Lemmy Português

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/steamdeck by /u/Sergiced on 2025-01-02 12:39:13+00:00.

Matthew Livelsberger named locally as driver of vehicle that blew up outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas

Back in 2019, we told you about an intriguing experiment to test a famous anthropological legend about an elderly Inuit man in the 1950s who fashioned a knife out of his own frozen feces. He used it to kill and skin a dog, using its rib cage as a makeshift sled to venture off into the Arctic. Metin Eren, an archaeologist at Kent State University, fashioned rudimentary blades out of his own frozen feces to test whether they could cut through pig hide, muscle, and tendon.

Sadly for the legend, the blades failed every test, but the study was colorful enough to snag Eren an Ig Nobel Prize the following year. And it's just one of the many fascinating projects routinely undertaken in his Experimental Archaeology Laboratory, where he and his team try to reverse-engineer all manner of ancient technologies, whether they involve stone tools, ceramics, metal, butchery, textiles, and so forth.

I know not all praying religions have their adherents join their hands, but I think it's the case for most. Many cultures even use clasped hands in day-to-day life as a sign of deference or pleading (which I guess makes them "social prayers").

My only 'armchair anthropologist' theory is that hands that are gripped together are unable to present a threat to you, so it is a signal of voluntary vulnerability. But that doesn't make sense in a religious context (although it does in the social context), because how would you ever be a threat to any god in the first place? 🤔 If anything, you're displaying arrogance by saying to god "yeah I COULD fuck you up, but just for this conversation, I'm gonna decommission my arms, arms which I have to register as deadly weapons by the way".

A secondary question on this topic is what is the function of praying hands in the praying process? If you say a prayer without joining your hands, does it not reach god? Or does he hear it but he's like "uhhh, excuse me?? Forgetting something? No childhood leukaemia cure for you, I guess!" like an overly-pedantic lawyer?

Third question: Do any holy books actually describe or prescribe 'praying hands'? If so, what do they have to say about it?

Cheers! 🙏

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/portugalcaralho by /u/ZookeepergameThese58 on 2025-01-02 18:20:28+00:00.

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/portugalcaralho by /u/Tough-Juggernaut6670 on 2025-01-02 14:52:31+00:00.

Boa tarde. Há uns meses prometi a mim mesmo que iria deixar de fumar tabaco hoje (2 janeiro). Tenho 30 anos, fumo regularmente, todos os dias desde os 18 anos, tomei esta decisão porque acho benéfico para a saúde, tendo noção que daqui para a frente a probabilidade de vir a desenvolver problemas graves devido ao fumo aumenta exponencialmente.

Gosto muito de fumar, é a única coisa que tenho vício muito vincado, gosto do cheiro, do gesto, da sensação do primeiro cigarro do dia ou depois do trabalho ou refeição. Não tenho vício com outras substâncias (exemplo: em tempos fumei erva praticamente todos os dias mas consigo ficar meses ou até mais de 1 ano sem fumar erva, como é o caso de já não fumar erva há mais de 3 meses sem qualquer problema); mas com tabaco é extremamente difícil de me abster, mesmo quando estou doente (gripes etc), fico ansioso, irritado, não penso em mais nada se não fumar.

O meu último cigarro foi ontem à noite e até agora não consigo pensar em mais nada se não fumar, até sonhei constantemente sobre isso.

Não pretendo recorrer a pastilhas de nicotina/ pensos/ tratamentos médicos ou “receitas milagrosas” que acho sempre bastante duvidosas em relação a eficácia das mesmas, penso que é mais placebo que outra coisa.

A minha questão é o que sugerem que faça ou não para continuar a minha abstinência de forma eficaz e menos danosa a nível psicológico?

Alguém que tenha passado pelo mesmo ou semelhante e que tenha conseguido parar de fumar? Quanto tempo demora esta sensação?

Quaisquer dicas úteis serão bem-vindas.

Aproveito a oportunidade para desejar um Bom Ano a todos.

Looking to make a change i think.

European nations are becoming increasingly serious about cracking down on smoking and vaping, especially among young people. Belgium has become the first country in the European Union to outright ban the sale of disposable vapes starting this month. At the same time, Italy's Milan also ushered in the new year by implementing a ban on outdoor smoking in public spaces.

As reported by The Guardian, Belgian health minister Frank Vandenbroucke didn't mince words when announcing the prohibition last year, calling disposable e-cigarettes an "extremely harmful" product designed to hook a new generation on nicotine. He cited the waste from the non-reusable vapes as being packed with "hazardous chemicals" that damage the environment.

Summary

Tesla reported its first annual decline in deliveries, with 1.79 million vehicles delivered in 2024 compared to 1.81 million in 2023.

Fourth-quarter deliveries (495,570) fell short of analyst estimates, causing Tesla shares to drop 7%.

Challenges included rising competition in Europe and China, declining sales despite price cuts, and growing inventory of Cybertrucks.

Analysts cited CEO Elon Musk’s political involvement as a potential distraction.

While Tesla plans to release lower-cost autonomous vehicles in 2025, its lack of affordable EVs and intensified competition have strained its market dominance.

In 2023, my focus on productivity was very poor. I would work on something for just 5-10 minutes and then get distracted by social media. At best, I think I was productive for only 2-4 hours a day. Constantly switching tabs in the browser and using social media was like a drug I knew was bad for me, but I couldn't stop. However, in the last 6-12 months, my productivity has probably been one of the highest in my life. I unlocked productivity levels that surprised even me. In this video, I want to share a few things that I hope will help you too, and also tell you about the things I'm still struggling with.

The most important thing I did was delete all social media apps from my phone. Now, apart from notifications from my family, nothing distracts me. Just think about it: the hardest-working and smartest people in the world—if I want to make good reels, I can’t do it unless I consume reels to understand trends. To be a good creator, you also need to build an audience. But consuming short-form content cannot be good for your health in the long run, that’s what I believe. So now, I don't spend more than 2 minutes on Instagram and I don’t visit the reels tab at all. I only check my close friends' stories, and that’s it. If you look at my Instagram, you’ll see I archived all my old reels because I don’t want my audience to see them.

Obviously, this has a commercial cost because many brands approach me, wanting me to promote short-form content. But I believe the personal cost—focus and productivity—is far greater than the commercial one. So, I’m completely okay with taking a stand that I don’t want to create or consume short-form content anymore. Overall, I’ve deleted social media apps from my phone, I keep my phone upside down, and I neither create nor consume short-form content. I think there are three benefits of this:

1. Fewer distractions: If I’m focusing on something, my attention is entirely on that task and not on my phone notifications. There's no temptation to say, "I'll check it in 2 minutes."

2. Increased creativity: I read an article in the Harvard Business Review that said when we get bored, we enter a "dream-like" state where new ideas spark. When I used to wait for a friend or be in an elevator, my natural reaction was to take out my phone. But now, I realize my best ideas often come when I'm doing something with no screen time, like when I'm taking a shower.

3. Forces me to talk to people: Many times, we take out our phones when we don’t want to have awkward conversations with strangers. But now, I’m forced to talk to people, even if it's just small talk, and I think meeting new people can have a 10x impact. You never know who could be standing next to you in the lift.

Now, I want to share three apps I use daily. Remember, apps are just tools—there is no perfect app. You might be able to do the same things using pen and paper, but I use these apps because you can’t solve something you don’t measure. I wasn’t measuring my productivity until I started using these three apps:

1. To-Doist: It’s a simple to-do list app that works for me. You can use any to-do list app.

2. Session: This app helps me log my tasks and track how long I’m working on them. It ensures I focus on one task at a time because humans can’t multitask effectively. A study from the University of Utah showed that only 2.5% of people can multitask well.

3. Notion: I use Notion for my daily and weekly reviews. I learned from a Wacom article that if you don’t break your goals into short-term and long-term parts, you can’t track your progress effectively. I keep it simple in Notion so I don’t spend more than two minutes on it. I track whether I’ve worked out, eaten well, slept well, and done productive work.

The third realization is that my superpower is saying “No” to people. You won’t be able to focus on your things until you learn to say no. Saying no to extra work, birthday parties, and all the things that sound exciting in the short term but distract you in the long run is essential. There is no exact science for this. You need to find your own way. In the last 6-12 months, I've learned a lot about this. Just remember, don’t go to extremes. Saying no to everything is also bad, especially if you're an introvert like me. But saying yes to everything is bad too.

Now, I’ve shared three ways to improve focus, but I’ve realized that internal motivation has its limits. The best way to stay focused is through external accountability. Our environment has so many distractions, and internal motivation often fails. In the last 6-12 months, my external accountability has grown, which forces me to stay productive and focused. For example, I’m focusing mainly on two things right now: creating videos and meeting brand deadlines. I have to deliver because the brands won’t wait. It's the same with my startup—I have a co-founder, and I must be accountable to him. That’s why I think external accountability is one of the best ways to stay focused.

I suggest you find ways to bring external accountability into your life. Maybe you can create an accountability buddy, someone trying to achieve the same things as you. If you rely solely on internal motivation, focus will eventually break. My internal motivation is not high enough to stay focused all the time.

The final realization I had is that staying healthy, which includes exercise and sleep, is crucial. After years, I’ve let go of seeking social validation from these things. I used to think that people who don’t sleep much or drink excessively were crazy. But now, I’ve stopped caring about social validation for these things. My focus now is on eating well. I mostly cook my food, measuring all the calories and macros. I make sure I sleep at least 7-8 hours, and I try to exercise regularly. On days when I eat well, exercise, and sleep enough, my focus and productivity levels are really high. On days when I don’t get good sleep, my day is wasted, and I get frustrated. So I make sure to get enough sleep, even if I have to say no to dinner plans, birthday parties, or other events.

But it’s not as if everything is perfect. You might think I’m a genius after watching this video, but it’s not like that. I also struggle with a few things. One thing I struggle with is my phone usage right after I wake up. I tend to check emails and notifications first thing in the morning, and I want to reduce that. This year, I plan to keep my phone outside the room at night and avoid checking it first thing in the morning.

Another thing I want to reduce is my late-night usage of my phone, which I plan to stop. The reason I haven’t succeeded in the past is due to a lack of external accountability. I’ve been using the Headspace app, which offers meditation sessions, and I’ve learned that many people benefit from it. This year, I plan to join one of these classes for external accountability so I can start meditating regularly.

I hope this year is happier and more successful for you, your family, and everyone else. I hope what I shared is relevant to you and can positively impact your life. See you next time!

transcript of this video

NERVE-SHATTERING TERROR!

A woman in a hypnotic state recounts to two doctors the details of a horrific experience from her past life that began with the mysterious and sudden disappearance of her husband.

IMDb.com || letterboxd.com

More generally, this kind of task is called "Knowledge Base Question Answering" (KBQA). The authors observe that many benchmarks have been published for it over the last decade, and that recently, the KBQA community has shifted toward using Wikidata as the underlying knowledge base for KBQA datasets. However, they criticize those existing benchmarks as either contain[ing] only simple questions [...] or synthetically generated complex logical forms that are not representative enough of real-world queries. To remedy this, they "introduce the SPINACH dataset, an expert-annotated KBQA dataset collected from forum discussions on Wikidata's 'Request a Query' forum with 320 decontextualized question-SPARQL pairs. Much more complex than existing datasets, SPINACH calls for strong KBQA systems that do not rely on training data to learn the KB schema, but can dynamically explore large and often incomplete schemas and reason about them."

The paper's second contribution is an LLM-based system, also called "SPINACH", that on the authors' own dataset outperforms all baselines, including the best GPT-4-based KBQA agent by a large margin, and also achiev[es] a new state of the art on several existing KBQA benchmarks, although on it narrowly remains behind the aforementioned WikiSP model on the WikiWebQuestions dataset (both also out of Lam's lab).

Summary

Philippine fishermen recovered a suspected Chinese underwater spy drone, marked "HY-119," six miles off the coast of Masbate province.

The six-foot torpedo-shaped device, used for navigation and reconnaissance, was unarmed but raised national security concerns.

The incident underscores rising tensions in the South China Sea, where the Philippines and China clash over maritime claims.

Recent confrontations include Chinese coast guard aggression and the Philippines shadowing a Russian submarine.

Mirror

https://t.me/a_shtirlitz/30397

Issue present for the past week or two on the latest and previous latest iOS versions. Likely unreliable to reproduce, but just experienced it here:

https://lemmy.world/comment/14264451

I tapped on the GIF, swiped down (… or up?) to close it, and the GIF zoomed in. From that point it’s difficult to close the GIF with one finger, but zooming out with two fingers works fine.

!Danmachi@sopuli.xyz

Summary

A mass shooting outside the Amazura Concert Hall in Jamaica, Queens, left 10 teenagers, aged 16 to 19, injured on New Year’s Day.

Four male suspects fired about 30 rounds into a crowd of 15 people waiting outside a vigil for a 16-year-old victim of a prior shooting.

All victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries and are expected to recover.

Police are searching for the suspects, who fled in a light-colored sedan. Queens officials condemned the violence, and the public is urged to assist with the investigation.

Me when lost

|    ||

||   |_