It’s kind of pathetically funny how the United States is today. But you know, even an idiot can fire a shotgun. We all have to laugh, not get too caught up, and move on with our lives. Just take care. Be careful
Today’s installment.
Veal Osso Buco (Yummy)
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus
- 3⁄4 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 1 1⁄4 teaspoons salt
- 1⁄8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 veal shanks
- 1 tablespoon butter, plus
- 2 1⁄4 teaspoons butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus
- 2 1⁄4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1⁄2 cup onion, chopped, plus
- 1 tablespoon onion, chopped
- 1⁄2 cup carrot, thinly sliced, plus
- 1 tablespoon carrot, thinly sliced
- 1⁄4 cup celery, chopped, plus
- 2 teaspoons celery, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (I use Hunt’s)
- 1⁄2 cup water, plus
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1⁄2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1⁄8 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 3⁄4 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 bay leaf
Directions
- In a shallow dish, stir together flour, salt, and black pepper.
- Dredge meat in seasoned flour.
- In a large skillet, melt butter with oil over medium heat.
- Brown meat in skillet.
- Remove meat from pan, and set aside.
- Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to drippings in pan.
- Cook and stir for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in tomato sauce, water, basil, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf.
- Return meat to pan.
- Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to simmer.
- Cover, and cook for 2 1/2 hours.
- Serve the delicious sauce over meat, a bed of rice, or mashed potatoes.
China and nuclear weapons
Beijing accelerated its nuclear weapons program last year and has nearly doubled its supply of warheads since 2020 to past 400, a size that US military planners did not expect to see until about 2030, a new report from the US Department of Defense says, according to an American mainstream media report.
The report noted that although China already has the world’s largest navy and is the “top ship-producing nation in the world by tonnage”, it is continuing to expand its capacity to produce “submarines, warships, and auxiliary and amphibious ships”, as well as increasing its ability to produce aircraft.
“China’s decades-long efforts to improve domestic aircraft engine production are starting to produce results,” it said.
“China’s first domestically produced high-bypass turbofan, the WS-20, has also entered flight-testing on the Y-20 heavy transport and probably will replace imported Russian engines by the end of 2022,” the report added.
China is killing its people over “covid”. They are putting people in unsafe places to save them. The people are protesting. Biden Admin says “Protestors are speaking for themselves”. Why care about Ukraine but ignore China?
Protestors are speaking for themselves, totally right.
Because they’re speaking for money. And not much.
The CIA paid them $250–300 for each, but because the spies are too corrupt, they embezzle 90% of their money, finally, when these bottom spies went to participate in the “protest”, they shouted all night, held up white paper, risked being caught by the police, and finally got $27 (Guangzhou) or $12 (Chengdu).
But they can’t convince anyone, and the Chinese are enjoying this entertainment.
It’s already a joke on Chinese network now.
So this is the color revolution. Interesting. It seems that the same is true in Ukraine.
Why are Putin and Xi Jinping so against LGBT?
China
China doesn’t support or condemn Homosexuality.
In fact China has approximately 25 Million to 50 Million Gay People on record.
China legalized Homosexuality in 1997 , 17 years before India decriminalized it.
China of course doesn’t punish homosexuality but affords no extra rights to gay persons whatsoever.
China is very fair
China says You have the right to be Gay. That is your freedom. However people have the same right to not allow you to lease their flats or in general discriminate against you.
China also doesn’t flaunt its homosexuality.
Not many Parades in China.
However China has no issues with LGBT as long as you don’t flaunt it and understand that people may discriminate against you and that is their rightright
Russia
Russia has always been anti gay
It is the basic Christian philosophy where Homosexuality is deemed wrong and unnatural
Europe entirely condemned homosexuality at a time when the East (Japan, China, even India) regarded it as perfectly normal.
The ‘Abrahamic Religions’ as Rami Sivan and Ambika Vijay say – introduced this “Morality Clause” about Homosexuality based on the Christian and Islamic teaching.
So Russia still believes what they once followed , while the West has changed primarily
You could say Russia still lives in the 1800s as far as Homosexuality is concerned.
Details Emerge about China’s July “Fractional Orbit” Nuke Strike Weapon TEST
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New information emerging about the nuclear-capable hypersonic weapon test conducted by China in July 2021, says the missile traveled much longer in distance and time than any Chinese land attack weapons system to date coming “close enough” to its target.
“China conducted the first fractional orbital launch of an ICBM with a hypersonic glide vehicle from China on July 27th, 2021. This demonstrated the greatest distance flown (~40,000 kilometers) and longest flight time (~100+minutes) of any PRC land attack weapons system to date,” the Pentagon report on China Military Power Report, released on Tuesday said.
Although the Pentagon report does not provide many details about China’s hypersonic missile capabilities, a report by The War Zone says that information contained in the report conforms with statements made by top U.S. military officials.
Now-retired Air Force General John Hyten reportedly then told CBS News that China “launched a long-range missile,” that “went around the world, dropped off a hypersonic glide vehicle that glided all the way back to China, that impacted a target in China.” Asked if the missile hit the target, Hyten reportedly said, “Close enough.”
Hyten also termed Chinese military modernization as “stunning” and reportedly warned that Beijing would one day have the capability to launch a surprise nuclear attack on the U.S.
“Why are they building all of this capability?” Hyten was quoted by CNN as saying. “They look like a first-use weapon. That’s what those weapons look like to me.”
While the Chinese hypersonic missile test is compared to the U.S. Air Force’s own secretive X-37B uncrewed orbital vehicle more than a hypersonic missile like Russia’s air-launched Kinzhal missile, military experts had said that it was unlikely to trigger an arms race between the two powers.
In recent years, China has continued to accelerate the modernization and expansion of its military forces apart from developing nuclear, space and cyberspace capabilities. Beijing’s focus has also been on enhancing its deterrent capabilities and at the same time pushing forward with an ambitious expansionist narrative in the South China Sea region.
Are the anti-Xi demonstrations in China genuinely spontaneous or have they been carefully organized by outside instigators to make it appear to the Western media that they are spontaneous Chinese demonstrations?
As far as Shanghai is concerned, it was originally a memorial activity. On November 26, many young people mourned 10 compatriots who died in the fire in Urumqi on Urumqi Road
Why do they mourn 10 compatriots who died thousands of kilometers away? On November 15, 2010, a particularly serious fire broke out in the Jiaozhou Road apartment building in Shanghai, killing 58 people. Shanghai people always think that this is a stain of Shanghai’s public management, so young people in Shanghai will spontaneously go to the place where the Jiaozhou Road fire happened on November 15 every year to offer flowers and mourn. So also in November, after a serious fire broke out in Urumqi, young people in Shanghai spontaneously went to Urumqi Road to mourn the dead.
At the same time of mourning, people complained about the inconvenience caused by the closure, because it was said at that time that the closure of this community in Urumqi was the reason why so many people died. However, the subsequent investigation and the social media statements of the owners of the community showed that the community was open, and there were various reasons for the occurrence and process of the fire, but it had nothing to do with the containment. But people at that time did not know these things, so they began to shout slogans against blocking and nucleic acid testing.
Perhaps this gathering gave those lurking people a chance, so on the evening of the 26th, many people with other purposes were mixed in the protest team. The difference between these people and those who mourn or protest during the day is.
1. Most of these people come from other places and speak Mandarin with Hong Kong accent or ABC accent
2. These people are very experienced. They lead us to shout slogans and teach us to raise white paper to protest
3. These people bring their own photography team. They know what shooting angle looks the most intense, and they will not collide with the police force at the same time
4. Most of these people belong to some NGO, especially some church organizations
5. That is to say, from this moment on, they led everyone to shout the slogan “Down with CCP, Down with XI”. Before that, the anger of the protest team was directed at the containment measures
Encouraged by the results of the protest in Shanghai on the evening of the 26th, some people quickly organized protests in other cities in China in Twitter and Telegraph groups. Beijing, Dalian, Chengdu, Wuhan, Guangzhou and Hangzhou are all their targets, but perhaps because of the hasty organization, they make a lot of jokes
The event in Dalian was cancelled because it was too cold. I wonder if the American Consulate in Shenyang would be criticized internally. After all, other cities with American embassies and consulates organized protests, but only the Shenyang Consulate could not organize them
During the protest in Chengdu, a group of people led the crowd to shout slogans in Hong Kong accented Mandarin, and then were scolded by the local people in the local dialect. Then the organizer also made some women’s rights props to arouse more anger in Chengdu, but did not know that Chengdu is the city with the highest status of women in China.
In the protest in Guangzhou, the organizer called everyone to go to Haizhu Square to rally against the blockade of Haizhu District, but did not know that Haizhu Square was not in Haizhu District.
For the protest in Hangzhou, the organizer informed everyone to protest at the gate of Yintai Department Store. Then some people went to the gate of Yintai on the West Lake, and others went to the gate of Yintai on the lakeside. As a result, there were fewer people.
Therefore, it is true that the Chinese people have grievances and protests. But it is also true that some foreigners want to make things worse.
Edward Snowden is now a Russian Citizen
Former CIA and National Security Agency (NSA) officer Edward Snowden has received his Russian passport after having been granted citizenship by President Vladimir Putin earlier this year.
Since Snowden now holds a Russian passport, he cannot be legally extradited to any foreign state seeking charges against him.
In 2013, Snowden leaked a massive trove of classified documents revealing the NSA’s sprawling surveillance operations, which targeted American civilians and collected their electronic communication data and phone records. His revelations launched nation-wide debates about government surveillance and led the US appeals court to declare the NSA’s program unlawful.
When the leaked files were posted in a number of media outlets, Washington promptly revoked Snowden’s US citizenship, making him a de facto stateless individual. He initially tried to flee from Hong Kong to Latin America, but got stranded during a layover in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, where he ended up living for over a month. Ultimately he was granted asylum in Russia, where he has remained to this day.
DOOMED! Europe Faces MASSIVE SHUTDOWN As big Companies Ditch Germany In Favor Of China:
The manufacturing hub of Europe will barely make it through the coming winter. This is because, during the past eight months, sufficient gas reserves have been amassed to prevent an outage in the power supply. However, a more dire scenario might be around the corner as major enterprises with deeper finances seek safer economic footing in other nations. In addition, rising energy prices and depleting gas supplies might lead to a wave of shutdowns among smaller companies unable to weather the storm.
A nightmarish scenario might play out for Germany’s heavy industry after 2023 if cheaper electricity isn’t available. And economists at Deutsche Bank say this might mark the beginning of Europe’s rapid deindustrialization.
The announcement by BASF, a chemical giant and cornerstone of German industry that was created 157 years ago, might indicate things to come. At the end of October, the company said it would be “permanently” reducing its activities in Europe due to the continent’s high energy prices. Moreover, others are anticipated to replicate similar behavior.
You see, the European headquarters of BASF consume as much natural gas as all of Switzerland every year. And companies in the pharmaceutical and manufacturing industries are also significant consumers and may be tempted to go abroad for cheaper energy.
Now, almost 10 percent of enterprises in Germany’s celebrated small and medium-sized industrial sector, known as the Mittelstand, are considering relocating production abroad. Economists’ general consensus is that much high-energy manufacturing will move elsewhere. And so, companies that can’t afford to uproot and relocate could have to go out of business.
The greatest economy in Europe is stable for the time being. GDP increased by 0.3% in the third quarter, while Goldman Sachs projects a 1.1% decline in 2023, which will be unpleasant but not disastrous. A Goldman Sachs economist predicts a severe downturn. The longer high prices persist, the more difficult it will be for European factories and other energy-hungry sectors.
According to the IMF and other organizations, the actual threat for Europe is not this winter but the one to come. IMF recently stated in an interview that while this coming winter would be challenging, the winter of 2023 might be considerably worse. And it will be considerably harder for Europe to replace the storage tanks next year without major Russian gas flows than this year especially if China recovers and buys more liquid gas from the global market. And once Europe emerges from this winter, experts anticipate that storage tanks will be relatively low.
What does it mean if a country has a high GDP PPP? Is it good or bad?
If you are a layman, think about it this way. In the US if you buy a Big Mac for a dollar, if you take your dollar and convert to RMB or Yuan, the 1 dollar can buy you 2.5 Big Mac in China.
So you can conclude that China undervalued its RMB or it could be the other way the U.S. overvalued the Dollar. Or a combination of both. Or another possibility is that is more plausible is that in the past 40 years the inflation rate is higher than the U.S.
From China’s point of view is that Chinese RMB can buy more in China and a dollars worth of RMB can buy you less in the United States of America. So it cost more to bring your money to buy stuffs in America and Americans can buy more from and in China.
So in PPP or real value GDP China has overtaken the U.S. since 2014, 8 full years ago and today China’s PPP is already 150% of the US. But in US dollar per say it is close to 85% of the USA. You can conclude it as the U.S. fooling itself and fooling the world and overvaluing the dollar through inflation.
Whatever it is, it is not good for America. And it is not good for Americans. It means standard of living is falling. Hence since 1980 Chinas real standard of living has increased 30 times in 40 years while during the same time period the US real income not only not grow it slide back to the 1960s level.
But what is worst for America and American’s is the income disparity. 400 richest Americans owned 50% of America. And 1% of the richest Americans own 80% of America’s wealth. Conversely 99% of Americans share the 20% of wealth. So in reality Most American’s are poor or close to third world living standard.
I leave you to decide on your own if PPP is important, good or bad. It is the measure of real wealth. China can sell many things to the world while the U.S. needs to buy most things from the world. Chinese real standard of living certainly improved while American real standard of living certainly deteriorated.
When real income increased the disposable income grow and hence domestic consumption grow. Today the Middle income people of China has grow to almost twice the entire population of the US. This means Chinese economy is less dependent on world economy and it is more self subsistence.
I can only give you my opinion. China’s economy is not only strong but it is very healthy and the US economy is getting weaker and very unhealthy. It will always face high deficits and debts.
With 1,700 deaths from coronavirus in China, do Chinese Quora users still feel that the Chinese government has been doing a good job for coronavirus?
My wife and I had stayed at home in Shanghai for over a month before I officially resumed working in office two weeks ago, when the virus control in Shanghai proved effective with full cooperation from the tens of millions of disciplined citizens like us.
Now with the escalation of this epidemic in countries outside of China, Chinese government started to intensify the control of passengers who returned from areas/countries with fast increasing confirmed cases. My wife had to fly to Tokyo on business trip for a week last Monday and returned yesterday, this was the first business trip since her last trip to Bangkok 2 months ago before this outbreak. She knew she would have to self-quarantine for 14 days upon her return, yet she did not know it would be this strict.
I went to pick her up at Hongqiao airport last night, and witnessed how Chinese fight the battle against the potential spread of virus.
Every passenger would go through strict screening and be categorized into three groups. Group A was domestic transit passengers and have to fly or take HSR to some other cities in Shanghai. After cleared with ID registration, flight ticket/train ticket, self declaration and health check, they would leave, and their route was monitored until received by check-in counter, and such info would be relayed to their next stop. When they arrive, the health department would be expecting them at the gate and carry on the escort.
Group B was for passengers leaving for other cities by car, same procedure followed
My wife lived in Shanghai, so she belonged to group C. She finally got off the airplane, three hours later. She went through very strict screening and register via mobile phone /app
After she picked up the checked luggage, she would have to register in an area, and find a section where the staff from the district we live were waiting for my wife.
The signs on the counter indicated the administrative district in Shanghai, and the residents would Q in front of the counter and register
Double checking the registration, my address, and confirmed how my wife prepared to travel back home in Shanghai. When they knew I would drive her back home. The staff(health agency staff, police and airport staff) came out and escorted me to the airport garage, registered my ID, took note of my license plate and made sure we got in the car and drove directly home without stop in the middle.
It was kind of interesting when my wife and I were escorted by a group of people, as if we were VIP. Foe those who did not have family pick up, there will be cars to drive them home.
for those who do not have permanent residence in Shanghai, they would register and be sent to a facility where they would go through 14 days of quarantine.
2 minutes before my arrival, my wife’ phone rang and it was a guy in charge of the property management of my residential complex. He asked where were we and asked us to wait in the garage where he would be there to greet us.
He told us during the 14 days self-quarantine, we could not leave our apartment. Property management and security staff would help us pick up delivery, food and garbage every day, and if we need anything just give them a call, and they will help us do it, so we do not need to go out. He told us CDC would come tomorrow to check everyday, and even I would have to go through the same self-quarantine and could not go to work until CDC advises otherwise.
The local police station also showed up and made sure we must stay inside the apartment.
I am a bit excited to see CDC guys show up today:)
seriously I do feel it is a bit exaggerated, but the strict control does provide great sense of security for all of us, and I would be glad to cooperate knowing it must be done.
When I post this on my wechat, all my friends understand and felt glad the government is really taking this seriously, so the tens of millions of citizens’ sacrifice and self-quarantine for the past one month would be really worth it.
How Much does China monitor the lives of its citizens? As in is it more “free” or less “free” than western media portrays it as?
Facial Monitoring
China has a very sophisticated 5G facial print recognition system installed across 9 key cities.
From the arrival into Beijing Airport or Shanghai Airport, your facial print goes into the system and remains there for life even if you come back vide a different passport.
When you check in to your hotel, no need of handing over your passport in most cases. Just look into a scanner and the system will match the facial print and confirm where you are staying.
Train Stations, Taxi Stands, Government Premises, Universities all have scanners, so they know where you have been.
That’s how they busted the BBC liar of Shanghai during the protests
They clearly proved he was at the US Consulate several times and at Shanghai near the University premises. He had cleverly left his cellphone behind but he didn’t know 😁
They even established that he had visited the school of political sciences in that University
He however had lied saying he was home and he had never visited the University.
However they inform you of the facial print. Sadly it’s a Mandarin Sheet over the Immigration Desk so most foreigners would ignore it.
However that’s only foreigners and not all foreigners
Only select Nations like Canada, USA, Taiwan, S Korea, Japan, Australia etc
And NOT INDIA , we are trustworthy migrants
But Locals?
I don’t think so but i am not sure
Too many to have a successful facial print program
The Algorithms would need fastest processors to analyze facial prints of millions of people in nano seconds
Easier for a few thousand people than a million or so.
Internet Monitoring
Traction Algorithms are followed
Like Weibo users with around 5K followers or 10K followers (Purely arbitary numbers,I have no idea how many) known as Influencers
They are identified when they declare income from “Tips” which amount sometimes to 10,000 Yuan a month (1 Yuan per follower).
Surge in traffic leads to monitoring the tweets and if the tweet is inappropriate, it will be taken down and you have to appeal
Yet it’s not so black and white. Many weibo users continue to criticize the CPC once the authorities realize they are positive critics (White critics) and not Western funded
Guys like me Or Aravind would be on a traction list but would be allowed as White Critics
Chinese version of Guys like Subramaniam Duraisamy Or Mr. Prasanna Bhalerao would be VIPs and Heroes to the CPC with their bland acceptance and justification of CPC policies saying “It’s okay to lose lives but US lost more”
Most Weibo users would be angry and passionate but won’t be on traction lists as they don’t have the traffic
And they don’t give a damn if you praise the US everyday. They encourage debate on US vs China ferociously
Financial Monitoring.
Primarily for Tax Evasion
Some of the finest algorithms written ever.
The Chinese can hunt down tax evaders very fast using Financial monitoring.
Even a First Class Air Ticket by a normal Economy Class traveler puts up an alert
Based on all this they estimate the earned income and if you declare more than 7.5% less of this sum, you will get a notification
If you declare 7.5–20 percent, you get a request for an Official Visit
My Nephew once got a large credit from his UK account to buy a car and didn’t declare the amount and got a demand for a visit
Of course once you have a reasonable explanation they will close the file
It’s how they bust the TikTok influencers who merrily hid millions of Yuan and now are paying massive fines
But like I said, they have Social Responsibility classes in many blocks for free, held by the Government and in Universities too
They tell you what’s allowed and what’s not, very clearly. So it’s transparent enough as long as you don’t get stupid.
Foreigners are welcome though they rarely know of such programs.
So it’s called “Good Monitoring” done for Growth and Development.
No spying on cellphones stuff that US does
More jokes about the failed “color revolution”:
- The color revolution cancelled in Dalian because of the cold weather.
- Guangdong spies hoped that everyone would gather in Haizhu District and set the gathering place in Haizhu Square. Finally, they found that Haizhu Square was not in Haizhu District.
- In Shenzhen, the patriotic people who wanted to have fun prepared eggs and waited at the place where the spies claimed to gather for the second time, but the spies did not dare to come.
- In Shanghai, several girls shared a bunch of flowers to take photos and show off on the Internet. After taking photos, the girl who bought the flowers collected the flowers back to her home.
- In Hangzhou, a rioter who rode a shared bike to participate in the “protest” was taken away, and the shared bike has been charged all the time. “Shared bike has not been returned” has become a new network meme in Chinese network.
- A lot of Hong Kong rioters who participated in the riots a few years ago took part in this activity. They comforted each other that this was just a small testing to China, and that the US should drop weapons to coastal cities by planes to help them.
“Someone help me return the shared bike”.
Tiantian
I was talking to someone years ago and in response to my depressed self–pity and regrets over the wasted past she said,
“You know, you could have done everything you dreamed of. Gotten that fancy degree, found great jobs, travelled the world, made millions. And then you could’ve been hit by a car at 30.”
And now I’m reading about someone almost identical to her example : Tiantian Kullander.
Born to a wealthy entrepreneurial cosmopolitan family in Hong Kong, Tiantian grew up in California, Australia, Singapore, Sweden and England. He got a BA in Finance from Durham University and trained as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before he even graduated. When aged just 20, he was already getting interviewed by Capital magazine, advising other young people on how to how to land a coveted job in finance based on his experience.
After graduation he was hired at Goldman Sachs full–time, working as a member of its structured credit training team. Then he moved to Morgan Stanley where he specialized as an emerging markets trader. In 2017, aged just 25, Tiantian left investment banking to cofound his own company, the cryptocurrency trading platform Amber Group, in his native Hong Kong. He worked fanatically to grow the company, resulting in Amber Group becoming known worldwide and reaching an astonishing market capitalization of $3 billion by early 2022. Tiantian also found time to establish Ethereum platform KeeperDAO in 2019. Also in that year, Tiantian earned prestigious recognition as a leader of change in the world of finance when Forbes put him on its list of 30 under 30 Asia. And to top it off, he married a beautiful girl and had a son. Tiantian was one of the most successful and exciting ascenders in the world, becoming famous with a blazing finance and technology career and on his way to getting incredibly rich at a baby age.
None of that matters anymore, because last week Tiantian died of unknown causes in his sleep at the age of 30.
Life is unpredictable… Just do what you want to do most and don’t worry about anything else.
Have you ever left a date midway?
Yep.
We went out to a nice sushi restaurant she suggested. It was about 40$ per person which is expensive for my taste, but I had just sold one of my first patents and felt good about finally having some spending money so I didn’t mind.
She seemed interesting, funny and smart but then she said it: “I would never pay for myself on a date, that’s the man’s job.”
I asked her, “What if you invited me out?”
She just shook her head,
“Nope”
I inquired,
“What if you made more money than me?”
She responded,
“Then you’re just not a man.”
I asked her if she thought men and women were equals, and she said women were superior in every way but physical strength.
I asked how she reconciled equality between the sexes with a “men always pay” mentality, and she gave me this bullshit run around answer that somehow ended with her proclaiming she didn’t hang out with people unless they were pretty.
I had a crisp 100 and I slowly unfolded it in front of her and the waiter, I told him to keep the change so she wouldn’t gyp him, and put it down on the table and told her nicely,
“Enjoy your meal, on me.” Then I left.
What is a split-second decision you made that changed your life?
“Dad, I want to drop out of university.”
It was December 2015. I was completely stressed out of my mind, because I only had four days to study for five huge exams. On top of that, I also needed to complete three final assignments AND I had to work extra shifts at my part-time job.
The transition from high-school to university was difficult for me. After class and work, I was always tired, and I just wanted to relax in the evenings. I naturally gravitated towards procrastinating and leaving things to the last minute. Plus, the first few months of university, procrastinating worked okay for me. I always knew I could just pull an all nighter and 9 times out of 10 the work would get done. Sure, my work was not as good compared to if I had actually planned ahead of time. However, the work still got done which is all that mattered to me.
But it was that last week of first semester, when I was looking at the mountain of work I had to do and felt so defeated. Again, I had 4 days left (due to chronic procrastination and poor time management) to study for 5 exams and complete 3 big assignments.
I didn’t want to do the work.
It was just way too much work.
Just looking at my textbooks, I felt like having a panic attack.
I felt way too stressed.
I knew even if I did study over the next few days, I probably wouldn’t do that well since I left everything to the absolute last minute.
So I called my dad. This would be a fateful moment of my life.
Me: “Dad, I have way too much work to do. I can’t do this anymore. I am stressed out of my mind. My mental health, wellness and life has gone to the shambles because of this degree. I want to drop out. I can’t take it anymore.”
Dad: “You need to get an education. You can’t just drop out.”
Me: “Well this amount of work is just too unbearable. I am not going to do well on my exams because I should have started studying like 2 weeks ago. I feel so behind. Maybe I could just drop out now and work full time instead. And then when I am ready to go back to university, I’ll go back.”
Dad: “Well the decision is up to you. You can’t live in the city anymore and would have to move back at home if you decide to drop out.”
Me: “Okay. I will think about it tonight and get back to you.”
After going for a short walk and reflecting on the conversation I had with my dad, I knew what decision I needed to make.
I decided to take the next 4 days and study as much as I possibly could and work on my assignments. I called a co-worker and asked them to take my shifts for the week. I only got 3–4 hours of sleep per night but I managed to complete all my assignments and pass all exams. Mind you, that semester I finished most of my classes with either a C or C-, with some B’s.
The next semester I really smartened up though. I saw an academic counsellor and was able to get my studies more on track. I reduced my work hours from 20 hours to only 10 hours per week. I reduced my procrastination by keeping a monthly calendar and carefully planning to get things done a few days before the deadline. I believed in myself that I could achieve good grades if I put forth the effort and studied hard enough. Thankfully, I ended up graduating 4 years later with honours and got a job in my field shortly after. I sometimes ask myself, If I would have dropped out, where would I be in life?
I’d probably still be happy but I’m proud that I was able to overcome that hard time in my life and keep positive.
Why do people protest against Xi Jinping’s policies?
Two possibilities:
- One is that people want to fight for a policy that was already announced nearly a month ago;
- The other is that a group of spies bribe a group of people to perform, so as to scare off investors from Europe who want to come to the mainland.
I choose the second one.
In China, only a few streets in specific cities have such “protests”. No one calls on the Chinese network, and there are no omens. All of a sudden, though the number of people is small. What happened in this block, people in other blocks did not even know it, until the next day they learned. It did not happen naturally.
In the “protests” in various regions, the organizers were heard to have Hong Kong and Taiwan accents, some wrote traditional Chinese characters, and one even directly admitted that he is Taiwanese and took out their medical insurance cards.
In China, if it happens naturally and protests for some rights and interests, people will only shout slogans for their own rights and interests, not empty words, and will not tolerate the existence of spies. The slogan calling for “Xi to step down” or “women’s lives matters” would not happen in China. But it happened, and people can heard their accents, that means people can realise that their team leaders are spies. So why would they continue if they’re average civillians? According to the survey of several American statistical agencies, the support rate of the Chinese government is more than 90%, and you don’t believe that it has become zero overnight, do you?
Because of the serious corruption of the spy organization, the price of $200 – $300 per person originally set by the US has even changed to $140 (Beijing), $70 (Wuhan), $40 (Chengdu), and $27 (Guangzhou) per person, leading the spy to complain on the Internet and be found. It’s already a joke and Chinese people are laughing at that.
So, I think the answer is, a group of spies bribe a group of people to perform, so as to scare off investors from Europe who want to come to the mainland.
The US has also recently announced through the media that the mainland is about to wage war against Taiwan.
The US also held a joint US Japan military exercise near Taiwan Island to create an atmosphere.
But China always has its own plan and always develops the country according to the plan. China will not dance to the rhythm of the US.
P.S. If anyone doubts what I said, I can find relevant videos or photos for you. But if someone calls me wumao directly without any reason to refute, I will block you.
China Taps Alibaba, Tencent To Beat US Sanctions on semiconductors:
- China has enrolled tech giants Alibaba Group Holding Limited and Tencent Holding Ltd to aid its efforts in designing semiconductors chips to reduce its dependence on Softbank Group Corp-owned Arm.
- Arm, headquartered in the U.K. but has significant operations in the U.S., is seen as vulnerable to any ramping-up of U.S. sanctions.
- The Chinese government has established a consortium of companies and institute Beijing Open Source Chip Research Institute to create new chip intellectual property.
- The group used Arm’s rival Risc-V, an open-source chip design architecture, to create Xiangshan, a high-performance Risc-V computer-processing chip aimed at matching Arm’s IP and boosting the development of a Chinese chip design market.
- Before Beijing’s push to combine resources, Chinese tech giants Alibaba and ByteDance had already set up teams using Risc-V architecture to develop high-performance chips that power AI algorithms and data centers.
As a surgeon, have you ever had a patient who came in for a simple procedure that turned into something dire and complex?
I don’t usually answer questions like this because when I give what I think is a good reply, there are about 10 or 20 views and no reaction. Nevertheless, here you go:
I was called to the ER for what was thought to be a routine nosebleed that turned out to be the sentinel bleed of a carotid blowout in a recently operated and irradiated cancer patient.
There is a saying in surgery that says if you can’t hear it, it’s not really bleeding that much. I learned that night that if it’s not on the walls and ceiling (I don’t know how it got there, but it did) it’s not really bleeding that much. He survived.
I read the many serious and sometimes frivolous stories here on Quora for entertainment. However, I think there are few on this site that know what it’s like to be covered with someone else’s blood and know that you, and you alone, have minutes or seconds to assess, make a decision, and act for life or death. It wasn’t often, but similar crises happened on multiple occasions in the past 40 years. Sorry to sound overly dramatic, but that is an everyday possibility for all healthcare providers.
Now that I’m retired, I’m happy to no longer experience the exhilaration and terror of opening an airway in a person that was about to die. Once the crisis was over and the patient was stable, I would sit down and rest until my hands stopped shaking from the adrenaline. I don’t want that anymore but I’m thankful for those that do.
That’s all I have to say about that.
Why do U.S. voters pay no attention to https://www.usdebtclock.org ?
We have a $30 trillion debt, 130% of GDP, record tax receipts and we still spend beyond growing our debt. A 1% increase in interest is a $30 billion increase in what taxpayers owe.
Look 40% of Americans don’t vote. Out of the 60% who vote 50% of them and are highly and absolutely believed in the U.S. media narratives that spin the greatness of America and its exceptionalism. A good 80% of the balance are simply ignorant of the deep shit America is in which is not only accurate, but if anything it is actually worst.
So as little as 6% of American voters or 3% of the US population is aware that America as we know it today is totally unsustainable and on the verge of total collapse no different from FTX or Robert Madoff. These people are choosing who could get America out of this hell hole better and faster!
Goulash Triestino
Ingredients
- 1⁄3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 -3 large onions, peeled and cut in thick wedges (1 1/2 pounds)
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt (to taste) or 2 teaspoons kosher salt (to taste)
- 2 1⁄2 lbs trimmed boneless beef chuck or 2 1/2 lbs beef round steak, cut in 1 1/2-inch chunks for stewing
- 2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika, sweet or hot to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- fresh rosemary (1 branch with lots of needles)
- 3 cups cold water
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
Directions
- Pour the olive oil into a small saucepan (about 6 cup capacity), set over medium-low heat, and drop in the onion wedges. Toss to coat in oil, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook gently for 3-4 minutes until sizzling and softening.
- Spread onions in the bottom of a heavy-bottomed 9 or 10-inch saucepan (such as an enameled cast-iron French oven with a tight-fitting cover) and drop the beef cubes on top of the onions, filling the pan in one layer. Sprinkle another 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, all the paprika, and the oregano over the meat and drop in the rosemary. Without stirring or turning the meat chunks, cover the pan tightly. Heat the meat, with the seasonings on top and the onions below, so it starts to release its juices and stew. Check once or twice to see that the pan liquid is bubbling and the onions are melting (not burning) but don’t stir.
- After 30 minutes or so, set the cover ajar a couple of inches and adjust the heat to keep the juices bubbling and slowly reducing. As they thicken, stir up the onions so they don’t burn and tumble the meat in the pan.
- Continue cooking, partially covered, for another 1/2 hour or so. When the juices are concentrated and thick in the pan bottom, prepare the goulash sauce:.
- Pour 3 cups cold water in the small pan and whisk in the flour. Set over low heat and continue whisking until the flour is dispersed with no lumps, then whisk in the tomato paste. Heat gradually, whisking often, until the tomato-flour water just comes to a bubbling boil. Pour into the big saucepan and stir well, turning the meat chunks over–they should be nearly covered in sauce.
- Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, put on the cover slightly ajar, and cook 45 minutes to an hour, until the meat is quite tender and the sauce is somewhat reduced. Season with more salt to taste. Turn off the heat and let the goulash cool in the pan for several hours before serving or refrigerate overnight.
- Reheat slowly, stirring now and then, until the meat is thoroughly heated. Thin the sauce with water if it has thickened too much. Serve hot. (Though not part of the original recipe, I like to garnish mine with a dollop of sour cream.).
Props to the man who ditched the woman mid-date after seeing her blatant misandry and gynocentrism. A lot of other men would have tolerated it or even fed to it out of the hopes that they would get some action in bed, only for her to further belittle and abuse them financially, emotionally, and perhaps even physically.
There need to be more men like him, able to point out double standards and hypocrisy and walk out on potential abusers/extortionists like her.