drastic

The Internet has become such a hostile place that there are people making drastic decisions: go back to MySpace

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In a thread on Reddit’s r/Millenials subreddit, a user named Blue_Bi0hazard counted that had signed up for SpaceHeya curious MySpace clone, and I was happy about two things. The first, due to the personalization that this new social network offered. “I can’t stand today’s social media,” he explained. “There is hardly any personalization, everything is gray and simplified. Remember how MySpace or Tumblr was: there you really felt that your profile represented you.” Second, because of how the algorithm has taken over everything: at SpaceHey, he explains, “your feed is chronological, rather than what Facebook or Twitter think you should see, plus the damn ads.” These criticisms are not new, and for some time they have caused a unique Internet revolution. Small communities are returning to using clones of myspace as SpaceHeyor of GeoCitiesas NeoCitiesand although their scope is limited, they are the symptom of something very worrying. Beyond nostalgia Behind these seemingly nostalgic gestures, something deeper is drawn. Not only the desire to return to a retro design, but to raise a kind of digital demand. A “I want to have my corner again” in a sea of ​​feeds that no longer belong to us and over which we have no control. The return to MySpace, or rather, to something that evokes it—like SpaceHey—is actually a critical and rebellious act. It is a gesture that says “I am tired of the current Internet turning me into a consumer rather than a user, that everything I do is subject to the algorithm, the subscription and the ads.” And that’s when that return to those rehashes of the past takes on that other meaning. That of a more or less silent protest. Twenty-five years ago, opening the browser was like doing digital zapping and extremely garish. Amateur blogs were interspersed with local forums, profiles with flashing GIFs, view counters (view counters!), and pages that didn’t open on their own, but also had music on autoplay. It was the internet of the 2000s. GeoCities, LiveJournal, ICQ, Friendster, Blogger and MySpace conquered users and they did so with hardly any algorithms. Was a more hippie internetmessy and unpredictable but full of personality. The profiles were their own spaces, not showcases optimized for clicking. Now we remember that time fondly and smile when we realize that the Internet was full of defects. Loading times were much longer, handling HTML was almost a craft, and mixtures of fonts and designs often resulted in strident and garish web pages. However, they also had virtues. They let you make mistakes without charging you for it. They let you be weird without having to ask permission. Nobody (or almost nobody) had to sell anything, and nobody yet knew that they would end up selling you (or your data). It was the internet as a workshop, not as a gallery or showcase. but then standardization arrived. With Facebook, YouTube, Google or later Instagram and TikTok, we were promised order, efficiency and global connection. The Internet went from being its own territory to a service platform in which profiles became uniform, timelines identical, and rules impersonal. The “enshittification” of the internet This is how we have reached the digital fatigue that many experience today. 20 tabs are opened and the same ads, the same formats and the same giants appear. The Internet is no longer so much a “site” as a “medium” in which we only consume, and what we do more than explore and navigate is end up being victims of doomscrolling. This is where the concept comes into play. “enshittification” (“shitification”, in a loose translation) coined by writer Cory Doctorow. This neologism, as recently explained in an interview with Voxdescribes the drift of many online platforms, although it is applicable to all types of companies: “At first they are great for the end users. Then they find ways to retain those users (switching costs, network effects, contracts, DRM) and once the users are trapped, the company makes the product worse to get more value. They then use that surplus to attract business customers (advertisers, sellers, creators), they trap them and start making the product worse for the business side as well. In the end, everyone gets trapped and the platform becomes a pile of garbage. You can see this in places so like Google, Facebook, Uber and Amazon. In other words: what started out promising becomes mediocre, predictable and profit-oriented, not user-oriented. Shitification clearly manifests itself on today’s internet in various ways. It does this with mandatory subscriptions, with algorithms that decide what you see, with constant advertisements and with data that no longer seems to be yours, but rather turns you into simple merchandise. Before, you opened a blog to publish what you wanted. Now the objective seems to be to gain clicks or provoke engagement. All of this has caused users to become target audiences, consumers and even simple data. It seems that there is no more time to browseand we only have it to consume what the algorithms offer us. On Reddit someone asked if others were nostalgic for the internet of the 2000s and the comments were conclusive. The first of them, in fact, made it clear: “nothing seems genuine anymore.” Reviving MySpace That’s where platforms like SpaceHey, which appeared in 2020 and it is totally inspired by MySpace. Its creator, a young German named Anton Röhm and nicknamed “An” on the platform, is in fact the contact that by default is added to your “friends” on the platform, as on MySpace you added that of its creator, Tom Anderson. Long live the wild and original internet. Like a good clone, the similarities between SpaceHey and MySpace go much further. In SpaceHey, personalization shines, and that aesthetic of early 2000 It is evident in strident and shocking designs. The social network — which has around two million users — does not intend to compete with Facebook or Instagram, but it allows its users to recover part of that feeling of freedom and control … Read more

There is so much demand for fish in China that has opted for drastic measures: two "aircraft carrier" as a hatchery

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We already said it in 2022: China is hungry for fish. So much, that they have been accused of cleaning half -world folders. FAO says that almost a third of tons produced by world fishing They are related to China And hundreds of Chinese fishing have already been seen sweeping the waters of Peru. Beyond fishermen, Chinese shipyards are building huge ships focused on fish breeding on the high seas, endowed with the latest technology and hope: to help satisfy that Fish appetite. And they are so big that one of them has been nicknamed “fish breeding aircraft carrier.” Wan quing ding. This is the first protagonist. Thrown with success on May 27 (something of what North Korea could take note), the wan qu ling ding is the next great step of the aquaculture industry In China. As we read in China DailyThe Jiangmen Hangtong Shipbuilding Co. shipyard will deliver the ship to Zhuhai Ocean Development Group Co. in August and it will then be when it is mole 155.8 meters long and 44 meters wide can start producing. Beyond its dimensions, what attracts attention are Breeding pools. It has 12 independent compartments and has a capacity of 80,000 m³. This is equivalent to 32 Olympic swimming pools and this floating fish farm is expected to produce between 3,000 and 5,000 metric tons of fish every year. It is what a land fish farm of 3.33 million m² would do. In Xataka We are drugping the salmon with cocaine and anxiolytics. And that is causing them to behave strangely Intelligent aquaculture. The goal is for the ship to focus on the raven of species of high value in the Chinese market, such as the Golden Palometahe Seriola or the mereand it will be support for both internal and Tourism. To its dimensions and breeding capacity is added a water exchange system with the maritime zone in which it is located, something that helps increase the Fish quality. Each of the compartments has a system of sensors and automatisms that control everything. It has automatic food systems, but also something very curious. The swimming pools are semi -submersed in seawater and, if they detect Abrupt temperature changes in water o Contamination, those ‘swimming pools’ rise to reduce water resistance and that the ship can quickly move to safer waters. Almost total autonomy. Beyond their breeding capabilities, what attracts attention is autonomy. According to those responsible, electrical propulsion allows something they have called “autonomous maritime nomadism.” It has 2,000 nautical miles of autonomy and systems for autonomously navigateavoiding natural disasters such as typhons. You can also select the best waters of the breeding at all times and have equipped the wan qu ling ding with a Wind Generation System of 20 kW that can cover the entire electricity consumption of aquaculture systems. In this video we can see the Automatic and Water Filter system of a similar ship, the Guoxin-1: Your Hai No. 1. Almost in parallel, the Huangpu Wenchong shipyard of Guangzhou has built what they say is the first ship in the world dedicated exclusively to salmon breeding. His Hai No. 1 is a huge 250 -meter length ship and specializes in the salmon breeding. As in the wan qu ling ding, it has sensors and automatisms to quickly relocate in safer waters to Avoid pollution And, after a first test in April, it is expected to start working in June. Salmon independence. Its production capacity is imposing: up to 8,000 tons per year, with the ability to deliver Fresh salmon already processed in some national markets in 24 hours thanks to the built -in plant. And, even if it may not seem like it, this is the Hai No. 1 is of vital importance in Chinese geopolitics. The reason? As we read in SCMPit is estimated that more than 80% of salmon by Chinese consumers depends on imports. In 2024 they imported 100,000 tons and is expected to exceed 200,000 tons for 2030. Therefore, with large ships AquaculttersChina seeks to independent its fish supply and stabilize that chain in an international panorama that, as tariffs are demonstrating us, commercial relations can be truncated at any time. In Xataka A "stable macro" Floating: the ship that transports more than 75,000 sheep through the oceans And it is something that has become a national strategy, since the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China public In 2023 a series of guidelines to promote marine aquaculture. Images | SALMAR In Xataka | China and Russia have allied with a clear purpose: the exploitation of the kril while the rest of the world arches the eyebrow (Function () {Window._js_modules = Window._js_modules || {}; var headelement = document.getelegsbytagname (‘head’) (0); if (_js_modules.instagram) {var instagramscript = Document.Createlement (‘script’); }}) (); – The news There is so many demand for fish in China that has opted for drastic measures: two “aircraft carrier” as a hatchery It was originally posted in Xataka by Alejandro Alcolea .

China’s 125% tariffs are the entrance door to an even more drastic process: “decoupling”

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The New Tariff war between Washington and Beijing It is creating the conditions for a total separation of the two largest economies in the world, something that just one year ago seemed unthinkable. What’s happening. Trump has suspended the highest tariffs for dozens of countries for 90 daysbut those applied to China has increased to 125%, marking a clear strategy: isolate Beijing. This rotation is not a decala. On the contrary, it is an attempt to form a common front against China, turning what seemed like a multilateral commercial conflict in a bilateral confrontation. In figures. The magnitude of this break is huge: 73% of the phones that the United States uses from China. 78% computers have Chinese origin. 87% of video game consoles. And 77% of toys. Between the lines. This crisis is not accidental, but calculated strategy. Trump first created a worldwide threat and then appeared as someone reasonable by offering a partial truce. For all except for China, on whom it maintains maximum pressure. “We can reach an agreement with our allies”, said The Treasury Secretary, Scott Besent. “They have been good military allies, although not so good in the economic. And then we can face China as a united block.” The background. 125% tariffs account for a practically impassable barrier for trade. It is not only protectionism, but total economic decoupling. The impact is immediate: Goldman Sachs has trimmed its growth forecast for China From 4.5% to 4% by 2025. Meanwhile, 19 billion dollars have vanished from world stock markets since February, according to Bloomberg. And now what. We go towards A world economy divided into blockssomething not seen from the collapse of the Soviet Union. Beijing has already suggested that he could devalue a Yuan already increasingly weak. And has warned its citizens against traveling or studying in the United States. Chinese authorities have made it clear that they will not be the first step to negotiate, while Trump says he is “waiting” for his call. The key moment. Trump’s strategy goes through a vision of zero sum: use the size of the US market as a lever and create conditions for other countries Choose side. Block. Island. “Trust has vanished,” says Da Wei, director of the International Security and Strategy Center at the Tsinghua University in Beijing. “In the balance between economic development and economic security, security will always be emphasized. This is a long -term change.” Global supply chains have been built for decades of a globalization now questioned. And also now face a change of roles whose consequences are impossible to anticipate with certainty. In Xataka | The EU moves token and approves its retaliation tariffs to the US: we already know when the counterattack will begin to be applied Outstanding image | Xataka

Marathons are so extreme that our brain makes drastic decisions, as how to consume itself

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Running a marathon implies a considerable effort that can lead to our body to its limits. Of course, our brain is no exception in this regard. Effects on neurons. A new study has shown how marathons affect the structure of neurons. Specifically, the study responsible for the study found that this type of career Reduces myelina layer layer that covers these brain cells. This substance It is composed of proteins and fatty substances. Myelin Surround the axons, elongated parts of a neuron that connect it with other neurons and through which nerve impulses are transmitted. That is why its deterioration can make nerve impulses slow down, something we see in people with multiple sclerosis. High consumption. The energy consumption of the brain is very high if we take as reference its mass, Explain the responsible team From the new study: this organ consumes 20% of the energy of our body despite representing approximately 2% of its weight. The team wanted to find out what happened with an organ as avid to consume energy in extreme situations as a marathon. In reserve. And it is that these types of contexts force our body to take drastic measures for subsistence. Prolonged exercise, for example, can make our body exhaust its carbohydrate reserves, the primary source of body energy. The following energy reserve is in the fat we store. Already in extreme cases, our body can dissolve muscle proteins to obtain this energy, explains the equipment. As the team observed, this translates into the consumption of myelin that covers neurons. This reduction occurred in an important part of the gray and white matter of the brain and that, although some regions were more affected than others, the impact did spread similarly in the two cerebral hemispheres. “The results of our study indicate that nerve cells in conditions of hypoglycemia (little glucose) use alternative energy sources, such as myelin, a fat structure that surrounds the axons or nerve fibers that communicate the neurons and facilitates the ultra rapid propagation of the electrical signals,” Explain in a press release Carlos Matute, co -author of the study. Magnetic resonances. To carry out the study, the team made various resonances Magnetic to a dozen of marathon runners. They repeated these resonances on several occasions: the day before and the day after the race, two weeks and two months later. The details of the study have been published recently In an article In the magazine Nature Metabolism. A reversible change. The good news is that this change is reversible. The study itself showed how at two months, the myelin of the runners’ neurons recovered their usual levels. Uncertain impact. The study found a deterioration of myelin but for now we do not know how or to what degree this deterioration translated into effects on the cognitive functions of the brain. We know that the absence of myelin is linked to severe neurological disorders such as sclerosis. In Xataka | More and more people participate in popular marathons. Science knows that going as optimistic has its risks Image | Mārtiņš Zemlickis / Imgmidi

Accumulated sediments are a huge problem for reservoirs. And in the Ebro they have taken drastic measures

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The reservoirs, both those for hydroelectric use and those for consumptive use, are a vital element in the hydrological panorama. However, for some time, experts warn of a problem that is aggravated over time and affects their functionality. He sediment problem. Half year of works. The works initiated last August to recover the drain of the Ebro reservoir will extend, predictably until 2026, according to They have indicated from The Montañés newspaper. The works, in addition to introducing improvements into one of the swamp drains, intend to recover their functionality from the accumulation of sediments in this. The tasks, explains the local newspaper, will require a team of divers for 3.5 meters of accumulated silt next to the drain gates. The works, with a budget of 2.5 million eurosthey will imply the installation in each of the ducts of the security gates with By-Pass and gates for the regulation of flows. The Arija swamp has two drains, one side and the other located in the dam. It is the latter that, as a consequence of the accumulation of sediments, has lost the ability to perform its function. Key reservoir. The Ebro or Pantano de Arija reservoir is a key element in the Ebro hydrographic basin. It is one of the largest reservoirs in this hydrographic demarcation (behind those of Mequinenza and Canelles). Located in the immediate vicinity of the Cantabrian city of Reinosa, the border between this Autonomous Community and that of Castilla y León in the province of Burgos. According to the latest datathe reservoir Albeca now 348 hm³ of water, 64.3% of its capacity (541 hm³). Some data that do not always reflect reality, precisely due to the problem of sediments. Limiting the capacity. The problem of sediments Not only does it affect the functionality of the drains of the reservoirs: they also limit their capacity. Decades of use have led to a significant accumulation of sludge and sediments in the reservoirs, sediments whose volume implies a significant reduction in the storage capacity of the swamps. Estimates of this loss vary significantly, but the most pessimistic talk about a loss of up to 40% of the volume In some basins. A study in 110 reservoirs launched a more optimistic but still alarming estimate, A loss of 5%. The latest rains seem to have helped reverse the drought situation that still affected some areas. However, our ability to prepare for the next drought is limited by this accumulation of sediments in the reservoirs. Where the sediments are missing. As if this were not enough, the problem of the sediments left over on one side is the problem of those missing in another. In this case, In the Ebro Delta. The Ebro delta is nothing more than the result of the accumulation of sediments dragged by the river current. The installation of numerous dams in this hydrographic basin has reduced the arrival of this matter to the mouth, which, together with the natural coastal erosion, has put the delta ecosystem at risk. An ecosystem on which not only depends the local fauna, but also a part of the agriculture and the economy of the region. In Xataka | In a corner of Andalusia the reservoirs are at 94% of their capacity. It seems excellent news, but it is not so much Image | Josu Aramberri, CC by-SA 3.0

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