Found an amusing item in today's Sun UK, on the work of a
Texas professor illustrating the Munker-white effect. the image shows
what appears to diffrent colored spheres, but in point of fact, they are
all the same color. It is the framing effect of the lines, which make us blend
the original color and the line color. Tested it for myself...
Got up in the middle of the night - 3 AM to be precise - and just had to turn
on the computer to check on what was going on. I've got to discipline myself
not to do this; I am going to end up a nervous wreck. No computer between
10 PM and 7 AM, and I start the coffee first...
* * *
source: Le Monde, February 26, 2022.
translation: GoogleTranslate/doxa-louise
Russia launched a military attack against Ukraine on Thursday, triggering the largest armed conflict on the European continent since the end of World War II.
Thursday, February 24 at dawn, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to attack Ukraine with a "special military operation" with the aim of "demilitarizing and denazifying" the country. Three days later, Russian forces launched the offensive against the capital, Kiev. How far will the Russian army go? Is France directly threatened? Will the conflict lead to an energy crisis? Find the answers to your most frequently asked questions.
After Ukraine, could Russia go after another country?
For now, the Russian president is focusing on Ukraine. He has already almost absorbed Belarus: he has used Belarusian territory as a base to attack Ukraine from the north. He can then decide that other regions or countries, formerly included in the USSR, must pass under Russian control. That's what he's trying to do with Ukraine. The extent of his ambitions will depend in part on the resistance he encounters and the attitude of Western countries.
Romania, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 2004, is one of the borders that separates the Atlantic Alliance from Ukraine and its inhabitants are particularly worried because of Transnistria , a enclave to the east of neighboring Little Moldova. A "no man's land", which Russia appropriated manu militari in 1992 and which has since been classified in the unenviable category of "frozen" conflicts .
On the first day of the Russian attack , Thursday, Moldova once again felt the weight of the Russian army stationed in Transnistria. The Moldovan and Romanian media circulated images of two missiles launched from this enclave towards Ukraine. An attack that the Moldovan Ministry of Defense, playing the appeasement card, did not confirm. Unlike Romania, Moldova is not a member of NATO, which is therefore not required to intervene in the event of Russian aggression.
Will NATO go to war? Should we fear a third world war?
A priori, the NATO countries are not going to declare war because Ukraine is not a member of NATO and therefore NATO is not required to go to war to defend it. The United States and most of the European countries members of NATO have made it known for several weeks that they do not intend to send soldiers to Ukraine.
However, NATO has started to deploy elements of its reaction force for the first time to further strengthen its defense posture and be able to react quickly to any eventuality. “The answer is a strengthening of the deterrence posture and the defense of allies. The alliance activated its defense plans on Thursday and is deploying elements of its reaction force ,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Friday.
This force has 40,000 soldiers and its spearhead is a joint operational force at a very high level of readiness of 8,000 combatants currently commanded by France. It includes a multinational brigade and battalions supported by air and maritime units and special forces.
Is France directly threatened?
France is not attacked directly and is not bound by a defense treaty to Ukraine: the deployment of French soldiers in Ukraine is therefore not an option. Mr. Macron, however, announced in Brussels on Friday that France would accelerate the deployment of soldiers in Romania within the framework of NATO. Furthermore, "we are ready to continue to deliver military and support equipment to the population, as I was able to tell [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky ," added the head of state.
In Estonia, France participates, with some 300 soldiers mobilized for a year, in the permanent mission of "Enhanced Forward Presence", which was deployed after the annexation of Crimea by Russia, in 2014. "France will continue to fully play its role of reassuring NATO allies, by sending a new contingent to Estonia within the enhanced forward presence ," Macron also announced on Friday.
Which countries support Russia?
Russia has significantly less international support than Ukraine. From the first day of the attack, the United States, NATO, the European Union, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Finland, Sweden, but also Turkey and Israel, among other nations, condemned the attack.
On the other hand, without much surprise, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad welcomed Russia's invasion of Ukraine during a telephone interview with Vladimir Putin on Friday. “President Al-Assad said that what is happening today is a correction of history and a restoration of the balance of the international order after the fall of the Soviet Union,” the Syrian Presidency reported. in a press release.
The Chinese President, Xi Jinping, meanwhile, held an intermediate position the same day during a meeting with his Russian counterpart. China “supports Russia in resolving [the conflict] through negotiations with Ukraine ,” state broadcaster CCTV reported in an account of the telephone exchange.
Without using the term war or invasion, Xi Jinping spoke of "upheavals in eastern Ukraine" , which "concern the international community" , according to CCTV. The record does not mention a call for a halt to the fighting by Moscow.
What is the UN doing in all this?
As in 2003, with the US invasion of Iraq, the United Nations (UN) again proved powerless to prevent Russia's war in Ukraine . For seventy-seven years, the UN has shown its inability to prevent a war started by one of its five permanent members, endowed with a right of veto, whether it is the United States in Iraq or Russia in Ukraine.
The multilateral institution, whose credibility has been seriously damaged, is one of the few not to have been reformed to take into account the evolution of the world, which has become multipolar. It is most often relegated to the main role of provider of humanitarian aid in the event of natural disasters or conflicts, succeeding at best in certain cases in limiting their expansion.
The UN Charter, which Moscow is accused of violating with the invasion of Ukraine, does not provide for any exclusion of its members if they were to start a war. In the Security Council, the right of veto allows everything, and Russia does not hesitate to use it (more than fifteen times since 2011 for the conflict in Syria alone). Moreover, the draft resolution presented by the United States and Albania, which provided that "the Russian Federation will immediately cease [it] to use force against Ukraine" , was rejected on Friday despite 11 votes for , but 1 vote against (Russia) and three abstentions (China, India and the United Arab Emirates).
Are the prices for energy and in particular of gas likely to increase?
The member countries of the European Union import 40% of their gas needs from Russia , with a strong heterogeneity between the Twenty-Seven. Slovakia and Austria source exclusively from Russia. Conversely, Spain does not buy anything from Moscow. In Hungary and Finland, 80% of the supply is Russian; this percentage drops to 56% in Germany , it is just over 20% in France.
Faced with this major geopolitical crisis, the European powers are faced with an impossible choice: either they reduce imports of Russian hydrocarbons to counter Vladimir Putin and then expose themselves to a major energy shock, or they limit the sanctions and reduce the economic damage. In these first days of conflict, they have so far chosen the second option, which should not lead to an immediate price increase.
Is the invasion of Ukraine supported by the Russian people?
Overall, while the Kremlin is immune to the harshest criticism, it also cannot count on an enthusiasm comparable to that which followed the annexation of Crimea in 2014. At the start of 2021, around 50% of Russians supported recognition or attachment of the separatist territories to Russia, against 25% who advocated their return to Ukrainian rule. On the other hand, only 17% of Russians believed that Russia and Ukraine should form a single state.
On the eve of the attack, it was above all fatigue that dominated the streets of Moscow , fueled by great indifference and popular mistrust for everything that touches the public sphere.
Le Monde
* * *
What is Swift_BBC:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60521822
I have always stayed clear of cosmetic procedures, because
while they may appear simple, the context in which they act
is complex. The confusion around coolsculpting and PAH is a case in
point. Fat cells are frozen by a machine, and the body is meant to clear
out the debris leaving a thinner body surface, all well and good. But
in a certain number of cases, a dense fat mass will appear at the treated area.
One might want to step back and consider the multiple roles fat cells may
be playing in the body to begin with.
How does the body know where to store fat. Hormones play a role for young
women, directing fat to hips and thighs for childbearing. This stops at menopause.
Interestingly, fat cells themselves produce female hormones. How is fat distributed
in men: it often goes to the belly because men eat more meat and by the time it is
broken down, fat just gets put at the nearest convenient location, the belly. Voilà!
The error people may be making - I suspect - is thinking that because the body has
gotten rid of fat cells, it will not 'deposit' fat anywhere. Wrong, it has to go somewhere.
Anything that triggers an insulin response will require that deposit occur, which
may be temporary or not. If one is eating in a balanced way on a daily cycle, as most
dietary counsel recommends, it still occurs. (This is where the interest in the keto diet finds
its root.)
Below, the clearest overview of PAH I have run across, from YouTube:
Found an interting article on doing a cut, yesterday. This practice
is actually one followed by athletes, but we can all learn from it
as we prepare for Spring and Covid restrictions lift.
I was also motivated by the sample diet to get some Skyr, a yogurt
from Iceland which is low-fat but also high-protein. It is actually
denser than Greek yogurt and - from my reading - enjoyed in
Iceland as a dessert treat where the consumer decides on the cream,
fruit and brown sugar to add, a bit like individual taste in coffee!!
* * *
source: Doctissimo.fr
Published on 02/09/2022
author: Ingrid Haberfeld
in collaboration with Lydie Gaougaou (sports and nutrition coach)
translation: GoogleTranslate/doxa-louise
How and why do a cut?
Doing a cut consists of burning your fat mass while maintaining your muscle mass. How to achieve this? Which diet to adopt? Which sports should you prefer? Answers from Lydie Gaougaou, sports and nutrition coach.
Summary
How to cut?
What are the foods to favor for cutting?
What are the foods to avoid?
What sports to practice in a cut?
What are the precautions to take?
What sports to practice in a cut?
When athletes want to make their muscles stand out more, they often opt for the same solution: cut! " This consists of adapting a specific diet and training in order to reduce their level of fat mass located just under the skin without altering their muscle mass ", explains Lydie Gaougaou. The result is a better drawn silhouette.
How to cut?
Practicing a cut requires altering your diet, which will become:
Hypocaloric (contributions must be reduced by 15 to 20%) to cause weight loss;
Hyper-protein so as not to melt muscle capital: if, in normal times, protein needs are between 1.2 and 1.6 g/kg/day, during the cut period you can increase this to between 1.8 and 2 g/Kg/day.
" Lipids must also be reduced, but they are not banned for all that: the intake should be around 1g/kg of body weight, or even 0.5 g at the end of the cut, specifies Lydie Gaougaou. It is also recommended to favor unsaturated fatty acids to the detriment of saturated ones ".
As for carbohydrates , if their consumption must also be reduced, favor those with a low Glycemic Index to avoid peaks of fatigue and improve your recovery. Fruits are rationed at 1 to 2 per day, green vegetables are, for their part, to be consumed at will because of their low caloric intake and their richness in satiating fibers. " Finally, hydration plays a crucial role: it is recommended to drink more than usual, to maintain a suitable level of hydration and fight against water retention ", recommends our expert.
On average, during a cut period, an athlete can lose between 500 g and 1 kg per week. To measure your results, an impedance scale can help you know your fat mass and lean mass rate thanks to an electric current sent through the body. “ Choose a scale with handles so that the flow passes correctly throughout the body, thus allowing to obtain more reliable data , advises Lydie Gaougaou. Taking measurements, in particular that of the waist circumference will also be a good indicator of your cut ".
What are the foods to go for during a cutting?
Meats and fish. Defatted ham, skinless poultry, fish, seafood, red meat with 5% fat, eggs (especially white);
Cereals and legumes. Brown, wholemeal and basmati rice, wholemeal bread, wholemeal pasta, oatmeal, lentils, soy and tofu;
Dairy products. Skyr, light cottage cheese;
The fruits. None is forbidden, but at the rate of one to two per day;
The vegetables. All are permited and at will, especially green vegetables;
Fatty substances. Vegetable oils, oleaginous fruits;
For drinks. Water only.
What are the foods to avoid?
On the other hand, all sweet foods such as biscuits, cakes and pastries and jam are to be banned, as well as prepared meals, refined cereals and alcohol.
Sample one-day menu
Breakfast . A bowl of oatmeal, a skyr, an egg and an orange.
Lunch. Grated carrots with a drizzle of rapeseed oil, turkey breast, green beans, wholemeal bread
Snack . A white cheese with 0% fat, a handful of almonds.
Dinner . Salmon en papillote, quinoa, tomatoes à la provençale, fromage blanc.
What sports to practice during a cut?
During the cut period, it is useless to modify your training since the goal is to preserve your muscle mass as much as possible: you can therefore continue your sessions with the same loads and the same number of weekly sessions. " The training program can also include, at the start of the cut, HIIT (High Interval Intensity Training) sessions which consist of alternating high intensity cardiovascular exercises for a short period and recovery phases, before switching, in end of the program, to low-intensity cardio sports, such as walking, to protect against physical fatigue ", recommends Lydie Gaougaou.
From the Sun, UK; V. Putin's declaration...
News, sport, celebrities and gossip | The Sun
* * *
From the Telegraph, UK:
Interesting linguistic map of Ukraine. From le Devoir:
https://www.ledevoir.com/monde/678288/analyse-la-crise-russo-ukrainienne-vue-par-la-geographie
Recently, sociologists have been puzzling against a new trend, not just in
the elderly but in younger couples as well: sleep divorce. Yep,
couples who co-habit do not necessarily sleep in the same bed, but will often have
separate bedrooms altogether. New sense of privacy aside, I think I might
have some insight into this.
As an avid youtuber on all kinds of topics, one thing that has come to my
notice is the phenomenon - in larger cities - of what I can only call 'bedroomization'.
An older building is remodeled and the landlord will sacrifice common space in the
unit and create more bedrooms (and higher asking rents). See below for a prime
example in NYC.
So one likes music, and the other watches the tube, both have desks and work on Zoom.
There you have it!!
The crackdown on Covid protesters currently going down in Ottawa
is so ugly even the international press won't touch it. A news blackout
pretty much everywhere. I mean, the RCMP is there with
horses!! The one cheery aspect: no report of casualties, and protesters
unfazed by the utterly brutal winter weather we've been having.
Although the Economist did mention something about the
political handling of the affair being 'atrocious'. Hmm!
Let's face it, those protesters are against a formidable agent of repression
in the person of a Prime Minister who was, by profession, a schoolteacher.
Not a crack in the armor, ever; this is the work of civilization.
Below, the protest hymn that was being played on the Hill until recently:
source: Le Figaro, le 17 février, 2022
auteur: Paul Sugy
translation: GoogleTranslate/doxa-louise
INTERVIEW – The art of war consists in increasing one's freedom of action as much as possible, recalls political scientist and specialist in military strategy Joseph Henrotin. He believes that the deployment of Russian forces by the Kremlin only responded to this one rule: if war breaks out, it will be violent, he predicts.
Joseph Henrotin is editor-in-chief of the journal Defense and International Security and research fellow at the Center for Analysis and Forecasting of International Risks. He is notably the author of a Precis of military strategy (ISC, 2018).
LE FIGARO.- Do you share Washington's concern, which is warning of a possible imminent invasion of Ukraine by Russia ?
Joseph HENROTIN.- Everything ultimately depends on what is meant by "invasion of Ukraine". It's not white or black, concretely Russia has sufficient military capacity at the border to secure the annexation of the separatist republics of the Dombass region, or even to take territorial pawns, perhaps the city of Mariupol located on the Sea of Azov. In practice, the Russians have therefore massed around 175,000 men around Ukraine. And in theory, therefore, the possibilities open to Russia are numerous.
...
Had too many eggs, so I made this cake: a sponge
cake with eight eggs!!
Tastes nice, with a lemony tang. Like all sponges, should be eaten with something
else like jam, cream... it also involves a bit of work, whipping up all those egg whites.
Still, my first time at it, and it came out fine 👩🦰
https://www.mangiabedda.com/nonnas-sponge-cake/?utm_term=cake+recipes&utm_campaign=8840759533#recipe
From the Economist:
So, do we live in a 'Trudeaucracy' !? An exageration, no doubt 😂; but not a lie. Canada
is governed by elites - in the English tradition - and our country has a relatively short
history of different peoples living together.
On the plus side, the Guardian did point out that we have had a third of the death
rate of the US during the Covid-19 pandemic!
How about a compromise: Canada and the US agree that
truckers - while on the job - are exempt from all mandates and restrictions.
The relevant jurisdcitions both sides of the border continue to legislate
their way out of the pandemic, as they have been doing...
* * *
The last assignent for CS50AI is filling in code on a parser.
There are ten sentences from Holmes to be covered.
Below, using the code from:
cs50ai/parser.py at master · amangarg078/cs50ai · GitHub
The calling code: python parser.py sentences/7.txt
Works like a charm.
* * *
'tokenize' is a term from nltk which is a requirement for this program
* * *
A lambda function is a useful on-the-fly function in the context of another function.
From W3Schools:
Starting to get how word2vec works(and the CS50 example). Working
with the closest_word request:
We are looking at the semantic distance between words, as gauged by
the training data.
Word2vec is an integral part of python nltk. The underlying idea is clear enough:
one uses a numerical representation for words.
At its simplest, one-hot representation assigns a 1 to our word and 0 to all
others. Elegant but impossible to scale.
Wordnet is a curated dictionary for use in AI. Using simple terms,it contains definitions
and can output other links (synonym, antonym...) between words as well. It is
part of nltk and can be accessed with python. The course example, definitions from
the word 'city'. And because it is February, I made another request for the word 'love'.
Did have some touble getting this to work. One has to first go to the python interpreter
and:
>>> import nltk
>>> nltk.download('omw-1)
Then exit the interpreter with exit()
Back to the Language lecure for CS50 AI. How should one proceed for
information extraction. The computer, on being given but a two-item template,
through two examples, can then search through documents and extract new
information. Below, the example is two place and dates for Olympic Games,
which the computer uses as a mode to extract all the starting dates for Games
from the Wikipedia article on the subject.
One can build on this for more sophisticated requests.
* * *
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WordNet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word2vec
* * *
Moving on in the last CS50 AI lecture(Language), we then look
at information retrieval but still within the 'bag of words' model.
thus, we are doing term modelling. A three step dive into the issue
illustrates what can be done.
Step 1. We want to know what our text is about, and use simple term
frequency. The example looks at the corpus of Sherlock Holmes stories.
We extract the most frequently used terms, sure enought; but it is not very helpful.
english contaons a lot of helper words like the, and , to. These are common to all texts.
So for the next iteration, we will ignore these.
Step 2. The program is fed a list of function words that will be ignored in the request.
Better, but still redundant. 'Holmes' appears everywhere, Getting clever, one will then
use inverse document frequency ie we want those words that are frequent in one
story, but will penalize those that occur in all. the winning formula will multiply
term frequency by inverse document frequency.
