*banned 4 MarkDown love* @design_RG@qoto.org

@freemo
Some additional info from a thread discussing this feature. Screencap below.

@Coomer @tuxcrafting @mngrif

from : https://www.librepunk.club/@wgahnagl/103762948806251484

@freemo It's one of the indirect indicators of how seriously the Chinese economy has been affected (February seems to have dropped to near zero).

Some are looking at electricity generation statistics too, which seems to be about half the normal numbers since industrial demand has dropped drastically.

@snow So what are your predictions, Snow?

I was reading some of Ambrose Evans-Pritchard's columns in the Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/ambrose-evans-pritchard/ , paywalled unfortunately) and he is pretty rattled.

@snow I have been reading my favourite online news sources, which I had neglected for a lgood time when I was so busy with mastodon posting. The Guardian, The Atlantic, NY Times and Washington Post sometimes. The Canadian Globe and Mail as well.

The articles I have posted here are a very small sample of the reading. These days I have been following the quickly developing coronavirus spread and the analysis of how it could impact economies everywhere.

@snow Yeah, I am on a different phase now; mostly reading and not saying much, other than the ocassional article I think important to share here.

"An Oregon Mill Town Learns to Love Facebook and Apple"

"PRINEVILLE, ORE. — A decade ago, when five shuttered sawmills and 20 percent unemployment defined Crook County, Ore., nobody envisioned that the path to recovery would be tied to Facebook and Apple.

But on the rimrock summit overlooking this city, the county seat and home to 10,000 residents, Facebook is sinking the footings for the first of two 450,000-square-foot data centers that together will cost $1 billion when completed in 2021. "

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/06/business/apple-facebook-data-center.html

Long read investigative article, excellent, published at Wired UK.

The scum operating companies renting out whole buildings as "shared accommodation" is atrocious to people living in many world cities with tourist demand.

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/airbnb-scam-london

It is so rare to have someone writing up the truth -- housing prices raising are not good for anyone (other than speculators and commission earning realtors).

British situation is one of the worst in this aspect, but in many countries property markets are inflated dangerously. Governments are to blame for keeping interest rates artificially low for too long (it's been 10 years now from our Quasi-Depression of 2008. Credit is too easy, assets are inflated in various markets (real estate, shares, bonds, etc).

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/21/housing-property-market-young-rising-prices

"If this election turns out to be just between a self-proclaimed socialist and an undiagnosed sociopath, we will be in a terrible, terrible place as a country. How do we prevent that?

That’s all I am thinking about right now. My short answer is that the Democrats have to do something extraordinary — forge a national unity ticket the likes of which they have never forged before. And that’s true even if Democrats nominate someone other than Bernie Sanders."

EXCELLENT article on NY Times by Thomas Friedman. I would love to see what he is suggesting.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/opinion/democratic-primary-candidates.html

@snow The 5 GHz band is really good for people in apartment buildings - where the amount of competing networks in the crowded 2.4 GHz band is a nightmare.

As long as your devices support the dual band, the 5 GHz can help. Less distance covered, weaker signal, but less collisions and interferance.

@snow
Not on that region, I think. I imagine you might find some criminal gangs in Sicily and Calabria, possibly, or near Naples.

The reporter does a good job of mentioning it ain't the best place to be living at during the Winter (dark, windy, humid and probably rainy).

I have read other articles talking about similar promotions in Spain (land being sold at 1 Euro per square meter for home construction). There's a lot of small villages that lost their younger people, moved to larger cities for employment, and there's many times properties that end up abandoned and in disrepair when the older owners pass away.

@freemo

@freemo It's an interesting story, and a great way to attract attention, with that price (same as a coffee at the local eateries).

The bad part is that there's work needed to make the places liveable, and the costs can be high - the reported made some comments mentioning seeing an already refurbished property selling, ready to move in, for 30,000 Euros and considering that a better bet. I fully agree, it can be occupied and you know the cost upfront.

This is probably the BEST written and explained article about real world WiFi usage, how it works, frequencies, attenuation by obstacles, etc I have ever seen.

#QOTOJournal

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/02/the-ars-technica-semi-scientific-guide-to-wi-fi-access-point-placement/

Small towns in Italy selling old homes for 1 Euro each - the ones in the photos here were the first ones sold in one of them - Cantiano.

Read the details (you will need to pay for a renovation, it has to be done within a certain time) here : https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-for-one-euro-in-cantiano-italy-you-can-buy-a-coffee-or-you-can-buy

The Washington Post has a tremendous article detailing a long standing Intelligence operation by the NSA.

Recommended reading, it's incredible for anyone interested in intelligence work, encryption, geopolitics. Article came up a couple of days ago.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/national-security/cia-crypto-encryption-machines-espionage/?itid=pm_pop

@Sphinx @realcaseyrollins@mstdn.social

Hi guys! 😃 Thanks for the concern, and yes, I have been away quite a bit, which is very unusual.

But it's just the way I have been feeling, Winter Blues, been quietly reading a lot and not saying much, posting in any forums or mastodon, or even writing blog pages.

Sorry, hopefully it will pass, this quieter phase. 😛

@lupyuen That article is excellent, I can completely relate to it. Thank you for posting the link!

From the Toot linked at the end of previous post...

An interesting article on The Guardian. People started discussing their favourite Fonts and point sizes, and Times New Roman (a Serif font very commonly used as Default in many office applications) was very popular - in 12 points.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/29/when-fonts-fight-times-new-roman-conquers#comment-137768367

What is your favourite Font and size for writing work?

My own? Georgia, at 12 points for writing, in text editor or wordprocessor. Georgia is a Serif font which was specifically designed for use in Screens, and I used it as the Default Serif font in my browsers (in 16 points size).

Similarly, Verdana was also created and optimized for on screen usage, in this case it's a Sans Serif, replaces the very common Arial with easier in the eyes similar style.

See more detailas about Georgia, Verdana, references and further reading -- in my post here: https://qoto.org/@design_RG/103222890777553467

@snow Thank you for the detailed guide with full custom css settings. Well done, Snow! 😃 👍