mikeylikesit comments

Posted in: Are private conversations truly private? See in context

The best assumption to make is that any data you send can be spied on. Encryption is a security arms race. The more robust the encryption, the bigger the computer needed to break it. But as quantum computing becomes more capable, it’s entirely possible that encryption will cease to be effective.

Most data won’t be snooped on because of the sheer volume of data. But if a government or organization with resources wants to target an individual, they will likely find a way.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: TikTok devotees say platform unfairly targeted for U.S. ban See in context

To the extent that the U.S. government wants people using its spyware and propaganda tools (Google, Facebook, etc.) instead of foreign-run apps that do the same, people can scream hypocrisy.

But, hey, turn the hypocrisy lens back on China. The crap that they allow on foreign TikTok is totally unallowed on the highly controlled, moral domestic Chinese TikTok.

Governments will generally behave in their own self interests. There’s nothing really hypocritical about that.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Posted in: Making the moral of the story stick − the research behind ‘Sesame Street,’ ‘Arthur’ and other children’s TV See in context

They don’t call it television programming for nothing. It’s programming our minds.

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Posted in: Some people try a calorie-controlled diet and increased physical exercise to lose weight, but without success. What advice would you give them? See in context

@hawk,

The body’s responses when starved to slow the basal metabolic rate and extract a higher percentage of calories from food in the gut, causing the body to maintain its same weight, is well established. Use your search engine of choice…

For the survey showing medical professionals’ appallingly low knowledge of how burned fat leaves the body, it’s from this article: https://theconversation.com/when-we-lose-weight-where-does-it-go-91594

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: Some people try a calorie-controlled diet and increased physical exercise to lose weight, but without success. What advice would you give them? See in context

Burn more calories than you use and lose weight. Eat more calories than you burn and gain weight.

This is as simple as it gets, everything else is just fluff. There is no diet in which you eat more than you burn in which you will lose weight. 

Que the Atkins and Keto cultists nonsense....

It is true that a calorie is a calorie. It’s also true that it matters how we get our calories. Extreme diets like Atkins and Keto may swing the pendulum far too far in one direction, but there is a kernel of dietary sense behind them.

Here’s why:

Food A has 200 calories. The body uses 20 calories to digest the food. 170 calories are absorbed into the body, with 30 calories passing through the gut unextracted. The calories enter the bloodstream within 15 minutes to 1 hour after eating. The food has no additional nutrients beyond these calories. Its highly sweet flavor signals the body to start storing calories as fat.

Food B also has 200 calories. The body uses 30 calories for digestion. Under normal, non-starvation conditions, 130 calories are absorbed, and 70 pass through the gut unextracted. The calories enter the bloodstream between 1 and 4 hours after eating. The food contains various nutrients in addition to calories. The flavor is not sweet.

Food A nets the body 150 calories, which rush in the body in a short window of less than an hour. Two hours later, the person is probably hungry again. Food B nets only 100 calories, which slowly release into the body over 3 hours. Food B causes the body to feel full for longer and doesn’t signal the body to begin storing fat.

Calories may be calories, but the body does not process all foods the same. Sudden rushes of calories into the bloodstream may be welcome during intense exercise, but it just results in fat storage most of the time. Foods that take the body longer to digest can be far healthier in most situations.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: South Korean doctors hold massive anti-government rally over medical school recruitment plan See in context

The increase seems a bit steep

What’s even steeper? South Korea’s population collapse, which is creating this situation of a rapidly aging population and not enough people to care for the elderly.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: Some people try a calorie-controlled diet and increased physical exercise to lose weight, but without success. What advice would you give them? See in context

Diet advice is cheap and plentiful. You get what you pay for.

There is no one magic weight loss recipe. What is your metabolic rate? That sets how many calories your body uses in a day. You can’t easily change it.

Your body will try to stay at its current equilibrium weight. It’s very hard to reset your equilibrium.

Exercising burns more calories, but it also prompts the body to crave more food. You have to exercise an incredible amount and still maintain discipline over your diet to make it work.

In the end, you need to consume less food by weight than your body uses by weight for metabolism. That number, whether measured in calories or in weight, is easily estimated, but very hard to pin down exactly.

Counting calories rarely works. Your body retains food longer in the gut and extracts more calories from it soon after you cut your calorie intake. You can cut calories, but your body keeps absorbing about the same. Fearing starvation, your body may even pack on extra fat every time a few extra calories are available.

The difference between losing weight and gaining weight can be as little as 50 calories a day, or just a few extra bites of food.

Relying on professional advice may not help. A survey several years ago of medical professionals and dieticians found that 98% can’t even accurately identify how lost fat exits the body. Most professionals give bad advice about weight, at a rate no better than most other advice out there any weight loss.

Cut out processed foods, especially processed sugars and oils. Fat can actually be your dietary friend, if it’s the right kind, because it makes you feel full for longer. Cook all your meals yourself. Read ingredient labels.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Posted in: 47-year-old woman arrested for stabbing younger brother See in context

Was it an “Assault” Butterfly Knife?

Yes, an assault butterfly knife with a 20-blade clip. Very dangerous.

In all seriousness, I wonder if the blade length on this knife already falls under Japan’s fairly strict knife regulations, or does this mean a new round of largely ineffective posturing by the government that already effectively criminalizes people who step out of their front doors with so much as a kitchen knife?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Posted in: Putin praises Biden for calling him a 'crazy SOB' See in context

We all know that Putin needs Trump to be president, so he continue invade Ukraine with western support.

We don’t all know this. It flies in the face of reality over the past two decades.

When did Russia seize the Crimea? Make incursions into Georgia? Get involved in Syria? Invade the Donbass? Putin has been most militaristic and expansionist during the Obama and Biden presidencies. During the Trump years, Russia sat still.

Putin does not need Trump whatsoever to continue invading Ukraine. He’s done fine with Biden. Russia is in a proxy war with NATO, and Biden is bleeding American and allied nations of military supplies and money, all while failing to end the war or advance the war in Ukraine’s direction.

Biden is best for Putin. That’s a wry, but honest remark. Biden makes Putin look young, vigorous, and capable. Biden’s corrupt inner circle allows Putin to use intelligence services to destabilize American politics. Biden’s half actions militarily give Putin all the maneuver room in the world to slowly eat up Ukraine. Were Trump able to force an immediate peace, Russia’s gains would be substantial, but limited to what Russia occupies now. Give Putin four more years of Biden, and all of Ukraine is likely to be gone.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

Posted in: Why did Japan host a conference for Ukraine reconstruction when the country is still at war with Russia? Isn't it too soon to discuss reconstruction? See in context

Reconstruction discussions often begin before conflicts end. Months and years aren’t wasted this way.

It is probably good, however, to know how the conflict will end before discussing too much.

Or is this a signal, given recent events, that the outcome in Ukraine is all but certain?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Posted in: Resort park in Japan offers special love confession plans with 6 million lights See in context

Now that this Grand Love Confession Plan is publicly known, is it going to lead to a lot of disappointment and fewer visitors to the park?

Who would ever go there if the very invitation signaled the chance of an unwanted confession?

On the flip side, if someone accepts an invitation expecting a love confession, but there are no special lights because reservations are limited to one per night, what a disaster! Who would dare take a love interest there without that special reservation?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Posted in: Japan women's captain criticizes Asian soccer chiefs over venue switch See in context

Would you prefer to travel to North Korea with all the red-tape, politics, and anti-Japan feeling in the stadium? Or a neutral stadium in Saudi?

That’s not the essence of the players’ request. Kumagai is asking on behalf of players that the venue be set far in advance of the match and not changed last-minute. In a home-and-away system, one leg should always be in an unfriendly stadium. That’s normal. Players cope.

Changing venues a few days before the match is not normal. Saudi Arabia is how many extra hours in a plane? How many hours different in time zone? How many degrees different in the stadium? This hurts players and their preparation.

Why can’t Japan and Asia get the venue set weeks, if not months, earlier? This is a perfectly valid question. Nothing has suddenly changed in the situation with North Korea that necessitates a last-minute change. This all could and should have been settled months ago.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: Putin says Russia will push further into Ukraine after fall of Avdiivka See in context

I’d like to see NATO troops move into Ukraine from Poland with vast air support and enter Kiev. A mass of weapons entering Ukraine. Russia to be pushed back into Russia. I’d like to see Taiwan and Israel to given continued unwavering military support too.

In other words, you are a leading proponent of WW3.

1 ( +8 / -7 )

Posted in: Japan to boost child allowances to tackle falling birthrate See in context

There’s not any one reason for the low birthrate. It’s a combination of a dozen or more issues.

Young girls have grown up resenting their fathers who were hardly home because of long work hours. They don’t want to marry and can’t relate well to men as a result.

For the same reason, boys grow up raised almost entirely by their mothers and lack a strong male role model. Thus young men feel impotent in pursuing mates.

Even as the government offers more handouts for having kids, the government also tries to fill gaps in the labor force with more women. As more women seek careers, fewer have kids. Those who do have kids later and have fewer.

Porn is a substitute for relationships for far too many men.

Abortion as birth control accounts for a big part of the deficit in the birthrate.

More people are in school longer, which delays marriage and parenthood.

More young people are in debt, while the whole country hangs under massive public debt. Debt depresses people’s options for the future, including having kids.

Japan’s economy has been in a deflationary slide for three decades. Young people lack opportunities. Those who find moderate success typically have to get a lot of support from the saved wealth of parents and grandparents.

What time people aren’t working, they are glued to screens. Mindless entertainment distracts people from human relationships. Shut down internet and TV for a month during several hours every evening, and I guarantee a mini baby boom nine months later.

Raising kids is expensive, but it’s not the reason for the low birth rate. Money isn’t going to fix a problem of the soul. Handouts aren’t going to change the social and spiritual disease that drives people not to have children. Captive, stressed animals also frequently don’t reproduce. Humans are no different.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Posted in: Ukraine's Zelenskyy warns of an 'artificial deficit' of weapons after withdrawal from Avdiivka See in context

Yes, using your "logic" the US should never have gotten involved in World War Two.

As much as FDR desperately wanted to get into the war, the U.S. didn’t. War went on for three years in Europe and longer than that in Asia. Americans, having learned a bitter lesson from WW1, stayed put. It was only when Japan declared war on the U.S. that the U.S. became directly involved. Even then, America didn’t declare war on Germany until Germany first declared on the U.S. America got into the war because others declared war on America.

Has anyone in Eastern Europe declared war on America? No. So what is America’s interest in fighting a war in that part of the world? It’s only justifiable if one believes in a globe-spanning empire, with America as the empire’s bully enforcer.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Posted in: The move is aimed at encouraging the proper use of ambulances among residents. See in context

Sensible change, but only if insurance doesn’t pick up the extra fee.

People use ambulances as taxi services because going to a large hospital incurs a fee unless one has a referral or is transported there by ambulance. Insurance pays for the ambulance, so it’s a free ride.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Posted in: Replacing Ukraine's popular army chief is big gamble for Zelenskyy See in context

Zelensky is fearful that Zaluzhnyi’s popularity will result in Zelensky’s ouster. This is from the same president who suspended elections in order to preserve democracy. Zaluzhnyi has exercised caution, not wasting lives in strategically useless heroic stands. Syrskyi is a Russian-speaking general who doesn’t bat at eye at sending other men to their deaths.

This change will not work out well for Zelensky.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Posted in: What do you think will replace email as a form of communication in the future? See in context

Japan never really adopted e-mail. Most people have e-mail accounts in order to sign up for services, but most do not check e-mail with frequency. Communication went from phone/fax to texting in the early 2000s. Today, LINE is dominant. Outside of limited use in some business contexts, e-mail never really developed in Japan and was already mostly obsolete two decades ago.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Posted in: Overall, is a weak yen good for Japan’s economy? See in context

Define “weak.”

There was a time when 130 yen/dollar was weak, or even 120 yen. Now that would be strong.

Japanese companies and individuals have offshored a lot of wealth. Do they repatriate some of that wealth when the yen is weak? Or do they hold onto foreign-currency assets as a hedge? Ideally, they would do the former, which would keep the yen mostly in balance.

Currently, in reality, repatriation of wealth doesn’t seem to be happening. There is very little confidence in Japan’s economic potential right now. Manufacturing is still a thing, but Japan can’t compete with China for low-cost goods. Innovation is only in small pockets, not enough to spur a broadly strong economy. Few people want to invest in a shrinking economy.

The result is more and more wealth exiting Japan. The weak yen is good for exporters. However, they get paid in dollars and appear to be choosing to keep as much of that money as possible in dollars and overseas. Inflation rises and wages don’t, with Japan’s economy looking smaller by the day.

13 ( +14 / -1 )

Posted in: What are some ways to identify health misinformation on social media? See in context

That it’s on social media ought to be one giant red flag.

This said, medical journal articles, even promising articles on top journals, end up being wrong as often as not. Today’s “best medical advice” is very often tomorrow’s “How could anyone ever have believed that?”

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Posted in: What's your favorite convenience store brand in Japan? See in context

No Seicomart? Outrage!

10 ( +12 / -2 )

Posted in: Man claiming to be 'a woman inside' arrested for entering female bath at resort See in context

Pretty soon, every pervert in Japan is going to identify as “a woman on the inside.” Not very long after, every women-only train car is going to be populated by “women-inside” men. Women’s onsen baths will only be frequented by “women-inside” men, who will ultimately stop coming for the lack of actual women to ogle, likely causing most establishments to close for lack of business. The only public bathrooms that women use will be individual ones that lock out all other people.

But, hey, at least society will be able to pat itself on the back for a towering achievement in gender equality!

6 ( +10 / -4 )

Posted in: No ex-Johnny's singers in NHK year-end show 'Kohaku Uta Gassen' after sex scandal See in context

NHK is punishing the victims.

Those performers are still under contract by Johnny’s/Smile Up. NHK would contract with Smile Up for any performer’s appearance.

Performers wanted the fame that Johnny’s would give them. Have any tried to quit the agency over the scandal? If performers are going to stick with Johnny’s despite it all, how sorry should we feel for them?

I’d have more sympathy for someone who left or was pushed out of Johnny’s and was then blackballed in the industry.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Posted in: No ex-Johnny's singers in NHK year-end show 'Kohaku Uta Gassen' after sex scandal See in context

Oddly, the lineup is arguably better quality. Too often in the past, producers just lazily slotted in Johnny’s group after Johnny’s group.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

Posted in: How one small town in Yamanashi manages to have high birthrate See in context

there are many of women who will marry regardless if only there's a well-paid man but actually I dare to suspect they are not in majority now.

You’re probably correct in this. What percent want to marry a highly paid man? What percent seek a partner with whom to share more equal responsibilities financially and in the home? What percent don’t want to marry at all?

Women have a lot more options in societies with economic prosperity. Many of those new options result in lower birth rates. That’s not likely to change.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Posted in: How one small town in Yamanashi manages to have high birthrate See in context

@virusrex, read the article again:

There’s no economic need for wives to work, and by and large they don’t. They bear and raise children instead.

The company’s highly paid researchers are overwhelmingly male. Their 12.5 million yen average salaries attract women who then don’t work, but raise children.

There is nothing in the article to indicate that equality in pay for the sexes would have any positive effect whatsoever. For Oshino, per the article, men get high pay, and women don’t work and have more kids as a result. You can try to argue the politics of your viewpoint favoring higher pay for women with other sources, but this source directly contradicts you.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Posted in: How one small town in Yamanashi manages to have high birthrate See in context

Maybe if the rates of employment were more balanced and women were also getting good salaries, and family friendly policies were in place you could see families with more children…

The article says quite the opposite. The key in Oshino is men paid very high salaries so that women don’t have to hold jobs at all and can instead focus on raising families.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Posted in: The fate of Johnny and Associates may play out according to the yakuza model See in context

Let those that have any talent be free to find work by themselves or with the help of agencies that did not support sexual abuse.

Are there any agencies that aren’t rife with abuses? Johnny’s seems a lot like the Harvey Weinstein or Jimmy Savile scandals. Within the industry, everybody knew. Nobody said a thing because there was money to be made, or because there was fame to be won, or because they were doing the same kind of thing.

Is it cynical to assume that every agency and producer is a scumbag? On some level, it’s probably true because they’ve all kept quiet. If I were a parent of a child wanting to get into that performance world, taking the cynical view is probably the only way to keep a child safe.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: According to Japan's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry, 106,000 people left their jobs to care for their families last year. Noticeable were those in their 40s and 50s. What can be done to address this issue? See in context

Caring for family is one of the highest, most respectable, and vital functions in any society.

Is the problem that only 106,000 people left their jobs to do so? Would that it were more. Sadly, however, wages are such that one-income families are increasingly rare.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Posted in: The Israel-Hamas war: No matter who loses, Iran wins See in context

Of course, Israel could target Iran alongside Hamas and draw America into the war with Iran long wanted by neocons. It’s entirely possible that Israel and America lose in this scenario, but Iran ends up bombed into oblivion.

In this scenario, Saudi Arabia, who likes neither Israel nor Iran, comes out the regional winner by virtue of not getting involved and letting enemies destroy each other.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

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