Thursday, July 28, 2022

Another difference between matter and antimatter has been found

 Finding the difference between matter and antimatter may be a bit like the scientific equivalent of playing “find 10 differences between pictures”. There is a lot at stake in this task: it is the answer to the question of why we exist. Now, in the LHCb experiment at CERN, the researchers have found another (though not yet the last) difference.


Shortly after the Big Bang — as it can be assumed — equal numbers of particles of matter and antimatter should be formed. The particle has the opposite charge and is a mirror image of its antiparticle. And when these two meet — it is annihilated. It would seem that all particles and antiparticles should immediately turn into energy in the processes of annihilation. But it didn’t, because we, the Universe, and the rest do exist. And we are made of matter. Antimatter is much rarer.

Mesons are unstable particles — but live long enough for their properties to be studied. The first mesons (pions) were observed in the first half of the 20th century in cosmic rays. Today we know that they are composed of a pair of a quark and an antiquark, and since there are 6 types of quarks themselves (physicists talk about six smells, which has absolutely nothing to do with the olfactory sensations of everyday life!), The combinations leading to different mesons really are many. Of course, each meson also has its own antiparticle, in which the respective quarks and antiquarks are turned into their antiparticles.

The breaking of CP symmetry in the decays of neutral kaons, i.e. mesons with a quark and an upper and a strange antiquark, was observed over half a century ago and was awarded the Nobel Prize. Twenty years ago, symmetry breaking was also noticed among mesons containing a beautiful quark. The mystery was, among others, the mesons with the charm quark, which in terms of mass is between the strange and the beautiful quark.

- Until now, we have not been able to measure directly and with the appropriate precision how the breaking of CP symmetry manifests itself in the decays of charm mesons. The results of the analyzes presented at the recently completed ICHEP conference of high energy physics in Bologna perfectly fill this gap — says Prof. Wojciech Wiślicki from the National Center for Nuclear Research (NCBJ), quoted in a statement from his institute. The results are available on the LHCb website.

The latest results are the result of detailed analyzes of about fifty million cases with the decay of D0 charm mesons into positively and negatively charged kaons. These decays were recorded over several years during proton collisions in the LHCb detector operating at the Large Hadron Collider at the CERN facility near Geneva. Part of the calculations related to data processing were carried out in the Świerk IT Center.

- In fact, breaking the space-charge symmetry in the decays of charm mesons was first noticed in the LHCb experiment three years ago — explains Dr. Artur Ukleja (NCBJ) in a release. — Contrary to the current measurement, however, the contemporary one did not suggest so clearly possible different matter-antimatter asymmetries between the decays of charm mesons into kaon-anti-kaon pairs and decays into pawn-antimatter pairs — he adds.

Physicists comment that the latest results from the LHCb detector experiments provide a key complement to our understanding of the difference between matter and antimatter. The Standard Model imposes restrictions on breaking the symmetry between matter and antimatter. If too many such phenomena were observed, the result would be inconsistent with the predictions of the Standard Model, signaling the existence of a new physics.

- The data presented in Bologna show that breaking the CP symmetry is rare in the case of charm mesons — concludes Prof. Wiślicki. Rarely enough that these results do not contradict the Standard Model describing elementary particles and their interactions.

However, physicists explain that the discrepancy between the amount of matter observed in the universe and the predictions of our cosmological models remains visible even after taking into account the latest results. So it is not yet the last difference between matter and antimatter. However, the mystery still does not have a complete answer. “More clues to unravel this mystery may be seen in the next stage of particle collisions in the LHC accelerator that has just begun,” physicists hope.

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Charitable Writing: How to Become a Career Grant Writer

 

What Is a Grant Writer?

When you hear the term “grant writer”, you likely think of someone who writes grants. This is not quite true. Grant writers don’t write grants; They write grant proposals.

Grant proposals are research documents that companies and non-profit organizations send to grant donors in an effort to secure funding. The purpose of the proposal is to convince the donor that the organization’s project is worth supporting. As such, the proposal needs to be impeccably written.

Because many organizations lack the skill or wherewithal needed to write a good grant proposal, they sometimes export the task to a professional, someone who understands how grants work and how to secure them. This professional is, of course, the grant writer.

Now, this isn’t to say that all grant writers work for themselves. Some organizations do employ grant writers full-time. However, the good majority of grant writers work as freelancers, offering their services to numerous companies, schools, non-profits, and other such organizations.

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Responsibilities of a Grant Writer

While they’re known as grant writers, their responsibilities include more than just writing. The primary responsibilities of a grant writer will be reviewed below.

Research Available Grants

One of the biggest responsibilities of a grant writer is to research grant funding opportunities. This is done to ascertain which grants would best suit his or her clients’ projects.

See, grants are typically not generalized. In most cases, they’re designed to cater to a specific sector or industry. For instance, an organization might create a grant to give to a company working in the healthcare industry.

As the grant writer, you need to choose a grant which aligns with your clients’ work. If you choose a grant which doesn’t align with the work of your client, your client’s organization will have no chance of winning it.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Write Proposals

As we’ve noted, grant writers write grant proposals. Grant proposals are meant to follow the guidelines of grant donors. Because of this, every proposal that’s written ends up being a little different from the last.

When writing, you not only need to be able to follow the provided guidelines, but you also need to be able to communicate factual information in a clear and inspiring manner. At its core, grant writing is persuasive writing.

Communicate With Clients and Donors

In order for a grant writer to secure grant funding, he or she must keep close communication with his or her clients as well as with prospective grant donors. Depending on the circumstances, this communication could happen either in-person, on the phone, or via email.

Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash

How to Become a Grant Writer

Now that you understand the responsibilities of a grant writer, you might be wondering how to become one. We’re going to get into the specifics below.

Brush Up on Your Writing Skills

The first step is to brush up on your writing skills. Not only must you possess impeccable grammar, but you must also be able to demonstrate a sophisticated vocabulary.

Look at a few examples of grant proposals as guidelines. Study the writing style contained within them and try your best to adopt it.

Take a Grant Writing Course

If you’re entirely new to the grant writing process, you would be wise to take a grant writing course. A grant writing course will not only help you with the writing of grant proposals but with client communication, research, and a variety of other skills.

Find a First Gig

Once you think you’re ready to write a grant proposal, you need to find your first gig. This can be challenging, as it requires you to put in a good deal of leg work. However, if you put the time in, you’ll almost certainly find an organization willing to give you a chance.

Starting out, your best bet is to call up or email non-profit organizations. Non-profits generally don’t have grant writers of their own, and generally don’t have a lot of money to pay one. Offer your services at a low rate (or for free), and you’re bound to snag your first gig.

Photo by Daniel McCullough on Unsplash

Market Yourself

Once you’ve completed your first gig, you’ll have a better chance at landing other gigs. This is particularly true if your first gig was successful (ie. your client received a grant).

That being said, if you want to land consistent work, you need to market yourself properly. Create a website for your grant writing services, establish appropriate social media pages, and continue to reach out to organizations that might need proposals.

Skills Needed as a Grant Writer

Grant writers require a few different skills, all of which are fairly straightforward. First and foremost, grant writers must be able to write. If your grammar or vocabulary is poor, you’re going to have a difficult time securing a grant.

Secondly, you need to have solid research skills. Not only must you do research for your grant proposals, but you must also do research to discover available grants.

Lastly, you need to be able to communicate, both orally and in the written word. This is not a career for shy or complacent individuals. You will have to speak with clients and donors on a regular basis.

How Much Money Do Grant Writers Make?

Grant writers make varying amounts of money based on a number of different factors. These factors include success rate, number of clients, type of clients, monetary rate, and manner of work, to name just a few.

Entry-level grant writers generally charge between $30 and $40 an hour. However, experienced grant writers who work in big markets can charge as much as $100 an hour. If you have an especially high success rate, you can charge ever more than $100 an hour.

Learn About Other Exciting Careers

Now that you’ve learned about how to become a grant writer, you might be interested in learning about other exciting careers. If so, you’re in the right place. Here we have ample information on all sorts of careers.

Browse some of our other articles now!


3 Creative Ways to Get Writing Inspiration

 


Poet Edith Sitwell would lie in an open coffin before beginning her writing every day. We often find our writing inspiration in the most unlikely places.

Every writer, no matter how great, needs inspiration, and you can’t just sit around waiting for it. It’s an indispensable part of the writing process, and you need to find what works for you.

Read on to to get some ideas on where to find your inspiration.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash





1. Read Regularly and With Intention

This may seem obvious, but all great writers need to read. But it’s not enough to “just read.” To get the most out of your reading, read with intention, and take the time to analyze the writing. Pay attention to how the writer writes, the grammar, how they develop their characters, and even their grammar and punctuation.

If you’re writing a book, take the time to observe the cover to get book cover design inspirations for your own novel. Read the author’s biography, or delve into at any artwork that might be in the book, whether it’s photography or anime drawings.

Read what you love, but also try reading outside of your comfort zone. If you’re a fiction reader, try reading some non-fiction or a comic book for a change. It’s when you try new things and experience something different that you’ll often get your best ideas.

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

2. Allow Time to Explore Non-Work Creative Outlets

Just like all parts of our body, our creative minds and imaginations need to be exercised. Often, the best writing inspiration comes from letting ourselves be free to create beyond our regular work.

Whatever helps you daydream and tap into your unconscious, do it. For many writers, writing in a daily journal or journaling about their dreams when they wake up is a fantastic outlet.

Providing your mind with sustenance doesn’t have to come in the form of writing. You can try other creative endeavors like painting, cooking, working with textiles, or doodling. Anything that gets your brain turning is the perfect activity to give your imagination a boost.

Photo by lilartsy on Unsplash

3. Try Eavesdropping

Numerous great writers have gained their best ideas from sitting around and listening to strangers.

So the next time you’re sitting on a train, sipping on a latte in your local coffee shop, or sitting on a park bench, do a little eavesdropping. You’ll get a look into other people’s lives, hear about the challenges they’re facing w, and discover new points of view.

Listening to other people’s conversations can also help writers with developing dialogue that sounds realistic and raw.

If eavesdropping makes you uncomfortable, just be conscious of respecting people’s boundaries. When a couple starts speaking in hushed voices, take that as a cue that they’re talking about something personal in nature and don’t want to be overheard. Respect that.

Find Your Source of Writing Inspiration

Writing inspiration is all around us, but you have to go out and look for it. We hope that you can find some inspiration by utilizing these tips.

Leave us a comment if you have something that always works for you that might help other writers on their journey.

5 Gay Female Celebrities Advocating for the LGBTQ Community

 There are so many amazing gay female celebrities out there right now. It’s truly a golden age for representation and advocacy in our music, movies, television, and social media.

Are you looking for female celebrities who have done some particularly notable advocacy? Today, we’ll spotlight five current LGBTQ lady celebrities who are working in advocacy right now.


Ellen Page

Since coming out, Ellen Page has done tons of LGBTQ advocacy work both in North American and around the world.

Page co-created and hosted the Viceland series, Gaycation, in which she and friend Ian Daniel travel to different LGBTQ communities around the world to show different cultures and the struggles some communities still face. Gaycation has traveled to places like Ukraine, India, Jamaica, and Brazil.

Page also notably came out in 2014 in a powerful speech at a Human Rights campaign conference.

Lena Waithe

Lena Waithe has been a great advocate for the LGBTQ community since coming to prominence with Master of None, and continuing with The Chi and Queen and Slim.

Waithe has received a GLAAD award for media representation, and voiced the first LGBTQ character in a Pixar film in this year’s Onward. Waithe has been a particularly been a big voice for LGBTQ people of color.

Samira Wiley

Best known for Orange is the New Black and Handmaid’s Tale, Samira Wiley has become a major figure in the advocacy community as well. She’s worked with the Human Rights Campaign to support LGBTQ rights, among other initiatives.

Wiley has talked extensively about her experiences and struggles as an LGBTQ person working in the film industry. She also received the Vito Russo Award for advocacy at the GLAAD awards in 2018.

Ellen Degeneres

Ellen Degeneres has been a supporter of LGBTQ rights for over twenty years now, since way back when she had her own sitcom, Ellen, instead of her own talk show.

Since the airing of the famous ‘Puppy Episode’ of her sitcom and her 1997 Time Magazine coming out cover, Ellen Degeneres has been a prominent advocate for LGBTQ rights. Degeneres has been nominated for GLAAD media awards many times. She was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2016.

Hayley Kiyoko

Hayley Kiyoko, the musician, has used her music video to highlight LGBTQ experiences and advocacy, in order to add more portrayals of lesbian relationships and culture in the media. She has also marched in pride parades, and used her platform to criticize negative or skewed portrayals of LGBTQ people in popular culture.

Kiyoko uses her social media to support various LGBTQ causes and share her experiences as an LGBTQ person.

There Are Tons of Gay Female Celebrities Advocating for LGBTQ+ Rights Today

The above are just a few of the gay female celebrities who are advocates for the LGBTQ community right now. There are so many other people whose work you can check out and learn from.

Looking to learn more about LGBTQ rights, celebrities, and other related topics? Check out some of our other blogs?

Article source articlecity

Marine conservation effort in US Virgin Islands aids key fish species, Oregon State research finds.

 


CORVALLIS, Ore. — A more than 30-year marine conservation effort in the U.S. Virgin Islands helped aid the recovery of a fish species important in commercial, recreational and subsistence fisheries, a new Oregon State University study found.

Photo by Cris Tagupa on Unsplash

Red hind, a species of grouper in the Caribbean, historically experienced intense fishing pressure, which led managers to implement progressively restrictive fishing closures in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In a study just published in Frontiers in Marine Science, researchers at Oregon State and the University of the Virgin Islands found that the fishing restrictions at the location they studied helped lead to a more than 35% increase in average fish size and the recovery of the population to a benchmark considered sustainable for many fish species.

“This is a management and conservation success,” said Claire Rosemond, an Oregon State doctoral student and lead author of the study. “The recovery of the red hind population at the spawning aggregation tracks management decisions, so it appears that fishing restrictions are helping to accomplish the intended goal of recovering the red hind population and fishery.”

Globally, more than 200 species of marine fishes, including red hind, reproduce by forming spawning aggregations at specific times and locations. The predictability of these mass spawning events makes the aggregations susceptible to intense fishing pressure.

Locations of many fish spawning aggregations in the Caribbean have been known and fished for decades. This has led to population collapse of several important species, including red hind, which are an important source of income and food for local people.

Photo by Tom Winckels on Unsplash

By the late 1980s, the red hind population at a spawning site near St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands showed signs of decline with a decrease in average fish length and an extremely skewed ratio of females to males because fishing disproportionately removed the larger males.

This led fisheries managers in 1990 to establish the Red Hind Bank Marine Conservation District to protect the fish spawning site by seasonally closing the area to fishing during the months of peak spawning activity (December through February). In 1999, the district was permanently closed to fishing.

The just-published research focused on that spawning site. The scientists used historical data collected by other researchers between 1988 and 2009 and gathered their own data during several trips to the U.S. Virgin Islands between 2018 and 2020.

During those trips the resarchers caught, measured, and released 1,203 red hind. The mean size of the fish they caught was almost 16 inches, more than four inches longer than the mean size reported from data from 1988–89. Meanwhile, the female to male ratio at the spawning aggregation became less skewed over time.

By a measure known as spawning potential ratio, the red hind are now at a benchmark considered sustainable for many fisheries, the researchers note, but that does not mean that continued recovery is guaranteed.

“To me the take home message is this management measure worked, but it also means this management measure is currently working, so at this point in time let’s keep it the way it is,” said Scott Heppell, a co-author of the paper who is a professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at Oregon State in Oregon State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

The recovery of the red hind population at the spawning aggregation site is due in part to management decisions, fishers adhering to closures and long-term monitoring.

Photo by Alex Dukhanov on Unsplash

“The Marine Conservation District is a conservation success due to the participation of people from many different sectors,” Rosemond said. “I think management agencies and fishers would be excited to know that their work and potential sacrifices, like not fishing in closed areas, have paid off.”

Richard Nemeth of the University of the Virgin Islands is also a co-author of this paper.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Puerto Rico Sea Grant College Program, and the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences funded this research.


JOURNAL


Frontiers in Marine Science


The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted the oldest galaxy ever seen

 After the publication of the first official full-size images and spectroscopic data from the James Webb Space Telescope, more and more new images from a state-of-the-art space observatory are emerging. Among them are observations of what could be the farthest observed galaxy. Researchers believe that the light of the galaxy GLASS-z13 dates back to a time when the universe was only 300 million years old.


fot. NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI, Naidu et al, P. Oesch, T. Treu, GLASS-JWST/ Dr. James O’Donoghue


An analysis of the latest data collected by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed a galaxy that dates back just 300 million years after the Big Bang. This is the oldest galaxy we have ever seen. The previous oldest identified galaxy found by the Hubble Space Telescope is called GN-z11 and dates back 400 million years after the birth of the universe.

The discovery article has been submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters and is awaiting review. It is currently available in the arXiv preprint database (arXiv: 2207.09434v1).

Galaxy GLASS-z13
The galaxy GLASS-z13 was discovered next to another very distant galaxy, GLASS-z11, whose light dates back 420 million years after the Big Bang. Together with the former farthest galaxy record holder GN-z11 and another contender called HD1, the objects suggest that there may be a population of very bright ancient galaxies that formed many stars very quickly.

Photo by Joel Filipe on Unsplash

These findings will still have to be confirmed. “We are potentially looking at the farthest starlight anyone has ever seen,” said Rohan Naidu of the Harvard Center for Astrophysics. And the more distant objects are from us, the longer it takes for their light to reach us, and therefore looking back into the distant universe is a look into the deep past.

The light from GLASS-z13 took 13.4 billion years to reach us, but the distance between us is now 33 billion light years due to the expansion of the universe. And although the galaxy GLASS-z13 existed in the earliest era of the universe, its exact age remains unknown. It could have formed at any point in the first 300 million years after the Big Bang.

Scientists managed to identify some of the object’s properties. According to them, GLASS-z13 has a mass of one billion Suns. Considering how quickly the galaxy formed after the Big Bang, this is quite surprising. “It’s something we don’t really understand,” admitted Naidu.

Photo by SpaceX on Unsplash

Promises of great discoveries

The galaxy was captured by near-infrared imaging devices called NIRcam (Near Infrared Camera). The ancient galaxy in the images looks like a blot of red with white in the center, and is part of a larger image of the distant cosmos known as Webb’s First Deep Field. This photo was shown to a wide audience by US President Joe Biden the day before the official publication of the first package of photos and spectroscopic data (more on this in the text: The US President showed the first deep space image made by JWST).

“Astronomical records are already crumbling and more are uncertain,” NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen tweeted. “I only cheer when the scientific results are clear, peer-reviewed. But these discoveries look very promising, ‘he added.

Naidu and his colleagues worked on the image — a team of 25 astronomers from all over the world. The researchers acknowledged that another team of astronomers led by Marco Castellano who worked on the same data came to similar conclusions.

One of the great promises of the JWST is that it will be able to spot the earliest galaxies that formed after the Big Bang, 13.8 billion years ago. Because they are so distant from Earth, before the light emitted by them reached us, it was stretched by the expansion of the Universe and shifted into the infrared region of the light spectrum, which Webb detects with unprecedented sensitivity.

The team of researchers intends to ask Webb’s managers to use the equipment to perform spectroscopy — an analysis of light that reveals its detailed properties — to measure the exact distance to GLASS-z13, but working time with JWST will be difficult. As part of the observation campaign launched by the official presentation of the first photos, the Space Telescope Science Institute, which manages the observatory, has already allocated about 6,000 hours of observing time.

Source: New Scientist, AFP,

Russia is withdrawing from the International Space Station. He intends to build his own orbital station.

 

The recently appointed new head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, announced that Russia has decided to abandon its participation in the International Space Station (ISS) project after 2024. As he announced, Moscow currently intends to focus on building its own orbital station.


fot. NASA

This is the end of the International Space Station as we know it. The new head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, has confirmed that Russia will no longer be part of the ISS after 2024. He also added that Russia is giving up the project in order to focus on building its own orbital station.

Russia is leaving the ISS
- Of course, we will fulfill all obligations towards our partners, but the decision to withdraw from this station after 2024 has been made — said Borisov during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I think we’ll start building our own Russian orbital station by then,” he added, calling it the main priority of the national space program.

At the beginning of this year, the ISS mission was extended until 2030. However, Russia had previously considered withdrawing from the project. The former head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, known for his controversial statements, has spoken about it many times. Like Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine and subsequent sanctions imposed on that country by many countries involved in the ISS, led to tensions between Roscosmos and other project partners, which, it turns out, accelerated Russia’s decision.

Experts said Russia’s departure from the International Space Station will affect the country’s space sector and will deal a serious blow to the manned flight program. Moscow does not have much to blackmail partners participating in the ISS project. Until recently, Russian Soyuz rockets were the only way to reach orbit until Elon Musk’s SpaceX began making its flights in 2020.

Photo by Joel Filipe on Unsplash

What will happen to the station?
The entire structure is aging and without major refurbishment, the long-term future of the station is in question. Another issue that needs to be resolved is how the station will be kept in the correct orbit, and Roscosmos is responsible for this.

Roscosmos and NASA have agreed to continue to provide flights to US astronauts and Russian cosmonauts aboard their launch rockets — Soyuz and SpaceX Crew Dragon.

“This is unfortunate given the critical scientific work being done at the ISS and the valuable professional collaboration of our space agencies over the years,” said US State Department spokesman Ned Price. In turn, NASA administrator Bill Nelson admitted that the agency “was not informed about the decisions of any of the partners.”

What is Russia going to build?
Russia is heavily dependent on imports of everything from manufacturing equipment to consumer goods, and the effects of Western sanctions are expected to wreak havoc on the country’s economy in the long run. According to specialists, the construction of a modern orbital station cannot be successful in a country covered by sanctions. Even if Russia builds an orbital station, it will be a return to the 1980s.

Space analyst Vitaly Yegorov admitted that it is almost impossible to build a new orbital station from scratch in a few years. — Neither in 2024, nor in 2025, nor in 2026 will there be a Russian orbital station, said Yegorov AFP. He added that creating a fully-fledged space station would take at least a decade and would require “the most generous funding”. He also admitted that Russia’s departure from the ISS meant that Moscow would have to suspend its manned flight program “for several years” or even “indefinitely”.

Photo by Shot by Cerqueira on Unsplash

ISS
The International Space Station is the largest and most complex international construction project in space. Its story began in 1998 in the steppes of Kazakhstan. It was from the cosmodrome there, at the top of the Proton rocket, that the first element of the future station was launched — the Russian Zarja module.

Currently, the ISS is the only fully functioning laboratory in space to conduct experiments and research in a weightless condition.

The ISS has experienced several potentially dangerous incidents recently. In July last year, the pressure dropped in the Zwiezda service module, which provides accommodation for crew members and operates the station’s life support systems. A month later, microcracks were detected in the Zarja module, which resulted in a slow but continuous leak of air. Experts indicate that the ISS is starting to show its age and that after 2025 there may be an “avalanche” of events related to broken equipment.

The facility, roughly the length of a soccer field, is divided into two main areas, one of which is controlled by Russia and the other by the United States and other nations. At present, it is not yet known what will need to be changed on the Russian side of the complex for the space station to function safely after Moscow’s departure.

Source: AFP, Science Alert,


10 Reasons Why It Sucks to Be Single.

 




Photo by Nick Adams on Unsplash

I want to verbally lash her with the f-word.

As soon as I hear her say, “I remember what it was like to date. I am so happy with my husband,” I want to beat her like Rocky in the title fight with the Russian.

You know what, go fuck yourself! Fuck your happy fucking relationship where you can hang your hat and reflect back on your dating life as a pastime. Further, take your happy fucking relationship out of my fucking face.



I have been told, “You are so strong.”

I can march like any 30-something woman and try to survive the campaign, I’m just investing in myself and focusing on my work now. But I know it’s stupid. If you offer to take my groceries, let alone mock me until I see God, then I want to be with you. I kneel to the point where I have astigmatism. I took all the steps to become an interesting person. I can also enjoy irony. The stark reality is that sometimes I’m more interested in the life I could be living than the life I have now. Nest by the fire kids because I’m about to outline Why Loneliness Hurts. 

1. Dating: I don’t like dating. I hate the way we go from farm to factory in the 21st century. If someone had told me that the rest of my dating life seemed like it would never leave adolescence, I would have started a heavy drug habit a long time ago. Instead of handing over notes, I receive a two-sentence text message agreeing on the time and place of the meeting. I’m not sure if I should go on a date or think about where to bury the body. We’re starting off on the wrong foot. Shit, you sit and I drag my legs. The whole arrangement reeks of obscene ambition soaked in the mere effort you have to prepare yourself. And the stupidest thing is that I agreed and then posted my stupid agreements on facebook. 

2. Facebook: You’re a motherfucker. I’m actually pretty sure there’s a fan page for “mother-shits” and I haven’t “liked” it yet. Thanks to you, I found and got back my first love, who is now my last ex. Thanks to you, one day I will be able to post my pathetic ramblings and hope that someone who cares will read it and, after decoding my carefully edited people, will somehow want to marry me. tag line, which is also associated with images of cats doing silly things. . Now you’ve done the stalking and turned my friends into search warriors scouring the sites for mail saying, “I want him back.” I wouldn’t have known my ex was in a new relationship if it weren’t for the status updates. You are taking passive aggressiveness to a whole new level. So thanks to Facebook.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

3. Grocery shopping / weekly tasks: “Um, what should I eat tonight?” I’ll have a double mac and cheese with a table for one. Want to help get it to the top? “It’s great to have it. I actually cook, clean, do the laundry, balance the checkbook and wash my feet. It is very beautiful! 

4. Other happy couples: It’s unfair that the representation of my crushed dream is to walk down the street and hold hands on the way home to have eight hours of amazing sex that I download from a free porn site and then turn off at five. minutes to see it because I feel like an alcoholic drinking alone in the dark cold with no loneliness. Bastards! 

5. Masturbation: I’m a pro at hooking up and knowing what tools to use. But I spent the day just running my own business, cleaning my house, fixing my car, creating a sustainable business plan, practicing yoga, and eating right, and now I have to give up my own job? Suffice it to say, I was overworked and it became a chronic condition. 

6. Activities: Apart from chatting, I prefer my partner’s activity. It’s Friday night and the pubs are full. Leave me alone in this bar and talk to my whiskey. No thank you. In this case, with someone doing fun things like adding ice cream to a cake; it just makes it better.

Photo by Radu Florin on Unsplash

 7. Creepy Guys: If you’re with a handsome guy who gives you six looks, you have a built-in labia blocker. No scary guy can get past your man shield. “Thanks for taking the girl, let’s go home and have sex!” If you don’t, you can always travel in packs of girlfriends only to have one picked up by the ever-heard double penetration guy. 

8. My parents: If you’re single, this is standard parenting conversation. “How are you dear? Who is your boyfriend?” “Shit mom, I just came to borrow the Tupperware and yes, I’ll return it!” 

9. Religion: “Remove. Are you telling me I can’t have sex until I marry someone? That’s like telling an innocent person to fight for infidelity.” I didn’t bend down to pick up the soap. I prefer to wash my body and want someone to hold me while I tell myself how hot I am. I have never read a single verse in the Bible that talks about this. 

10. Divorce: Some people my age are married twice! They are like hatchery fishing and I have been ice fishing all these years. In other words, being single after marriage is a different story. I have the belt and saddle ready. Just let me know which of your lucky sellers you’ll be driving to the sun. Hey, bastards! But really, for a well-timed call…

Author’s note: Life is a parody of itself unless the decision is made to make it serious. Say what you will, and so will I. Thank you for reading.



Tuesday, July 26, 2022

The greatest achievements of antiquity. We use them to this day, although we often do not even know it

 

Usually, when we think about the achievements of ancient civilizations, we have great structures in our heads, such as pyramids and other megalithic structures. However, the people of those days had achievements in other areas as well, not only in erecting stately buildings. They developed a number of amazing things that we use widely today.


Fot. PxFuel

Settlements


Primitive people led a nomadic lifestyle. They inhabited caves, often moving from place to place, thus settling all known corners of the world. Our ancestors moved in search of new, more abundant hunting grounds and places full of edible plants. Eventually, however, they discovered something else.

It turned out that you can lead a different lifestyle and you don’t have to constantly move around. This discovery was made about 15,000 years ago independently in the Middle East and in northern China, where small settlements and villages began to emerge.

Today, according to UN data, most of the Earth’s population lives in cities and more and more people are moving into them. Rarely do we realize that the development of our estates is due to the discovery of our ancestors, who saw the many benefits of living in communities, rather than constantly moving in search of better fisheries. This “invention” completely changed the face of the world and contributed to the rapid development of civilization.

Cultivation and breeding


Gathering and hunting have been the basis of the “economy” of humans for millennia. It has survived to this day in a rudimentary form. We still have many avid hunters, mushroom pickers and anglers. However, two revolutionary discoveries made by our ancestors in antiquity changed everything.

The first was agriculture. Traces of crops date back to 20,000 years ago. However, researchers assume that agriculture became the domain of humans about 12,000 years ago. This revolutionary change made it possible to feed more people, which in turn led to the development of society and culture, architecture, religion, etc.

Animals helped to develop agriculture. People thousands of years ago noticed that some species could be domesticated. Young wolves could be trained — and so from 17 thousand. years old known to us breeds of dogs have been created. Goats and sheep were bred 11,000 years ago. The auricles, from which modern cattle comes, have been domesticated about 8 thousand. years ago, wild horses surrendered to man 5,000 years ago. These breakthrough discoveries for people of that time often took place independently in different parts of the world. And they completely changed the face of the Earth, paving the way for the civilization we live in today.

Photo by Erlend Ekseth on Unsplash

Circle

The wheel is undoubtedly one of the most revolutionary discoveries in the history of mankind. It is commonly believed that people started using them around 5,200 years ago. There is no need to convince anyone of the importance of the invention. The circle contributed to the development of pottery and transport, and thus trade and the entire civilization. To this day, we use them widely, without even thinking about the importance of this discovery, made by our ancestors. Few of us are also aware that the oldest evidence of vehicle use was found in Poland. It is about the so-called a vase from Bronocice, a town about 50 km north-east of Krakow. Thanks to radiocarbon dating, it is estimated to be 3635–3370 BC. The oldest image of a wheeled vehicle in the world is depicted on a clay vessel. It was probably a four-wheeled car that was drawn in turns.

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

Writing

Another key invention of the ancient world was writing, a system of graphic signs that reflects what we say and think. Originally, people shared information with the help of drawings, iconography, knots on ropes, or cuts on sticks.

Gradually, pictographic writing developed, and in Egypt, hieroglyphic and hieratic writing. About 15,000 years ago, the Phoenicians invented the writing, which later became the basis of the Greek alphabet and all the Western alphabets known today.

The journal was created independently in many places of the world and in many cultures. Some of its types still remain unread and pose a mystery to scientists. Thanks to writing, mankind was able to develop philosophical systems, order trade, impart history, develop science. Today we cannot imagine life without letters and words that surround us on every side. We owe this discovery to our ancestors.

Photo by Pedro Lima on Unsplash

Religion and Science


Through the development of agriculture and livestock, ancient people gained something priceless: more time. They could use it to create more abstract concepts that in turn contributed to the development of society and culture.

With the development of scripture, ancient religions gained new weapons. Oral belief systems since the dawn of mankind may have been written. It was mainly Judaism and the derived Christianity that benefited from it. There is a reason why the Bible is referred to as the Holy Bible. We owe the development of the great religions, which still have the most followers today, to people from antiquity.

The same applies to philosophy, mathematics and law, and thus to modern science. We owe its beginnings to our ancestors who, using social and civilization development, had to dismore time and resources to make further discoveries and conduct fundamental considerations about the world around us.

Photo by Luke Stackpoole on Unsplash

Buildings


The progressive development of agriculture and breeding forced the ancients to invent effective methods of irrigating farmland and to develop such innovations as sewage systems. These great structures are often forgotten, but meanwhile they have allowed for a sharp increase in yields, which in turn has led to an increase in population and allowed the further development of societies.

However, ancient people were also able to build much grander and more magnificent buildings. It is enough to mention the wonders of the ancient world with the pyramids at the top, great temples, road systems, fortified and mighty cities. The remains of these buildings still surprise scientists with their vastness and beauty. The more that they were created in different parts of the world and in different civilizations independently.

Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash

Civilization


Finally, the most important discoveries of antiquity. The transition to a sedentary lifestyle, farming and breeding animals, using the wheel and writing, dealing with religion, science and building more and more sophisticated constructions, the development of trade, new methods of transport, including maritime transport, as well as the need to defend against external threats ultimately led to the creation of the first civilizations, societies and states.

This process was long and consisted of many factors. The effects of the emergence of civilization were different. On the one hand, people lived better, although social stratification was progressing. Crafts and trade flourished, and the need for defense or profit led to an increase in violence and wars, often on religious grounds. The costs of erecting huge buildings impoverished the society. The exhaustion of the land led to famines and great migrations of people.

The civilization progress that took place in antiquity cannot be overestimated. We use many miracles of antiquity to this day. However, it’s worth remembering that progress always comes at a cost.


Why did the Maya civilization collapse? The new study sounds like a warning

 Scientists traced 800 years of history and concluded that Mayapán — the Mayan capital of the Yucatan Peninsula in the 13th and 14th centuries AD — may have been devastated by drought. The lack of water probably led to social conflicts, which in turn contributed to the collapse of civilization, researchers say.


fot. HJPD, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In earlier studies, drought was mentioned as one of the main causes of the collapse of the Maya civilization (more on this in the text: The Maya civilization collapsed due to drought?). Now, after a careful study of Mayan history, scientists have more data to support this thesis.

A new study gives us an insight into the history of this ancient people. It is also a warning of how climate change can rapidly affect even the most established and prospering civilizations. The article describing the results of the analyzes was published in the journal “Nature Communications” (DOI: 10.1038 / s41467–022–31522-x).

According to the researchers, many sources indicate that social conflicts intensified with the onset of the drought in the years 1400–1450. During this time, people retreated to smaller and safer settlements. “We claim that a prolonged drought has escalated tensions between rival factions. However, later adaptations reveal regional resilience to the threat. As a result, the Mayan political and economic structures survived until contact with Europe in the early sixteenth century AD “- write scientists in their work.

Previous research helped

The team already had a lot of data to work with, including population changes, diets and climatic conditions at the time. These records have been supplemented with a new analysis of human remains for traces of injuries indicating a conflict.

There were correlations between rainfall and an increased population in the area, and between successive falls in rainfall and growing conflicts. The prolonged drought in the years 1400–1450 most likely led to the abandonment of the city of Mayapán.

New research suggests that the lack of water may have affected agricultural practices and trade routes, putting a strain on the people of Mayapán. As food became more difficult and the situation became more dangerous, people died or dispersed.

In the last mass grave created before leaving the city, many remains were found, probably belonging to members of the then ruling Kokom families. “Our findings confirm the historic institutional collapse of Mayapán in 1441–1461, a consequence of a conflict fueled by political rivalry that endured in the memory of the Yucatan peoples. His testimonies entered a written record of the early colonial period, ”the researchers write.

Human responses to climate change

Human responses to environmental pressures such as drought are of course complex, varying with region and epoch. Movement of people to other parts of the Yucatan Peninsula, including thriving coastal towns and politically independent settlements, helped the Mayan culture continue to flourish after the Mayapán fall.

This is evidence of “the resilience of the human-environmental adaptation system,” the researchers say. However, adaptations only work up to a point. These same regions, along with the rest of the world, are once again facing a climate crisis.

“Archaeological and historical records are well suited to studying the past social effects of climate crises,” the researchers write.

Source: Science Alert



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