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We all turn on our emergency lights when we get into a traffic jam. The DGT knows that we are doing it wrong

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It is more than likely that when you got your license They won’t mention it, but get into a traffic jam It is easy to turn on the emergency lights while braking. It is something almost instinctive, a warning for the one that goes 120 km/h behind you realize that you don’t brake for no reason. And if you don’t, you’ve probably seen it. However, the curious thing is that the General Driving Regulations do not contemplate this action. Because we do it to avoid accidents, but with the law in hand, the use of warnings It’s not what we have to do when we get into a traffic jam.. And yet, there are even new cars that activate them automatically if the system notices that we brake repeatedly. The most curious thing is that it is not bad nor is it a fault. Simply put, the law was written for cars from another era. Although current cars have been eliminating more and more buttons, relegating them to the screensthe emergency lights is one that has remained a physical and tactile piece. It is logical because it is a security element and it is one that we have well located in the control panel. When braking in traffic jams, it is almost a reflex for many drivers to use the emergency light button to warn those behind them of the situation. In fact, some new cars activate them automatically if the sensors (the accelerometer or the brake pressure sensor) detect a sudden deceleration or if the ABS comes into play. If the braking is progressive, they are not activated automatically. The use of emergency lights in a traffic jam: yes, but no (and vice versa) But… what does the law say? As our colleagues remember Motorpassionhe section C of article 109 The General Traffic Regulations of 2003 establish that the correct way to notify those behind us about this situation is: “The intention to immobilize the vehicle or to brake its progress considerably, even when such events are imposed by traffic circumstances, must be warned, whenever possible, by repeatedly using the brake lights or by moving the arm alternately up and down with short and quick movements.” The problem is that theory is one thing, but in practice, if we are slamming on the brakes It is difficult to walk by lifting your foot off the brake.. Much less by lowering the window and warning with signs. It is much easier to turn on the emergency lights, and the person in the back will also see them better than if we put our arm out the window. Why does the law say this? Because it is an article written in another era. It is an anachronism resulting from times in which the ABS It was not so present and in which, to avoid the wheels locking and the car skidding, we did have to lift our foot off the brake. In this way, we were automatically alerting the person behind us. Therefore, the law does not say that we put on the emergency lights in a traffic jam, but they are not going to fine us for it because the DGT understands the good intention when it comes to notifying other drivers about an anomaly in traffic. In fact, the fact that the law does not establish it, but the cars do, speaks about the discrepancy between the “strict law” and reality. The DGT itself advertises it: In fact, here comes the technicality of “whenever possible”a legal hole that protects us when turning on the emergency lights. Now, where it is mandatory to give these lights is when we cannot travel at the minimum speed on the road. That is, if we are in a traffic jam on a highway and we do not reach half the speed of the road, we will have to turn on our lights. Section 3 of article 49 says: “When a vehicle cannot reach the minimum required speed and there is a danger of overtaking, direction indicator lights with an emergency signal must be used while driving.” Will the regulations be modified at some point to reflect the current situation in which all cars launched these last 21 years Do they have ABS? It is not known, but since it is a universal code to alert of the situation, I imagine that it will not be one of the Administration’s priorities. Of course, you have probably found someone who has used them excessively, giving you a scare for no reason when you turn them on in a non-critical situation. And that, precisely, is what happened with some models from the 2000s that turned on the emergency lights automatically, even when braking to exit the highway. For example, early models of Citroen C4 either Peugeot 307 who were ahead of the rest with something that wasn’t going entirely well. Images | Kathy, Prithivi Rajan In Xataka | The V-16 beacons are here to stay (whether we like it or not): this is all there is to do in case of a breakdown

How to turn any photo of yourself into a Stranger Things character using Nano Banana

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Tomorrow the long-awaited premiere fifth season of one of the most popular series of recent years. To warm up our engines, we are going to explain to you how you can become a ‘Stranger Things’ character thanks to the AI ​​of Nano Banana totally free. Nano Banana is the image creation model integrated into Gemini, Google’s AI. Its peculiarity is that it allows you to make modifications to the photos while maintaining the content. We have already told you how turn a photo of yourself into an action figure or make your photos become a Nintendo-style video game setting. How to create ‘Stranger Things’ style photos The first step is to choose a photo from your gallery in which the person we want to turn into a character in the series appears. It is important that the face is seen well, so a medium shot or close-up is a good option. Once you have chosen the photo, Upload it to Gemini by clicking the + button (in the lower left corner). The next step is to copy and paste one of the prompts which we leave you below. They are already circulating on networks various prompts and since we couldn’t decide on just one, we have chosen the three that we liked the most. Option 1: talking on the phone while the demogorgon lurks Create a 2000s-style dream portrait of me inside a Stranger Things-inspired house, Will’s house, with an alphabet painted in crooked black paint on the wall, and above each letter a series of colored Christmas lights with each light bulb above each letter. The interior is that of a suburban house in a small town with soft, dim lighting and shadows. Soft, but with a subtle dreamlike cinematic glow. I’m leaning against the wall with a yellow telephone, which has a broken cord in my ear. Costume and appearance: the hairstyle is 80s style, I wear normal teenage clothes from 1987 inspired by the series Stranger Things: high-waisted jeans, t-shirt, jackets or sweaters with several layers in muted colors of the time, in the window you can see a tall and thin monster, whose head is made of red petals, there are 4 petals and in the center they look like teeth, as in the series, it lurks, partially hidden in the shadows, creating a disturbing and suspenseful atmosphere without the need to cover my face. face. Decor and props: The room has authentic 80s decor: patterned wallpaper, retro furniture, a blanket on the couch, an old CRT TV, stacks of 80s books or magazines, small nostalgic decorations on the shelves, faded 80s pop culture posters on the walls, the outside environment looks like red rays are falling, don’t change my face. Option 2: waiting for the demogorgon with an ax in his hand Create a high-quality, realistic photo using the reference face without changes or distortions. General style and atmosphere: A photograph in dark and intense tones, with a style similar to that of a frame from the series “Stranger Things”, with clear references to the atmosphere of the 80s and mysticism. Subject and main character: In the foreground appears a young person (similar to a character from “Stranger Things”) wearing a dark red plaid shirt with a white t-shirt underneath and black pants. His eighties-style hair is slightly disheveled. She is sitting on a sofa. He holds an ax in his hands and stares to the side. Setting and setting (interior): The scene takes place inside a room with walls covered with old wallpaper typical of the 80s. The space is very messy: there are many books, stacks of papers, cassettes and other objects scattered around the bed and a low table in front of it. To the left you can see shelves or shelves full of objects. Key Details (Alphabet and Lighting): On the wall just behind the character, the English alphabet is written in large letters that look hand-drawn. A string of Christmas lights with large bulbs hangs on the wall. Each letter corresponds to one or more bulbs in the garland. These holiday/Christmas lights also hang from the ceiling, illuminating the scene with a warm, flickering glow (red, blue, yellow), creating dramatic shadows and reflections. Quality and lighting: The image has been created in high resolution, emphasizing textures (fabric, wood, paper). The lighting is dim and contrasted (noir), with a strong lighting effect coming from the garlands (bloom effect). Style: Cinematic, dramatic, fashion photography or studio portrait style, set in an unusual location. High resolution, sharp details, hyperrealism, great level of detail, professional post-production. Option 3: walking at night in front of Hawkins High School Use my selfie to create an ultra realistic 9:16 dreamy 80s cinematic photo inspired by the 80s show and Stranger Things. The photo should be moody with vibrant lighting. It’s night and the sky has many dark spooky clouds that are throwing up red and blue. There are also red and blue rays. I’m standing in front of Hawkins High School and the school buildings. The school sign says Hawkins. I’m standing in the parking lot. I am walking and wearing a baseball t-shirt. The sleeves are black and the chest is white. The shirt says Hellfire Club. I have Levi jeans from the 80s. I have black Keds and white socks. I’m looking into the distance. My hair and clothing style is from the 80s. I’m holding a walkie talkie up to my mouth with one hand and holding a jean jacket in the other hand. The ground looks wet with some puddles and is casting shadows. There is a baseball bat with nails stuck into the bat. In the distant distance, behind the school buildings, I can see a dark demogorgon. Don’t change my facial features or hair color. As you can see, the prompts are extremely detailed, so the result you get should look quite similar to the images we attached. If you want to change something, such as the style of clothing … Read more

A new turn to end the war in Ukraine has left the final outcome in the hands of a decisive point: 900 km

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The latest diplomatic movement between the United States and Ukraine has crystallized into a peace draft reduced to 19 points which, according to both delegations, constitutes real progress with respect to the controversial document initial 28 points. That first draft, written largely with Russian participationcrossed multiple Ukrainian red lines and set off alarms throughout Europe. As things stand, the final decision is a little more 900 km. The new twist. In Geneva, after hours of tense negotiations that were on the verge of collapse, the team led by Andriy Yermak managed soften or reformulate most of the most problematic aspects. The new text, described as a “solid” body of convergence, integrates security guarantees, economic commitments and infrastructure protection in a framework that is no longer perceived like an ultimatumalthough it is far from resolving the most explosive core: the territorial question. That point (the possibility of giving up portions of the east) was explicitly “placed in brackets” for Presidents Trump and Zelensky to decide, a gesture that recognizes both the political gravity of the issue and the legal impossibility of resolving it without a national referendum in Ukraine. The revision of the draft also eliminates elements such as the limitation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to 600,000 troops or a total amnesty for war crimes, but deliberately preserves the biggest obstacle. Thus, although the White House describes the process as “optimistic,” the heart of the agreement is suspended in an uncomfortable balance: moving forward without defining the most decisive point. The air battle. In parallel to the negotiations, a strategic reflection runs through the debate: no agreement will survive if Ukraine lacks of air guarantees real. Moscow has shown that your fastest and most effective way to break a ceasefire is violate airspace with missiles, drones, bombers or fighters. Ukrainian cities have been subjected to long-range attacks and coercion from the sky for three years, and the country has only avoided total collapse thanks to a makeshift patchwork of Western anti-aircraft defenses. They remembered the analysts at Forbes that any sustainable peace requires three pillars: an integrated defense network that connects radars, Patriot batteries, NASAMS, IRIS-T and aviation in a common operational framework, a modernized, numerous Ukrainian air force capable of maintaining continuous patrols with F-16, Rafale or Gripen equipped with AESA radars, long-range missiles and advanced electronic warfare, and a visible presence of allies operating from or within Ukraine, similar to the Baltic Air Policingto deter violations and react unambiguously to any incursion. Clarity. Furthermore, it was pointed out that the rules of engagement should be explicit: immediate interception of unauthorized aircraft, shooting down any vector that poses a threat and automatic retaliation against launch points if Moscow fires missiles after an agreement. Without this aerial architecture, a peace signed on paper would become a fragile parenthesis, exposed to a Russia that historically explores every void and tests every border. The stability of the future agreement depends both on the diplomatic text and the firepower that supports its lines. The point that no one wants to write. What happened in Geneva shows that diplomacy is advancing, but also that it is doing so with a limp. counted the financial times that the meeting began almost broken: the Americans, upset by previous leaks, arrived tense, and the Ukrainians, distrustful of the pro-Russian bias of the original draft. It took a long conversation. almost therapeuticbetween Yermak and the American delegation to reduce tension. Afterwards, both sides revised the draft point by point, eliminated the troop cap, rewrote the amnesty and adjusted key definitions. The Europeans (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the EU) joined later to coordinate priorities and synchronize postures. Subsequent statements reflect a “constructive atmosphere,” with Washington under self-inflicted pressure to present the document to Russia as soon as possible. Be that as it may, no technical correction can resolve the essential absence: the impossibility of deciding in that room about the territory. According to the Ukrainian negotiators, they did not have a mandate to give up a single kilometer, and the Constitution requires consultation to the population. Kyslytsya himself admitted that what is pending requires “leadership decisions,” a diplomatic euphemism to admit that what is unacceptable for Ukraine has been postponed, not eliminated. The 900 km as a judge. The peace draft can have changedbut the reality on the front changes even faster. As diplomats wrote, erased and rewrote sentences in Geneva, Russia intensified its offensive in multiple sectors: advances north of Huliaipole, increasing pressure towards Siversk and a siege that could be sealed in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad. The front line, about 900 kilometershas become the silent arbiter of the negotiation: the more Ukraine retreats, the more strength Russia believes it has to demand concessions, and the more it resists, the more room Kyiv has to reject any territorial concession. The American and Russian proposal filtered It started from that premise: asking Ukraine to hand over areas that it still controls before it loses them. Zelensky, however, has reiterated that Ukraine will “defend its home” and that accepting territorial amputations would undermine not only its political legitimacy, but the very possibility of lasting peace. Time trial. The problem is that time on the front is against Kyiv. Russian advances, although extremely costly in men and material, are creating pockets of vulnerability and forcing to retreat reserves to cover cracks. And what is at stake in those 900 kilometers It’s not just terrain: is Ukraine’s ability to come to the table with a negotiating position that does not amount to staged surrender. Every kilometer lost on the map alters the draft in Geneva more than any paragraph. Between paper and the battlefield. What emerges from these three fronts (diplomacy, the sky and the line of contact) is a more or less clear picture: the peace agreement is closer in form, but not in depth. He 19 point text It represents an indisputable technical advance, but it depends on enormously costly presidential decisions. Air guarantees are the indispensable condition … Read more

turn them into the largest battery network on the planet

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In Spain, if you ride a self-consumption system with solar panels at home and you generate more energy than you need, there is a mechanism called simplified compensation through which you can return that energy to the grid and receive an economic bonus. Well, China wants to bring this concept to its electric cars. what’s happening. They count in Rest of World that the Chinese government is developing two-way charging stations for electric cars. The goal is for cars to charge during off-peak hours (when energy is cheaper) and be able to return energy to stabilize the grid during peak demand. According to government testsowners could earn 1,400 yuan for each download, about 170 euros. The plan. At the moment the system is being tested and 30 bidirectional charging stations have been installed in nine different cities. The plan is to have 5,000 by 2027 and by 2030 they expect the energy capacity to reach 1,000 million kilowatts. Why is it important. China is not only the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world, it is also the country with the largest fleet of electric cars in the world, with more than 40 million vehicles in circulation. If they manage to implement it on a massive scale, they would also have the largest network of electric batteries available that would help them diversify energy sources, reduce dependence on coal and stabilize supply. Others have tried. China is not the first country to have this idea. According to the V2G-hub listthere are around 150 similar projects around the world, many of them already abandoned, but others still underway. However, none have come close to nationwide adoption. In Spain there have been at least six initiatives, one of them still underway in Menorca. Challenges. Bidirectional charging faces many challenges and technical difficulties. To start the price. A bi-directional charger costs between $2,100 and $2,800, almost triple what a normal charger costs. It is the main reason why scaling such a system is complicated, but in China they have the advantage that the government is betting heavily on subsidizing energy. Another difficulty is that not all cars are compatible with this energy, so its mass adoption would be delayed at least until a greater number of vehicles support it. Finally, there is the issue of battery degradation, a major consumer concern that could slow adoption. Electrostate. Not long ago China was the biggest polluter of the planet and, although still depends a lot on coal to generate energy, it is giving a radical turn to become an “electrostate”. The bidirectional charging initiative is another example of China’s commitment to investing in renewables. There are more, like construction of the largest solar park on the planet in Tibet or the giant Three Gorges Dam, so big that even changed the rotation of the Earth. Image | Kindel Media, Pexels In Xataka | China has created the largest kite in the world with a very clear objective: to make its energy extremely cheaper.

Monistrol de Calders is a town of 700 residents. Now someone wants to turn it into the first Chinese cemetery in Spain

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Monistrol de Calders is a town in the Moyanés region, in the province of Barcelona. He last census The INE places just under 800 registered residents there, a small community without the slightest trace Chinese immigration. Despite that, the lack of ties with the Asian giant or the specter of depopulation, Monistrol is about to become a prominent place on the map of the European Chinese diaspora. And for a very special reason, too. A group of investors wants to build there, in an old farmhouse, the first cemetery feng shui of Spain and one of the few that exist in Europe. The ideal candidate. Monistrol de Calders may not be a very populous municipality, but it enjoys a privileged location in the heart of the Catalan countryside, between the Pla de Bages and the Sierra de San Lorenzo. Mountain. Streams. Sources. Pine forests. ç The town is not only idyllic. Some time ago a group of Chinese investors living in Catalonia saw in it Anything else: an ideal place to give shape to a project that they had been meditating on for some time, to build a feng shui cemetery, a space in which the growing chinese immigration could watch over their dead. In Moyanés as in Qingtian. They were not only convinced by the setting, the atmosphere and the location of Monistrol. The mayor of the town, Arturo Argelaguer, explains to The National that the promoters liked something else: “Orographically it is very similar to the part of the country where they originate, the region of Qingtian“. The area also has a special symbolic value, since it is the place of origin of much of it of the around 350,000 people of Chinese origin who reside in Spain. That in Monistrol as such there are no neighbors from the Asian giant matters little. After all, the town is half an hour by car from Manresa and less than an hour and a half from the center of Barcelona, ​​where there is a large immigrant community. The idea of ​​building a cemetery there in which to lay vigil for their dead pleased the investors so much that in june They even invited Quingtian to a delegation led by Argelaguer. The visit culminated with a Monistrol-Dongyuan twinning. And what do they want to do? The idea is to build a multi-denominational cemetery, “open to all”, although following the guidelines of feng shui so that the Chinese community can say goodbye and mourn their deceased while respecting their own traditions. There they can leave offerings, burn incense or hold long celebrations, practices that in other Spanish cemeteries can cause problems. “In Monistrol we have found a calm natural environment. There are no factories or pylons and positive energy can flow,” recognize to The Country Carlos, businessman and vice president of the Qingtian Association in Catalonia. The idea is to create a cemetery with capacity for around 80,000 graves of different types, which includes everything from niches to pantheons and columbariums. The cemetery will also have an extensive area of ​​trees. From farmhouse to necropolis. Proof that the cemetery promoters are serious is that they have already made a move. The National assures who have bought a farm of almost 59 hectares in Monistrol de Calders and presented a project on which the Generalitat must now rule. For now, the investors have managed to arouse enthusiasm in the City Council, which boasts of having achieved three commitments of the company: the construction of sports facilities in the town, prioritizing residents when hiring personnel for the works and contributing between 20,000 and 40,000 euros annually to local entities. If it goes ahead, the cemetery will also serve to rehabilitate a relevant piece of Monistrol’s heritage: the Païssa farmhouse, the land on which the promoters have set their eyes. The farm would be investor ownershipbut right now she is busy and with a judicial process underway. The ultimate objective is that of its more than 587,400 m2, more than half (56%) are dedicated to the cemetery. The rest will be used for general services and a large area of ​​around 223,900 m2 will be reserved for a forest area, with pine forests. A unique project? Although the project still has to clear the processing that remains ahead, it starts with an interesting business card: it would be the first cemetery designed based on the principles of feng shui in Spain and one of the few that exist in the whole of Europe. The Country only appointment in fact one, in Zwolle, Netherlands, which opened its doors just over 10 years ago. In Spain, the new cemetery will arrive at the height of the expansion of Chinese immigration, which has been increasing for decades to surpass the 200,000 people in 2022. Not only is their number increasing. Over time, the community has been nourished by third, fourth or fifth generation Spaniards with Chinese roots, people who do not consider returning to Asia and want to be buried and mourn their dead in Spain. Until now, the perspectives were different: either the mortal remains were repatriated to China, with the cost (and distance) that this entailed, or the families were resigned to saying goodbye to their loved ones in traditional Western cemeteries. Images | Jayde Keroi (Unsplash), Maximus Beaumont (Unsplash) and Google Earth In Xataka | Chinese immigrants have always been a mystery for Spain. The podcast ‘A Chinese and a half’ is solving it from within

Fed up with excessive luxury, social media users turn to normality: creators with everyday lives

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A recent television controversy with the content creator @supaa97 has put on the table a series of issues that are perhaps at the opposite end of the topics we always talk about in reference to the influencers (fortunesluxuries, excesses): can content be created from absolute normality? Is that close to normalizing precariousness? And if it does, is it a problem? The Suyapa case. The controversy started, just as Suyapa says (which is his real name), when he agreed to do an interview for ‘Public Mirror’ to comment a video of your profile in which she told how she lived in a single room with her husband and son, and was classified as a “Poverty Influencer”, along with users who make videos with unboxings of government aid. Suyapa has stated that she is far from that type of content, and although it is true that she lives in very modest conditions in a single room, she earns her living by working as a cleaner and without resorting to aid, so she could not be included in a category of poverty. The appeal of normality. Suyapa makes a type of content closer to normcore (which is still a label created from top to bottom): these types of profiles share ordinary activities (from choosing simple and functional clothing to routines such as making a coffee, taking care of a pet or sharing morning tasks) moving away from the cult of luxury or drama that predominates in other digital spheres. They embrace simplicity and naturalness in both fashion and lifestyle: basic garments, discreet brands, homey environments and a staging that is not aspirational but friendly and accessible. He normcore as a label. This type of content is sometimes, as we say, a reaction to more luxurious and frivolous creators. If it arises spontaneously, because the creator does not ascend the social scale even if he wants to (as happens with Suyapa), or as a voluntary limitation, it is another question where you can talk about posture. That is to say, sometimes normcore is a false normality that arises as a reaction to luxury saturation. A more relaxed visual narrative is artificially sought, where the emotional connection is based on trust, identification and everyday honesty, but sometimes it is also a pose that seeks, paradoxically, to convey an image of coherence and credibility. What did they think it was? What ‘Espejo Público’ alluded to and where it mistakenly included @suyapaa97 was in a different type of phenomenon that we know as “pornomiseria” or “poverty porn”, which has two aspects: on the one hand, influencers on social networks that viralize acts of charity towards people in poverty to monetize these contents through likes, views and donations. One of the best known cases is that of Jimmy Dartswho with more than 12 million followers on TikTok, makes videos with homeless people, testing their honesty or proposing challenges. It is a controversial format that has a large number of ethical implications, even though influencers reward the people they portray with a large amount of money, as detailed this article. Something similar happens with amateur journalists who, under the pretext of portraying poverty and misery, create sensationalist content, a format whose origins date back to the seventies and that again has very complex moral connotations. Yonfluencers: from normality to luxury, and back again. Recentlythe rejection of social media consumers to the exaggerated and elitist display of luxury into which many have fallen influencers has made me think in how the perception we have of this type of content creators has changed. Many of them began as a daily reflection of our lives and as they earned money and followers, they distanced themselves from reality, generating a certain aversion from those who followed them for being a close and identifiable replica. That’s why content creators like Suyapa work, who have to overcome obstacles that are easy to identify with: tightening their belts to make ends meet, juggling time off from work or looking for affordable forms of leisure are some of the problems that the vast majority of people face. In Xataka | The influencer María Pombo defends her right not to read. And by the way, it raises an interesting controversy about habits

How to turn your photos into video game scenarios like Nintendo with Nano Banana

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Let’s tell you how to turn a landscape photo into a video game screen. For example, you can turn a photo into a Super Mario or cell screen, all with a few prompts quite simple that you can use in Gemini, the artificial intelligence from Google. And why in Gemini and not in another AI like ChatGPT? Well, because Google has Free Nano Banana, a photo editing model. This model allows you to make modifications to photos while maintaining the content, and although we have already told you how to use it for photos of yourself, there are also curious things you can do with landscapes. Turn a photo into a video game landscape The first thing you have to do is choose a photo of a landscape or a building to transform. I think the result will always be better if it is a wide photo where not only the building appears, but also the surroundings, so that the video game screen you are going to create has more content. Now, you have to attach the photo to Gemini and add a prompt with the request of what you want to do with it. For example, you can use a prompt like this, but specifying the game you want: “Transform this image into a scene from the Nintendo video game Zelda” Can continue transforming the original photo without having to upload it again. To do this, you will have to continue repeating almost the entire prompt, but mentioning that you are referring to the original photo. For example, you can say, “Now transform the original photo into a scene from the video game Skyrim.” And with this, you can play with your photos and transform them into settings for the video game that you like the most. Don’t be afraid to experiment, and remember that you can ask me to add specific details like a dragon, a dinosaur, or whatever you can think of. In Xataka Basics | Gemini Image Editor: 16 Ways and Tricks to Squeeze Nano-banana with Google’s AI

If it consumes more, turn on the oven or air fryer

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Every time the electricity bill arrives, we look at it with more attention than before. It is no longer enough to turn off the lights or unplug the cell phone charger: now cooking has also become an energy decision. Between hobs, ovens and air fryers, the kitchen has become the new battleground for savings. In recent years, the air fryer has come to staypromising lighter and faster meals. But the question remains in the air: does it consume more or less than the traditional oven? The modern dilemma. They may both cook with hot air, but their way of doing it makes the difference. The air fryer, Endesa explainsit works more like a miniature oven than a classic fryer. Its trick is to circulate hot air at high speed within a small compartment, achieving fast and uniform cooking. The traditional oven, for its part, heats a much larger space and needs to maintain the temperature for longer.And that’s the crux of the matter: the larger the volume, the more energy is expended. According to Naturgy, Although the oven is not the device that consumes the most electricity per year – barely 4% of the total – its specific power is one of the highest, and this can be noticed when the light goes up. Data and euros on the table. The power figures help to understand it better. An average air fryer has a power of between 1,000 and 1,800 watts, which is equivalent to a consumption of 0.8 to 1.5 kilowatt hours (kWh) per time of use, depending on the model and time. Meanwhile, a conventional oven has a higher power of between 2,000 and 5,000 watts, and with an average consumption of 1 to 1.5 kWh per use, although it may be higher for long cooking times or high temperatures. To understand it better, it is worth looking at how much it costs for our pocket. According to TotalEnergiesusing an air fryer for half an hour costs between 11 and 23 cents, depending on the model and the electricity rate. On the other hand, an electric oven can double that amount, especially if used at high temperatures or for more than an hour. Cooking a kilo and a half chicken at 220°C for just over an hour, for example, can cost around 30 or 40 cents. depending on the time zone. And although it may seem like little, consumption multiplies when it is used frequently or long preheats are performed. In addition, the oven requires preheating – between 10 and 15 minutes – and loses up to 25% of heat each time the door is opened, according to the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU). Small gestures that increase consumption without us realizing it. The CNMC remember that the real cost It depends on the price of the kilowatt hour (kWh) at any given time. In 2025, the average domestic price in Spain is around €0.14/kWh, although it varies significantly between peak and off-peak hours. Therefore, rather than focusing only on the appliance, it is advisable to cook in the cheapest sections or take advantage of the residual heat, small gestures that can reduce final expenditure by up to 20%. Does size matter? That’s it the secret of the air fryer: a compact compartment that concentrates heat and reduces cooking time. The hermetic design and constant circulation of hot air allow it to reach temperatures of up to 200 °C in just a few minutes, which shortens times and prevents heat leaks. Therefore, for small portions or individual dishes, the air fryer wins by a landslide in efficiency. Of course, the most modern ovens have also learned to save. Those with energy class A or B and convection models with internal fan can consume up to 60% less than the old ones, and if their full capacity is used – cooking several dishes at the same time or using duo trays – the cost per serving can be very competitive. Beyond appliances. Efficiency not only depends on the appliance, but small gestures – such as not opening the oven while cooking, taking advantage of residual heat or planning several recipes at the same time – can reduce energy consumption. up to 30% annually. Unplugging small appliances when not in use avoids “phantom consumption”, and choosing appliances with an A or B energy label is an investment that pays for itself in a few months. In the words of the CNMCadapting use to the most economical schedules can mean savings of between 9% and 15% on the annual bill. The future is served. The air fryer has democratized energy efficiency in the kitchen. It is compact, clean, fast and economical. But the oven, far from disappearing, retains its throne as a versatile and robust tool for lovers of traditional cuisine. Ultimately, the savings do not depend so much on the device as on the use we make of it. Image | FreePik and Pixabay Xataka | Dreame no longer wants to be just the vacuum cleaner brand. Your order to conquer the home: washing machines, refrigerators and even ovens

They have found a way to turn tall buildings into batteries. And that makes Benidorm our best asset

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The sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow, what do we do if there is no renewable energy when we need to turn on the lights? Normally, pulling lithium batteries either pumped hydroelectric plants. But cities that build vertically like Benidorm have another untapped option. In short. A comprehensive University of Waterloo study has shown that the height of buildings can be used to create a system of gravity energy storage. An idea that transforms cities built in height into a huge device to store and release energy at will. Mechanical batteries. The concept is, in essence, very simple. It is made up of a heavy mass (concrete or steel blocks), a system of pulleys and cables similar to that of an elevator, and a motor that also works as a generator. The operation is as follows. When there is a surplus of energy, for example at midday, when the building’s solar panels are at full capacity, the motor uses that electricity to lift heavy dough along a vertical gaplike that of an elevator. Electrical energy is converted into potential energy. When electricity is needed and renewables are not producing, at night or on a day without wind, the mass is dropped in a controlled manner. The force of gravity does the rest: the descending weight moves the generator, which converts the potential energy back into electricity ready to use. Tested successfully. The researchers propose this system as the heart of a hybrid energy ecosystem integrated into the building itself, which includes photovoltaic panels on facades, small wind turbines on the roof and backup lithium-ion batteries. As pointed out PV Magazinecompanies such as the Scottish Gravitricity have already demonstrated the viability of this technology with functional prototypes and have full-scale commercial projects of 4 and 8 MW underway. Energy is generated with the sun and the wind. Gravity acts as the main battery for daily storage, managing large charge and discharge cycles. Is it viable? To test whether their idea was more than just an interesting theory, the University of Waterloo team ran a massive simulation. They analyzed 625 different building designs, varying parameters such as height, the shape of the floor plan (more square or more elongated) and the energy efficiency of the building. The results are very promising. The system (facade solar panels + small wind power + gravity storage + a battery support) achieved a levelized cost of electricity of between 0.051 and 0.111 dollars per kWh. This figure is very competitive, and even improves the costs of other renewable energy systems integrated into buildings located in areas with moderate solar or wind resources. And taller buildings with larger floor plans benefit the most, so Benidorm It is our best asset. Image | Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 3.0) In Xataka | Finland has found a cheap way to store energy all winter: a tower of 2,000 tons of sand

insurers have started to turn their backs on them

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Since the end of 2022 we have witnessed, live, the artificial intelligence revolution. The launch of ChatGPT opened a stage of investment and expectations that has elevated actors like NVIDIA and has placed OpenAI among the most influential startups. But every revolution has a reverse. As AI advances, so does the list of demands and the question that no one can avoid: who bears the risk when something goes wrong. In the United States, every technological advance comes accompanied by an avalanche of lawsuits. It’s not just a habit: it’s part of the system. If a company does something that generates profits but can also cause harm, sooner or later someone will take it to court. And that’s why insurance exists, to convert a future risk into a present cost. The model has worked for decades, but artificial intelligence is starting to test it like no other sector before. Cases that are pressing now. OpenAI and Anthropic have been the first to see how far the risk bill can go. The first faces lawsuits for the use of protected works to train models and for a civil liability case after the suicide of a teenager. In both cases, the costs are not only in the millions: they set the tone for a litigation that threatens to spread throughout the sector. What policies cover today. For now, the AI ​​majors are operating with conventional policies, similar to those of any technology company. According to the Financial TimesOpenAI has hired Aon to design coverage that would be around $300 million, although not everyone involved confirms that figure. It is a significant amount, but insignificant compared to possible claims of billions. In practice, insurers recognize that the sector does not yet have “sufficient capacity” to protect providers of large-scale models. Why do they back down? The aforementioned newspaper points out that Aon did not want to comment on specific companies, although its head of cybersecurity, Kevin Kalinich, admitted that they do not have sufficient capacity to cover model providers. He further explained that what insurers fear is that a failure by an AI company will become a “systemic, correlated and aggregate risk.” Plan B: Self-insure. With insurers folding, AI companies are seeking refuge in themselves. OpenAI is apparently considering setting aside funds from investors or even creating a captive —a kind of own insurer that serves to cover internal risks when the market does not want to do so. Anthropic has already done it: it allocated part of its capital to a $1.5 billion deal with writers. They are solutions that buy time, but do not guarantee stability if the next court ruling triggers compensation. What changes for the rest of the sector. The impact goes beyond OpenAI or Anthropic. Startups and smaller providers are already noticing how premiums are rising, coverage is reduced, and launch times are lengthening due to legal requirements. Legal uncertainty has become another fixed cost. In the absence of a clear formula to measure AI risks, insurers treat them as potentially catastrophic. And that makes each experiment, each new model and each line of code more expensive. What to watch from now on. The coming months will be decisive to see if the insurance sector manages to adapt. Financial Times points to new formulas that cover chatbot errors and AI-generated content, although for now they are limited trials. Companies, meanwhile, are preparing their next defense: diversifying funds and protecting internal structures. The artificial intelligence industry has not stopped nor does it seem like it will. But its expansion is beginning to touch the limits of a system that does not yet know how to measure these risks. Insurers tread carefully, regulators watch from the sidelines, and companies are forced to improvise in certain cases. Images | vecstock (Freepik) | Xataka with Gemini 2.5 In Xataka | “These are things that a university student would get in trouble for”: Deloitte delivered a report made with AI to Australia

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