saves

removing magnets from the fridge saves exactly zero euros on your bill, although there are other things that do work

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The magnetic decorations that decorate refrigerators in many homes have been the subject of a curious urban legendthat they make our appliance consume more. “Everything in this myth is false,” Endesa pointed out one of the last times the rumor resurfaced. Refrigerator magnets do not have an impact on the electrical consumption of these appliances since the magnetic fields of the magnets that we place in our refrigerators are very weak. So much so that “they don’t even go through the refrigerator door,” the electric company continues to explain on the company blog. And it is that some of the magnets we place on our refrigerator barely have the strength to keep themselves in place, but nor the most powerful magnets in this range they could do it. We would need a very powerful magnet, outside the range of refrigerator magnets to affect its operation. “Only (would consumption increase) if the magnets on your refrigerator were electromagnets” answered a forum user Physics Forums back in 2012 when another user raised this question. Endesa has not been the only company that has spoken out in recent years about this urban legend. When we asked LGthey told us that it was a “myth”: “fridge magnets have no effect on consumption, shelf life or food. The magnets located on the outside of the refrigerator do not influence the operation or the internal cooling capacity of the appliance.” In that same line he answered us another manufacturer, Bosch, which assured that the magnets were not going to affect the operation at all beyond causing scratches on the surface or, if someone feels especially inspired and fills the door with magnets, they could affect the useful life of the door hinge if its weight increases a lot. In any case, they were very emphatic about it: it will never affect the electrical consumption of the appliance. How to save with the refrigerator. The refrigerators can assume the largest source of energy consumption behind heating and hot water and can account for almost a fifth of electricity consumption. They must be plugged in and running all day, which limits possible strategies to save on expenses, although some exist. The option that most reduces electricity consumption is one that may not be available to everyone: obtaining a more efficient refrigerator. We may not have yet paid off the one we have or we may not yet have the budget to change it, but opting for more efficient models will imply less long-term savings. Other ways to save are well known: keeping the door open as little as possible or not putting hot food in it are well-known tricks. Maintain seal from the refrigerator, yes, it goes a little further. To achieve this we must always make sure that there are no foods that could make it difficult to close and that the sealing elements (the rubber) are in good condition. Where we place the refrigerator can also affect its performance. Embedding it, placing it in sunlight, or near a heat source such as a radiator or oven can cause it to require more energy to keep its interior cool. Finally, we must keep the freezer frost free as far as possible. The frost works as an insulator (as if we had an igloo inside the freezer. This causes the freezer to require more energy to cool the products inside. In the midst of a unique energy crisis in almost half a century, saving electricity has become an obsession for some and a necessity for many. That is why it is important focus on those strategies that do allow us to save energy and money. Image | Giulia Hetherington A version of this topic was originally published in 2023. Unfortunately for science, it is still fully valid in 2026…

The breakfast that ruins your energy in the office is the same one that saves a cyclist: the paradox of "empty calories"

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The busy and stressed life that a good part of society leads can mean that in the mornings the lack of time means that breakfast is quickly resolved with a coffee accompanied by a few cookies or a bun. Something that is known by many that is not healthy, but the clock pressing from behind makes it difficult to find time to make some toast with something healthy on top. However, with this quick breakfast there is a problem: energy ends up falling in a few hours. The empty calories. a term which is increasingly heard to refer to those more processed foods such as pastries, cookies or any sweet that we eat. And here is the great debate, and it raises many questions about its usefulness and if we really eat foods that serve no purpose in the short term beyond making us fat. In Xataka Nutrition science is becoming clearer: it is not that important "that" We have breakfast but at what time do we do it? A roller coaster. To understand what happens in our body at 8:00 in the morning when we eat a coffee and four cookies, we must look at the biochemistry of digestion. And it is that industrial pastries o cookies are mainly composed of refined flours and free sugars. This is a problem because, lacking fiber, protein or quality healthy fats, the body You don’t have to make a great effort to digest them. That is, they are broken down at a high speed in the intestinal tract and enter the blood in the form of glucose almost suddenly. In energy terms, it is the equivalent of trying to heat a house by lighting a fire with sheets of newspaper: it burns very quickly, generates an intense flare, but goes out after a few minutes. {“videoId”:”x7zo910″,”autoplay”:true,”title”:”Added sugars: How to avoid them and improve your diet?”, “tag”:”sugar”, “duration”:”220″} There is no need to demonize to glucose because it is essential as fuel for our body and especially for the brain. However, this sugar peak which is produced by the consumption of these products or others that represent a large release of glucose in the blood, forces the pancreas to secrete a large amount of insulin at once to remove excess blood sugar towards the muscle or adipose tissue. The result here is a drastic drop in glucose just a couple of hours after eating these foods, which causes ravenous hunger or fatigue that makes us need to eat again to have sugar in our body. A continuum of sugar. If you have a slower breakfast with much more varied, healthy and fiber-rich foods, this does not happen. When there is a good amount of fiber, the digestive system has to spend more time processing food and, therefore, the transfer of glucose to the bloodstream is slower and more sustained over time. This gives you a ‘more sustained’ energy throughout the morning without feeling the classic mid-morning ‘slump’. In Xataka We’ve been believing oatmeal is the perfect breakfast for years, but science has a warning: there’s a limit It’s not always bad. Although on many occasions these empty calories are demonized for not having quality nutrients, sometimes it is necessary to have extra quick energy. without thinking about fiber or vitamins that may be presented. This is something we see in the world of sports, where a hyper-sugar chocolate or a cookie can work a miracle when you are at kilometer 80 of a stage, climbing a hill or when the dreaded ‘bird’ is lurking. In this context of high sports performance, fiber or fat would be a hindrance, since they would slow down gastric emptying, stealing blood from the legs to send it to the stomach and causing heaviness or gastrointestinal problems. That glucose spike that in an office causes lethargy after two hours, on the bicycle is immediately burned in the muscle as high-octane fuel, allowing the intensity to be maintained. Images | Bayu Syaits In Xataka | To the question of whether “eating breakfast as soon as you wake up is good for your body”, science offers a clear answer (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news The breakfast that ruins your energy in the office is the same one that saves a cyclist: the paradox of “empty calories” was originally published in Xataka by José A. Lizana .

If the question is whether using ChatGPT or Claude in English is more efficient and saves tokens, the answer is: yes

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You may not have stopped to think about it, but there is a striking reality in the world of chatbots: It is more expensive to speak in Spanish with AI than to do so in English. The reason is simple: AI does not understand words, it understands tokens. And when you talk to GPT, Gemini, Claude or any other LLM, you talk to him in a language, but to understand you he first “translates” what you are telling him and converts it into tokens. And the problem is precisely that: that not all languages ​​”cost” the same in terms of tokens. There is a very simple example that we can analyze thanks to tools like ClaudeTokenizer: the word “developer”, which in English is “developer” costs few or many tokens depending on the language in which we write it and also (importantly) the version of the AI ​​model used. In the image it is clearly seen, but just in case, we summarize: For ChatGPT (GPT-4o and GPT-5) the word “developer” has three tokens (des-developer-ador), but the word “developer” only costs one. For Claude (Opus 4.7) the word “developer” costs no less than 9 tokens (2 in Opus 4.6), but “developer” costs “only” 6 (1 in Opus 4.6). What is happening here? Well then each language model uses its own “tokenizer”your “translator” from a conventional language to the token language that the language model understands. And those tokenizers favor precisely the languages ​​in which these models are created. This is how AI understands how we speak. Each word is divided into tokens, and English is understood much better. “developer” only costs one token in GPT-5, but “developer” breaks down into three. Bad news for Spanish speakers. In fact, English has become the official language of artificial intelligence, whether we want it or not. The reason is not cultural, but architectural: 95% of the training data of the frontier models (GPT-5, Gemini 3.1, Claude Opus/Sonnet 4.7…) are in that language. That makes the rest of the languages ​​”foreign languages”, and that makes it necessary to pay extra when using them, an almost invisible toll on every interaction. In practical terms, what happens when we use Spanish to talk to an AI model is simple: we use more tokens, and therefore using Spanish is simply more expensive than using English when working with a large language model. If you want to save tokens, better use English The question, of course, is how much more does it cost us to speak in Spanish than in English with ChatGPT (GPT 5.x) or with Claude Opus 4.7? It is difficult to say because each word and each phrase is a world, but the truth is that English is almost always the most “economical”. We have used one of the first sentences in this article to compare that token consumption, and by translating the sentence into different languages ​​and querying that token consumption for different models, the data is clear. It is important to highlight that these results are not conclusive, but they do make the trend clear: English is the most efficient language in terms of token consumption, but be careful, because Spanish is not that bad, and is usually the second most efficient. It is even more efficient than English in Gemini, at least according to the tool consulted. But on average, it is normal that there is a significant extra cost when using different models. A conversation with Claude Opus 4.7 is already “expensive” because it is one of the most expensive models currently, but in Spanish it is almost 30% more expensive, not to mention in Arabic, 76.3% more expensive. In fact, according to this example, the difference between Claude or GPT-4o in terms of efficiency is clear: OpenAI tokenizer is “cheaper”and although there may be differences with GPT-5.x, what seems clear is that Anthropic has preferred to “spend more” to obtain better results (or that is the objective). Gemini is even more thrifty according to these tests, and that may also have a lot to do with the quality of the answers, although that question is for another topic. We have used one of the paragraphs of this article in Spanish and translated it with Deepl into English, Arabic, Norwegian, French and Chinese to find out how many tokens the phrase “cost” in each language. English is undoubtedly the most efficient Tokenizers advance and evolve. Sometimes they do it to save us tokens, as happened with the GPT-4o tokenizer: at that time OpenAI explained how that tool used 1.1 times fewer tokens when speaking to her in Spanish but up to 2.9 times fewer in Hindi or 3.5 times fewer in Telugu. With Claude Opus 4.7, just the opposite has happened: the tokenizer has been redesigned and consumes more tokens (up to 1.35 times more, they admitted) with the aim of better processing and understanding the text. Your chatbot thinks (and programs) in English Here we must also highlight something important: although we can talk to our favorite chatbot in any language and it will answer us in that language (unless we ask otherwise), AI models “think in English”. That is to say: when you talk to them what they do is translate what you tell them and then reason in English and finally they translate their response into the language in which you were speaking to them. This consumes additional reasoning tokens, but also has some impact on latency (how long it takes to start thinking or answer the model). In complex tasks, this can clearly influence response times for the simple reason that the AI ​​model does not stop translating from “its official language” (English) to our language. This preference for English is also noticeable in the benchmarks: in the Humanity’s Last Examin which the models are asked all kinds of general knowledge questions with several options to answer, it is reasonable to think that the models They answer better in English because that exam is designed in that language. … Read more

I always thought that a Stream Deck was only for streamers. It turns out to be a gadget that saves you a lot of time every day

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It is not easy to work in front of a computer for many hours a day (whether at home or in the office). You spend the entire day browsing between documents, spreadsheets, files or writing emails and, just moving from one task to another, you already waste a lot of time. I really like the concept of ‘optimize workflow‘so that this does not happen (or happens little), but it is not easy at all. There are many ways to try to do this, although few are as visual as using a Stream Deck. Yes, that little device that many streamers have on their table and that seems to only serve to change scenes or cameras, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is a device that helps improve productivity in many waysand although there are a lot of models, my favorite is this Stream Deck Neo: right now it costs 84.99 euros. Elgato Stream Deck Neo – 8 customizable keys, 2 Touch Points, fly through your tasks and processes – Control Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Zoom, Spotify, etc. Easy setup – For Mac and PC The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Integrates with almost any software you use on a daily basis The idea of ​​the Stream Deck (of this specific model or any of the others that Elgato has) is the same: to have a panel that, with just the press of a button, simplifies tasks of all kinds. Let’s start with something simple: you can place buttons on a key to open the apps that you use most when working, such as an email manager, the browser or a Slack-type program. Or directly program a single button to open everything at once when you sit in front of the PC. In addition, it is a device that is very easy to install (it is basically plug and play) and configure. The software is also intuitive and allows us to customize the keys to the millimeter. Being compatible with software of all types, we can assign very specific keys to Photoshop, Excel or PowerPoint tools, for example. All, furthermore, with a very high degree of customization. I like this particular model for two things. The first of them is that it is compact and not as big as other models that Elgato has (which have more keys or even other types of buttons). The other is that it has two small touch panels that allow us to switch between the different “pages” of actions that we have configured. All of this means that we have a tool that will help us (a lot) to give a boost to our ‘workflow’. You also have other different Stream Deck models As I said above, there are different models of this gadget. In fact, this same year it released a keyboard in collaboration with Corsair that, directly, integrates a Stream Deck where the numeric keypad usually goes. Next, we leave you said keyboard and some different models of this Elgato gadget. Corsair Galleon 100 SD RGB Wired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard – Spanish QWERTY, Stream Deck Integration, Pre-Lubricated and Interchangeable MLX Pulse Key Switches, SOCD FlashTap, 8000Hz The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Elgato Stream Deck Mini – Control Zoom, Teams, PowerPoint, MS Office etc., increase your productivity with perfect integration with the most used apps, easily create shortcuts, compatible with Mac and PC The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Elgato Stream Deck +, Audio Mixer, Live and Studio Controller for Content Creation, Streaming, Gaming, with Touch Strip, Customizable LCD Dials and Keys, Works with Mac and PC The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Elgato Stream Deck XL – Advanced Studio Controller, 32 Macro Keys, Activates actions in apps and Software such as OBS, Twitch, Youtube and Others, Works on Mac and PC The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Elgato In Xataka | Best iPhones. Which one to buy in 2026 and recommended models based on budget, tastes and quality-price In Xataka | This is the gaming tower that I would buy. The computers with the best quality-price ratio for gaming recommended by Xataka

AI saves us time but takes away the story

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A few days ago I surprised myself doing something that five years ago would have seemed sacrilege. I had in front of me one of those reports that you save to read on Sunday morning. 5,000 words, a prestigious signature and a great design. A text of those who ask for calm. And when I didn’t even have two sentences, I instinctively looked for the ‘summary’ button that now crown my browser. Nine lines. That was the whole summary. It was not for lack of interest, it was rather for that modern urgency that whispers to us that spending twenty minutes on a single idea is an inefficient thing. After a quarter of an hour I remembered almost nothing of those nine lines. I had the information, but I didn’t have the knowledge. We are turning reading into an administrative procedure. What started as a survival tool to deal with the deluge of work emails or some long-winded Reddit threads has colonized our capacity for wonder. In 2026, AI not only helps us write, it also is teaching us not to read. Or even worse: it is convincing us that the path is a hindrance to reaching the destination. It is the definitive victory of the TLDR about curiosity. The problem with outsourcing digestion is that we start from a false premise: that the substance of things is the only thing that matters. But in culture, information or in a simple conversation, substance is sometimes the least important thing. Ask an AI to summarize Don Quixote for you and it will tell you that it’s like a man from La Mancha who has read too much and confuses windmills with giants. You have the information, but you have not heard the conversations with Sancho on the roads. You have not felt the bitterness on the beach in Barcelona nor the lucidity of someone who regains their sanity to realize that the world, without its madness, is a gray place. Technology, in its efforts to eliminate friction (paradoxically, being the one who has blocked our notifications) is taking away the fabric of our experience. Silences and nuances are what fixes memory. The horny thing is What are we using that time for that we supposedly save by not reading?r. It is not to think deeply or to walk around without a cell phone and hit the coconut, but to consume even more summaries. It’s a loop infinity (pun intended) empty efficiency. We optimize the consumption of information to be able to ingest more information, which in turn we summarize in the next scroll. Thus we become archivists of a life that we did not get to witness. We save, synthesize and archive, but we do not inhabit anything. We are reaching a phase in which the true status, the intellectual luxury of our era, is not to be very smart or to be up to date with everything thanks to our AI agent, but in be able to sustain attention. Prestige belongs to those who can afford the extravagance of reading a text from beginning to end, of listening to a podcast without skipping the silences or set it to 1.75x. Or finishing watching a movie without having used your cell phone for two hours. Efficiency is a great metric for an assembly line or an AWS server, but If we let it guide the leisure of a human life, we are making ourselves a little miserable. We start by optimizing each minute to end up leaving everything in a list of three key points. Or in a nine-line summary. But life cannot be summarized. In Xataka | There is a generation working for free as a documentarian of their own life: they are not influencers but they act as if they were Featured image | Xataka

AI saves you eight hours of work a week. As long as you’re the boss and you don’t have to use it yourself

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The AI ​​that was going to change everything and revolutionize our work He doesn’t seem to be doing any of that at the moment. What there is is a great polarization between those who believe in that promise and between those They do not see it at all clearly or they fear it. And if there is a place where this love-hate for AI is palpable, it is in companies, where CEOs see things in one way and employees in a quite different way. what has happened. The consulting company Section has conducted a survey of 5,000 workers and managers in US companies with a fundamental question: How many hours of work per week is AI saving you? Survey results, displayed in The Wall Street Journalsay a lot about the vision of CEOs and employees about the impact of AI tools. Source: WSJ. CEOs love her, employees not too much. According to data from that survey, two out of three employees indicated that AI does not save them time at work or that at most it saves them less than two hours a week. These responses contrast with those of managers and CEOs: one third affirm that it saves them between 4 and 8 hours, another third affirms that it saves them 8 or more hours, and the other third affirms that it saves them 4 hours or less. The big difference is precisely in this negative view: 40% of employees say that they do not save any time, and only 2% of CEOs agree with that opinion. AI screws up more than anything else, some say. A user interface designer named Steve McGarvey indicated in that text how managers “automatically assume that AI is going to be the savior (of the business).” His experience is different, however, and he tells how “I have lost count of the times I have looked for a solution to a problem, asked an LLM, and they gave me a solution to an accessibility problem that was completely wrong.” And it’s not that big of a deal. This professional also indicates that he uses Perplexity as an assistant to research on various projects and that it has saved him time. However, part of their job is to ensure that visually impaired users can access websites, and chatbots have not been of help in that task. The employees are somewhat afraid. There’s another important aspect to the findings: Employees were much more likely to report feeling anxious or overwhelmed by AI than excited by it. That 40% who responded that it did not save them time added that because of them they would never use AI again. Employees are the ones who are most overwhelmed by AI, managers are the ones who are most excited about it. Source: WSJ. For now AI is used like Google. But there is another problem and that is that many of these professionals are using AI as an alternative to the traditional search engine from Google. They do not use it for practical applications of their work—perhaps because they do not know how—and, for example, it was used much less for topics such as code generation or data analysis. It saves me time, but like it doesn’t. Software companies like Workday participated in the survey and pointed out an interesting fact: this technology imposes an “AI tax” in terms of productivity. Although 85% of its 1,600 employees surveyed indicated that they save between one and seven hours a week thanks to AI, that doesn’t help them much: Much of that saved time ends up being used to correct errors made by AI or modify content generated by AI. AI isn’t much use (yet). An additional and also recent survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers focused on 4,500 CEOs. The result: only 30% of them were confident that there would be an increase in revenue thanks to AI, although they admit that having a good AI foundation can help boost that return on investment. The adoption of AI, however, at the moment is not compensating them too much, and only 12% of companies claim to have obtained benefits in revenue or costs, while 56% claim to have “not obtained anything” with that investment. These data are in line with those of the MIT study of August 2025 according to which 95% of pilot projects with generative AI were not paying off to companies. But. The data is negative, but there may be factors that point to a change in trend. The surveys do not indicate how much time users are spending learning how to use AI versus the time it saves them. The benefit may be negative now, but in the long term it will be positive. Furthermore, there are sectors in which AI has clearly become a clear tool to assist workers, as in the field of programming. Although there is, of course, a necessary phase of code review that AI generates, the massive use of these tools indicates that productivity may have gained in whole. Image | Redd F In Xataka | “We will lose social permission”: the CEO of Microsoft knows that either they do something valuable with AI or it will have little progress

Buying seafood before Christmas Eve saves up to 40%. A mistake when freezing it ruins your dinner

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Christmas is coming and, with it, the spread of the large tables. In Spain, seafood is the absolute king of the banquet, but its presence this year is once again marked by a “stratospheric” price increase. According to data from the OCUshopping on the eve of Christmas Eve can mean paying 78% more for barnacles or 53% more for clams. Given this scenario, the freezer becomes the best ally of savings, allowing discounts of up to 40%. However, saving can be expensive. Science and gastronomy issue an urgent warning: the problem of Christmas poisoning is usually not the original product, but rather our management of the cold at home. The golden rule: immediacy. The most common mistake begins at the front door. According to CuidatePlusmany consumers make the mistake of leaving seafood in the refrigerator “for a couple of days” before deciding to freeze it. Microbiology explains that the final quality depends directly on the initial state. You have to freeze it “as soon as you get home” to stop the proliferation of microorganisms in its tracks. Furthermore, prior preparation is a step that we cannot skip. As highlighted in the online fishmonger Mariskitoit is essential to wash the pieces well and, above all, dry them with absorbent paper. The outside humidity creates ice crystals that damage the fiber of the animal, ruining its texture. It is not just a question of flavor, but freezing is the only safe barrier to neutralize parasites like Anisakis. Each species has its manual. Not all seafood accepts the same treatment. To avoid errors that ruin the product, we must distinguish the families: Large Crustaceans (Crabs, crabs, crabs): They should always be frozen cooked. The professional trick is to wrap them in a cloth moistened with their own cooking water so that they do not dry out. a detail: they should be stored with their legs up to prevent the internal broth from being lost (“the chub broth“). Small Crustaceans (Prawns, prawns, crayfish): They prefer raw, especially if they are going to be grilled. In the case of crayfish, although crude oil can aesthetically blacken the headits quality is not altered; If you prefer to avoid this, pre-cooking is a valid alternative. Bivalves (clams, mussels): There is a technical debate here. In the sources consulted, some of them suggest steam them beforehand so that the meat does not stick to the shell, others hold which must be raw to keep their marine essence intact. The forbidden: never freeze barnacles or oysters. Their texture is destroyed and, in the case of oysters, it is extremely difficult to know if the animal has died before the process, raising the risk of toxicity. The moment where everything can be ruined. Yes, we are talking about the defrosting process. The gold standard It is non-negotiable: always in the refrigerator, never at room temperature or under hot water. The safest method is to use a rack over a tray. This prevents the shellfish from coming into contact with the water it releases, a place where bacteria “have their fun.” If time is of the essence, from a food safety portal recommends submerging the piece in cold water with salt in an airtight bag, but they prohibit the use of the microwave because it “cooks” the edges of the seafood and ruins its texture. How do they last in our refrigerators? According to the fishmonger Solo Mariscosthe freezer must reach at least -18ºC. In the refrigerator, the optimal temperature ranges between 0ºC and 4ºC. But the cold also has enemies. From Mariscos Carrillo warn that the air in the refrigerator dries out the product; Therefore, they recommend covering the seafood with a damp cloth. Regarding the times, Mariscos Gallego set expiration date to the “trunk of memories”: bivalves should not spend more than 2 months frozen and large crustaceans a maximum of 3 to 4 weeks if we want them to maintain their premium quality. Can I die from poor intake? Food poisoning is not just an upset stomach. bacteria like Salmonella, E.coli wave Vibrio They can cause everything from severe dehydration to sepsis (a fatal immune system response). Additionally, there is the danger of toxins; as Dr. Masarat Jilani explains in a report to The Guardiansome like those of Bacillus cereus (common in reheated seafood rice) they resist even the heat of cooking. Added to this is the problem about heavy metals. Although shellfish (prawns, mussels) usually have low levels of mercury, we should avoid large species such as bluefin tuna or swordfish in pregnant women and children under 10 years of age. The safety test on the plate. As a final piece of advice, there is one piece of advice that is infallible: the “hit test“. Before cooking a clam, if it is open and does not close when you give it a little touch, it is dead and should go directly in the trash. Christmas is a time to enjoy, but as Dr. Jilani concludes“most poisonings disappear within days, but prevention is the only way to avoid extreme cases.” This year, don’t let saving in your shopping cart be a bet against your health. Image | Unsplash Xataka | The great Christmas revolution in Spain is not the millions of LED lights: it is the rise of “Tardebuena” and “Tardevieja”

neither saves money nor saves resources

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The rejection of the new Coca-Cola’s AI Christmas ad It has been basically unanimous: although their bet has technically and visually improved the very promising 2024 bet, the complaints are no longer about the theoretical as much as about something more intangible. An advertisement that appeals to traditional and artisanal things should not be made with a tool that ignores human creativity. Or has it not been like that? Some recent data that has come to light after the first negative reactions casts doubt on whether it was just a matter of pressing a button for an ad to appear. The announcements so far. In November 2024, Coca-Cola became the internet’s quintessential corporate villain. Its Christmas ad was recreated with artificial intelligence the iconic ‘Holidays Are Coming’ spot from 1995and was received with a wave of criticism, especially for its multiple errors: rigid truck wheels, faces of people frozen in an inhuman rictus… Artists such as Alex Hirsch, creator of Gravity Falls, dedicated to the corporation such strong phrases like “Coca-Cola is ‘red’ because it’s made with the blood of out-of-work artists.” A year later, Coca-Cola does not back down, but launches a new version of the advertisement, more technically advanced and starring less risky entities: anthropomorphized animals. Pratik Thakar’s quoteglobal vice president and head of generative AI at Coca-Cola, “the genie is out of the bottle and no one is going to put it back in,” has become a symbol of these new times. No matter how much these types of decisions are criticized, the savings in energy and personnel are so significant that these types of changes are here to stay. Or not? Less effort? There are some figures, made public by Coca Cola itself and by Jason Zada ​​of Secret Level (the company that developed the ad) that cast doubt on the effectiveness of the entire effort. For example, it took approximately 70,000 AI-generated video clips before arriving at the final result of 60 seconds. Behind them, an army of professionals: approximately 100 people distributed between Coca-Cola, the WPP agency, and the Silverside AI and Secret Level studios. And among them, at least 5 AI specialists worked specifically on technical refinement and content generation. Zada talks about a direct team of 20 people dedicated to this announcement. It is not a revolution in efficiency, but an amount comparable to that of any traditional animation spot. The difference: no physical equipment, locations or cameras were needed, but all the usual production apparatus in this type of ads: creative direction, design, narrative construction, artistic supervision… Zada ​​states that there is “a lot of human craftsmanship involved. Hand-drawn character designs, world-building… it’s not just about writing words and pressing buttons.” The paradox of money. If we talk about video generation tools like Sora, Runway or similar, each clip has an associated cost. Multiplied by 70,000 generations, the expenditure on server infrastructure, processing and rendering time reaches considerable figures. To this we must add the cost of a hundred people working for approximately a month (this is what Coca-Cola claims is an advantage in terms of time, compared to the several months that traditional production would require). We don’t know how much the ad cost, but Manolo Arroyo, the company’s marketing director, is limited to stating which was “cheaper and faster than traditional methods” But the important thing here, perhaps, is not how much we save in money, but… is that saving worth the reputational cost? What is the difference. The type of work, not the amount. Where a traditional studio would spend weeks on 3D modeling and animation, this project invested that time in a process of mass video generation, selection and refinement. Instead of building a 3D model of a herd of seals and animating them, the team generated thousands of different versions of seals until they found the ones that worked. And then, and here is the key, it is able to multiply the result. Zada says, “We could create a 90-second version in addition to the 60-second spot, and a custom version. We couldn’t do that without the efficiencies of AI.” That’s the secret: not to do the same thing cheaper, but to do more things with the same budget. Coca-Cola doesn’t save money, it redistributes it. Instead of one definitive version of the ad, they got multiple versions tailored to different markets. Instead of investing in filming equipment and physical locations, they invested in management capacity and immediate multiplication: the industrialization of factories that we experienced at the beginning of the last century is now the industrialization of content. The genie in the bottle. Generative artificial intelligence is already part of the daily life of audiovisual production. And the controversial Coca-Cola ad exemplifies what companies want to get out of this new situation: it is not just about greater speed, or saving money, something that we already see is not being achieved, but rather a commitment to the future, perhaps to a different economic model, perhaps to some spots that are still to come, indistinguishable from those made in a traditional way, and that do not unleash the pejorative comments that, for the moment, these ads made with AI are collecting. In Xataka | The “divorce” between Coca-Cola and Nestlé leaves a big question: who owns the “formula” of the soft drink

Freezing rice not only saves time and work: for many Tamnb nutritionists

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When one makes rice, there are only two options: either you fall short, or kitchens to feed half regiment. In that second case, the usual thing is to save it in a taper for the next day. What everyone knows is that this daily gesture – guard, cooling and reheating rice – can have effects on your health and even help you absorb less calories. But if it’s just reheating it … There is something else. And no, it is not a Tiktok kitchen trick or a fashion without a base: it is pure biochemistry. In a report by El Confidencial, Dr. María Muñoz – specialist in digestive system at the Virgen de la Arrixaca hospital in Murcia – made it clear that the rice of the next day has no magic, but enough science. “Did you know that cooked and then frozen rice can have fewer calories? It is not magic, it is science and has to do with how your body digests starch,” he explained. The secret is on the starch. The key to this transformation is a substance called Resistant starch. When cooking foods rich in starch – such as rice, pasta or potatoes – a process called gelatinization is produced: starch chains are messy and become more accessible to our digestive enzymes. But if that food cools (for example, in the fridge or freezer), those chains are reorganized in a more compact and less digestible way, through a process called retrogradation. The result ends that starch becomes resistant, that is, it is not absorbed as glucose. Instead, it reaches the colon and acts as a prebiotic fiber. Less calories, better digestion. This type of starch – the so -called type 3 – behaves like a fiber: feeds the good bacteria of the intestine and generates beneficial compounds such as short chain fatty acids, including butyrate, essential for intestinal health. According to has pointed out Dr. Muñoz in El Confidencial, that resistant starch “is not digested or absorbed as glucose, but passes to the colon as a fiber, having a prebiotic effect.” In other words, the body absorbs less calories and experiences a more moderate glycemic response. Something especially useful for people with insulin resistance, digestive problems or who seek to control their weight. Science behind. As We have explained in Xatakavarious studies partially support the benefits of resistant starch. From Cleveland Clinic They define it As “a functional fiber that can help improve intestinal microbiota, regulate blood sugar and contribute to the immune system.” Now, not all types of resistant starch act the same. According to a meta -analysis posted in Scientedirectthe most powerful effects are observed in the types present naturally in foods such as green bananas or legumes. Type 3, the reheated rice, also shows benefits, although to a lesser extent. In other words, you can add, but it will not work miracles on its own. But there is a silent bacterium. The rice has its weak point, and it is not the microwave. When it is already cooked, it is especially vulnerable to a little known but quite resistant bacterium: Bacillus cereus. This bacterium can survive the heat of cooking and, if the rice stays too long at room temperature, find the perfect environment to multiply. The problem comes that it is not enough to reheat it: their toxins can continue there, causing poisoning with symptoms such as diarrhea or digestive discomfort. A silent risk that many times goes unnoticed between tuppers and leftovers of the previous night. Dr. Muñoz He has warned In the confidential that a bad conservation can have consequences. And in Xataka He also alerted that the cooling and overheating cycles – precisely those needed to generate resistant starch – are an ideal environment for this bacterium if they are not handled well. The recommendations are clear: cooling the rice in less than an hour, save it in the fridge (or freezer) without exceeding 48 hours if it does not freeze, reheat only once and never leave it several hours at room temperature. One last concern. Rice not only worries how we cook it, but also how it is grown. In an article published in Xatakawe collected the results of a study that launches a disturbing warning: climate change could be increasing arsenic levels in rice. The reason is in the combination of two factors – more carbon dioxide and higher temperatures – that facilitate plants to absorb more arsenic of the soil. If the trend continues, the impact could be noticed around 2050, especially in regions where rice is basic food. Reheating is not magic, but it can help. Finally, reheating rice can help you absorb less calories, but you will not convert a paella dish into a miraculous diet. Science supports it, provided that good conservation practices are followed. What began as a fashion on social networks has ended up opening a broader conversation about microbiota, glucose and eating habits. In the end, it’s not about changing your life for a rice taper. But with a simple gesture you can improve your intestinal health and reduce the caloric load a bit. Image | Pexels Xataka | The strange worship of resistant starch: what is behind the fever to cool food so that fattening less

The beauty routine for radiant skin that saves me Christmas

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As it happened in the legendary movie The Holiday, the countdown to christmas has begun and with it come dinners, toasts, reunions and, of course, that need to show off radiant skin at every turn. selfie. Because let’s be honest: between the lights, the carols and the search for party looks, what we really want is to dazzle with that “good-looking effect” that makes everyone wonder what our secret is. And no, I’m not talking about magic or Instagram filters. I’m referring to that beauty ritual that, year after year, I meticulously follow to prepare my skin for the holidays. Although I love playing with makeup, the truth is that the skin is the canvas for everything and, as a base, any makeup It looks better with a pristine one. I have to admit that I have always been too lazy to use a very long beauty routine, but what I have never been able to do without is a good facial cleansing.. Because this gesture makes a difference and this is where it comes into play. my first pre-Christmas commandment of every year: a deep cleansing of the skin. And not just any one, for some years now I’ve been bettingr Oxylight, a treatment that they have resorted to celebrities from the likes of Hailey Bieber or Madonna. © Pexels A very complete facial treatment for extra luminosity This treatment basically consists of filling, smoothing and illuminating the skin in just one session (and boy does it deliver). To purify and deeply cleanse the skin, the first steps are an oxygen bath and diamond-tipped microdermabrasion. The latter ensures the complete elimination of dead cells and impurities. Afterwards, the skin is drained, with suction cups that exert a very gentle pumping (don’t worry, it’s not at all annoying), to promote blood circulation while eliminating toxins and strengthening the muscles of the face. The treatment is completed with ultrasound with a conductive gel with DMAE to firm and nourish the skin, and an LED light whose color depends on the specific needs of each skin. In my case, I opt for green because it injects that extra luminosity and that effect glowy What am I looking for on these dates?. And now you may be wondering: what do you do to maintain that effect at home? Well then, The other commandment that has been with me for several seasons (and that were real crushes at first sight) has been two anti-aging treatments: he Triple Serum Rénergie of Lancôme and the Blue Peptides SPF 30 by Biotherm. And now you will understand why. © Unsplash Two anti-aging facial treatments to maintain healthy and beautiful skin at home Yes, I recognize that I have promised you eternal love. They came into my hands on the recommendation of another beauty editor (and thank goodness). Without a doubt, they have been my skin’s lifesaver, year after year, to survive the holiday marathon. When he told me about Triple Serum Rénergie from Lancôme gave me a lot of confidence, since I had previously opted for other products from the firm (and in this case I was not going to make an exception). At first what surprised me was its formula, since it combines three active ingredients that, until now, I thought impossible to enjoy in a single bottle. These are hyaluronic acid, vitamin C+niacinamide and ferulic acid, the three heroes of this serum (and so trendy for its benefits on the skin). Since I have used it I notice my skin is softer, hydrated, smoother and more voluminous. In fact, I have noticed how the small fine lines (which worried me so much) have faded. In addition, the tone has been unified and the small spots I had have been reduced. But if there is something I have loved (and why I bet on it every Christmas) it is that radiant skin effect that it gives me (and that my friends ask me so much about). The makeup looks much prettier and, on occasions, I have even opted for just a tinted cream for a second-skin finish. The other feature that surprised me was, without a doubt, its ultra-light texture, quickly absorbed and very refreshing. © Pexels The other product that won me over was the cream Blue Peptides SPF 30 by Biothermwhich I had already been told about and which I couldn’t resist when I found out that it included a sun protection factor 30something essential for me (and my freckles). I liked your pink and ultrasensory texturebut also feel the immediate comfort on my skin. The result? Radiant, brighter, nourished and protected skin from solar radiation and other external damage. In short, a minimalist routine that has worked for me to show off beautiful skin during Christmas and that (one more year) I will trust again. Above all, I like that moment of (self)care. Taking time to beautify my face makes me feel good. Because, at the end of the day, this season not only translates into gifts and lights, it is also about pampering ourselves because that, without a doubt, is reflected on the skin.

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