It’s their children who are born into it and do not struggle. Hence wealth lasts only 3 generations. I mean Li Ka Shing richest man in HK (who is actually Canadian) his son never went through his dad’s struggles and is far less of a business man than his dad. Though he’s doomed anyway as his company is just a rent seeking company and PRC China doesn’t like that.

So when everything is within reach, then there’s nothing worth reaching for.

Older people may remember a television series called Made In Chelsea. I literally know several of these rich kids from the first series. Well knew as they probably have forgotten me.

They had flashy cars, they went on holidays and flew first class.

But they never knew struggles of others and they were very shallow as they had no real character. It didn’t matter if they failed something as money would immediately fix it. So they didn’t even have to try all that hard either.

I’m not saying it’s not a good situation to be in though.

Once I was doing some gardening work for a former neighbour. Just to get some more money in my pocket. I was riding in his work vehicle and talking to him. Like all adults inevitably do, he asked me about school.

I didn’t want to talk about school, so I tried to redirect the conversation to his experiences at school when he was younger.

Before I knew it, I had him telling me about his experiences attending an all-boys boarding school in the 1990s. It was about as violent as you’d expect, but out of nowhere he said something that completely shocked me.

“Oh yeah, and if you started the fight they’d beat you with the cane”

“WHAT?!?!?!”

Only in non-government schools, but holy heck.

In my mind, students being caned is something that only ever happened in reruns of Little House on the Prairie I watched as a kid. Or something that happened at home when you’d been especially bad.

But nope. In the ‘90s, my neighbour and his classmates were caned for a variety of offenses, including smoking, streaking, fighting, leaving campus, etc.

You needed your parents’ permission for teachers to be allowed to cane you, but many disciplinarian parents gladly let their kids have it. In fact, the Australian state of Queensland (where my former neighbour went to school) still allows students to be caned as punishment.

“The school, which has 600 students in Prep to Year 12, gave the paddle 10 times last year and seven times in 2007, he said.

"I would never use the paddle unless we have spoken to both parents and have their blessing for it to be used," Mr Bensley said.

"It is always administered in a loving way. In fact, we pray with them afterwards."

I’ve gone to several Catholic schools in Australia, albeit in other states, and I never saw anything like this.

In all my time at Catholic schools, the only shit-kickings I ever got were from my fellow students. In fact, teachers at my school weren’t even allowed to touch students beyond absolute necessity.

It’s crazy to think that not only was this present in the 1990s, it’s still present now. Not just in Australia, but all over the world.

Footnotes

CHINA DESTROYS INTEL and AMD – rip and replace us garbage…

The world is splitting. Non Western countries are getting tired of US / EU sanctions on everything and anything.

He was tall, dark, and handsome, and insanely good looking… Until he opened his mouth.

He had walked into my English class in my sophomore year and all the girls watched as he took a seat.

Girls were drawn to him and he never lacked for companions who wanted to chat with him.

But he dripped with conceit.

When he spoke, it was apparent that he was interested in one topic only — himself. The world, for him, revolved around him.

The more I got to know him, the uglier he looked to me. By the end of the year, I couldn’t believe I ever found him attractive.

When I was much younger, I did forgive character flaws because someone was insanely good looking. But I came to understand that some of those insanely good looking people weren’t very nice.

Some were selfish, obnoxious, bullies.

Over time, I realized that people are sometimes like deceptively wrapped presents.

Sometimes you unwrap a beautiful present with shimmering paper and a fancy bow to find nothing but a piece of poop inside.

Other times you open up a present wrapped in plain brown paper to discover a diamond.

Insanely good looking people are good for catching my eyes for only that very first time I meet them.

But after that, whether they are good looking or not depends on their personality.

If they have an intriguing mind and a beautiful heart, I find the person insanely attractive regardless of their outer appearance.

Do you know why a manhole is circular in shape?

main qimg 50198946b6a2e5df6a0e0411501560f8 lq
main qimg 50198946b6a2e5df6a0e0411501560f8 lq

This was the question asked to me in my internship interview. I did not know the answer to this question but thought to give it an attempt. I gave multiple reasons –

  1. It would be easy to clean as there will be no corners where the dirt can accumulate
  2. It must be to ensure the safety of the person going inside the manhole. If the manhole is rectangular or square shaped then there are chances that the person will hurt himself with the sharp corners of the manhole

The above reasons are okay but not the prime reasons for a circular design. The main reason is –

The diagonal length is the largest dimension in a rectangle or a square. A rectangular or a square shaped manhole would have a same shape cover as well. This means the length or breadth dimension of that cover could be accommodated easily in the diagonal of that manhole and this is how the cover would fall inside the manhole.

To avoid this unwanted fall, manholes are designed circular in shape.

why
why

Hope this was interesting. 🙂

The 1-3-1 rule

We, South Koreans, really hate our politicians.

But out of all the politicians we hate, the most hated politician of the modern era has to be Park Geun-hye – Wikipedia, the previous president of South Korea.

Her, when she could still smile.

I say “previous” because she got impeached and jailed after the largest political scandal (and the largest protest that followed) in the history of Korea happened, her approval rating dropped to 5%, and still said some really stupid things while all that happened.

main qimg 988ec36908c37eca3b8e4c3b391ff725 lq
main qimg 988ec36908c37eca3b8e4c3b391ff725 lq

Her, after we brought her to the Supreme Court and was found guilty.

I haven’t seen a chart so satisfying since the chart of South Sea Company stock prices.

Some people were so pissed off to literally make a list of the most arrogant, idiotic, shameful things she has said in the most popular public wiki in Korea. Here are some of the gems I found:

“Is this A.I?”

After seeing a pair shoes with smart sensors.

“Powder made out of Korean chili pepper….this must be extraordinarily valuable.”

After seeing Chilli Powder in a marketplace. Of course, this is untrue and very stupid and awkward at the same time.

“Sleep is the best.”

After an authority of a religion said to her sarcastically “You seem to sleep well nowadays.”This is during the times the protests were happening and Park decided to isolate herself to ignore the protests.

“What did I even do wrong?”

After asked to resign from office. This was after the Korean Intelligence already uncovered so much evidence of her corruption, that it was literally impossible to deny it.

“After the impeachment attempt fails, I will use the power of the people to silence the Press and Korean Intelligence.”

Keep in mind that her approval rating was plummeting to zero at this point. And also that South Korea is a democracy.

“I think this is misogyny.”

When she was accused of her incompetence during the Sewol Ferry incident(details are here: John Oh’s answer to What is the best photograph of government corruption?), she said this.

“When taking tests, it is always the women that take it diligently and with great effort. But why aren’t Korean men like that? I mean, they even go to the military. Maybe it’s because our country leads in gaming, and men are like that because all they do are games.”

Fact: stated during her birthday feast with very important politicians by her.

Also fact: It’s complete bull.

“For 3 and a half years, I served Korea without knowing tire, and you dare make me a dirty person?”

Things that happened during her term:

  • Shook the foundation of Korean democracy to the core
  • Increased the income inequality in Korea to 3rd in OECD
  • Increased the debt of Korea by 17%
  • Made house prices 40% higher
  • Set the record for the longest period of time the exports of Korea declined in a row
  • Set the record for Millennial Unemployment rate
  • Diplomatically strayed away from the U.S.(our most valuable ally) and close to China(our worst enemy’s most valuable ally)

Things that did not happen during her term:

  • Literally anything good to Korea
  • Park working hard.

AI generated Men’s magazine pictures

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Absolutely, yes, without a doubt.

China’s economic rise threatens the United States’ global hegemony, which is based entirely on its US Dollar supremacy as the world’s reserve currency.

The United States can print money without end to fund its overseas wars and enrich the military-industrial complex.

The United States can control disobedient countries with punishing sanctions.

The United States can extract other countries’ natural resources.

China’s economic rise can undermine the US Dollar and kick out the main pillar of America’s power.

The USA is scared to death and extremely desperate.

My middle boy. He is 9 now. He was 6 at the time and we were shopping. It was more embarrassing than rude…

Going down the aisle, he is walking with his brother and my daughter is in the trolly… the boys are talking, distracted… and I’m on my own, wife was somewhere else in the shop…

Suddenly he looks up and noticed in front of us a rather large man. I mean large. He had never actually seen a person of this size because even though I am chunky, and my side of the family are, my wife and her side is quite slim!

Anyway, in his charming childishly quiet voice, (full volume) he belts out:

“wow daddy, HE is fat! Fatter than you!”

I turn beetroot red, and tell him that he can’t speak like that. He was confused.

(He has heard family talk about how fat I am and I think this was just a processing mechanism for him)

But then I look up and the man is laughing… as he walks past me and I try to apologise about my son’s outburst he says: “don’t worry lad, you got time to catch up to me!” and walks off chuckling!

Later (it got better) we go to see my mum, and she says something about me being fat (it’s a joke as I am chunky but the skinniest of the lot on my side!) And straight away my boy pipes up:

“No no nana, you can’t call daddy fatty, as we saw a man that was so big that you and daddy and mummy could fit inside him!”

I was facepalming… I mean great defence of daddy but I need to teach this kid how to be more sensitive!

3 years on and it’s still a struggle. Kid has no filter. So we choose words wisely!

Best Ever Hotcakes

21014 Good old Fashioned Pancakes mfs 002 0e249c95678f446291ebc9408ae64c05
21014 Good old Fashioned Pancakes mfs 002 0e249c95678f446291ebc9408ae64c05

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs, separated
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions

  1. Add sugar and salt to well beaten egg yolks.
  2. Sift and measure four, add baking powder and soda and re-sift. Add flour mixture and milk, to egg yolk mixture alternately, a bit at a time until all are added, (stir the whole time).
  3. Add sour cream and mix well.
  4. Add melted butter and mix well.
  5. Gently fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.
  6. Bake on a hot griddle, turn only once when bubbles on the surface break.

One day when the oldest turned 12, he anxiously asked his father what was the secret of life. The father replied that he was going to tell him, but that he should not reveal it to his brothers.

—The secret of life is this: The cow does not give milk. “What are you saying?” Asked the boy incredulously. —As you hear it, son: The cow does not give milk, you have to milk it. You have to get up at 4 in the morning, go to the field, walk through the corral full of manure, tie the tail, hobble the legs of the cow, sit on the stool, place the bucket and do the work yourself.

That is the secret of life, the cow does not give milk. You milk her or you don’t get milk. There is this generation that thinks that cows GIVE milk. That things are automatic and free: their mentality is that if “I wish, I ask….. I obtain.”

“They have been accustomed to get whatever they want the easy way…But no, life is not a matter of wishing, asking and obtaining. The things that one receives are the effort of what one does. Happiness is the result of effort. Lack of effort creates frustration.”

So, share with your children from a young age the secret of life, so they don’t grow up with the mentality that the government, their parents, or their cute little faces is going to give them everything they need in life.”

Argentina Heads To China For Economic RESCUE As Farm Outbreaks Devastate Export Revenues

Argentina is facing an export crisis. With inflation still raging, an outbreak in their corn harvest threatens to collapse their export revenues. It’s not a surprise that the Argentine Central Bank is running to China to secure their Yuan swap line for their vital imports. Here’s what you must know and why Argentina’s in desperation mode.