#argiculture

[werebutch]

Something I never thought I’d really be interested in is soil biology. Now it’s so cool to me..

[queeranarchism]

Hej, I just came across your post about carbon emissions and energy and may be I am wrong but it seems to me to be the entirely wrong approach to reduce consumption on the indivdual level. Because for instance I can't reduce my energy any further in a meaningful way with out compromising my wellbeing. Maybe if I shut down using my computer - which I can't for occupational reasons, plus it would isolate me for good. Well we can go of course the full way and declare electricity a mistake. Would inconvience a whole lot of people, kill plenty of them too and so on. But hey! there's been some emission avoided! Well that is just my opinion and may be I am just too negative

It is aboslutely 100% true that we can not meaningfully reduce CO2 emissions by reducing consumption on an individual level.

Of course we can do some things, like 'eat plant-based and local when possible' and 'don't fly' and 'repair instead of replace' but the impact of these things is minor compared to the total CO2 output and it isn't realistic for most of us.

Simply put: I can not get rid of my car if there is no bus service. I can not repair my phone if companies are allowed to deliberately make phones that can not be repaired. I can not eat local if everything is monoculture mass-argiculture for walmart. I can stop flying, but it is no good if all the private jets stay airborne. I can take shorter showers, but it's no use if the massive digital billboard next to my house is using more energy per month that i use per year.

The real massive reduction that we need requires a full societal transformation. Which means ending capitalism and going from a profit driven economy to one that is based on meeting collective needs while reducing CO2 wherever possible. Which means that when it comes to electricity and battery use, we prioritize human needs like medical care and accessibility devices, NOT the latest gaming platform or super car.

This will be a society without private jets, without fossil fuel mining, without advertising, without unnecessary plastic trinkets, without fast fashion, without mega-farms, without cryptocurrency, without bullshit jobs, without the military-industrial complex, without a constant stream of more wireless and battery operated gadgets. But it will be a society with broadly available and affordable public transport, with locally organized and sustainable food production, with medical care for all, with worker control over the workplace, with free repair-workshops everywhere, and more.

I can't imagine every aspect of that world because I am only one person with limited knowledge of all aspects of producing the things we need, but I know it starts with moving from a society organized around profit to a society organized around meeting human needs, including our very immediate need to stop climate change to prevent even more suffering than has already been caused by climate change so far.

[ninelanguages]

Kanji for 'question', 'ask', 'problem'

問 - mon/ to​u/ toi/ ton

問題集 - mondaishuu - a collection of problems / a workbook - もんだいしゅう

学問 - gakumon - learning/ studies/ an academic discipline - がくもん

問う - tou - to ask/ to question - とう

問題 - mondai - a problem / a question / a matter - もんだい

疑問 - gimon - (a) doubt/ a problem/ (a) question - ぎもん

問い合わせ - toiawase - an inquiry - といあわせ

________________________

Kanji for 'sound', 'noise', 'speech sound', 'voice'

音 = in / on/ otonu

母音 - boin - a vowel - ぼいん

録音する - rokuonsuru - to record (sound) / to tape (audio) - ろくおんする

音 - oto - a sound / a noise/ a din/ a commotion - おと

音楽 - ongaku - music - おんがく

子音 - shiin - a consonant - しいん

本音 - honnu - one's real intention/ one's real motive - ほんぬ

______________

Kanji for 'before', 'front', 'former'

前 = zen / mae

名前 - namae - a name / one's name - なまえ

手前 - temae - this side - てまえ

前もって - maemotte - beforehand / in advance - まえもって

直前に - cyokuzenni - immediately (right, directly) before/ just before - ちょくぜんに

三日前 - mikkamae - Three days ago - みっかまえ

前回 - zenkai - last time - ぜんかい

________________________

Kanji for 'sea', 'ocean'

海 = umi / kai

海 - umi - the sea / an ocean - うみ

海岸 - kaigan - the seashore / the beach / the seaside - かいがん

日本海 - nihonkai - The Sea of Japan - にほんかい

海外 - kaigai - overseas (foreign) countries - かいがい

海草 - kaisou - seaweed / marine plants - かいそう

海へ行く - umiheiku - to go to the seaside - うみへいく

______________________

Kanji for 'villge', 'rural district'

村 = shin / mura

市町村 - shicyouson - cities / towns and villages - しちょうそん

村 - mura - a village / a hamlet - むら

漁村 - gyoson - a fishing village - ぎょそん

農村 - nouson - a farm(ing) village / an argicultural district - のうそん

村長 - sonchyou - a village chief - そんちょう

村民 - sonmin - a villager - そんみん

_______________________

Kanji for 'voice', 'sound'

声 = sei / shyou / koe / kowa

声 - koe - a voice/ a tone (of voice) / a cry/ a call/ a sound - こえ

笑い声 - waraigoe - laughter / a laughing voice - わらいごえ

名声 - meisei - fame / (a) reputation - めいせい

大声を出す - oogoe (w)o dasu - to raise one's voice / to shout - おおごえ を だす

小声 - kogoe - a low voice / a whisper - こごえ

声をかける - koe (w)o kakeru - to call out (to) /to hail /to say something - こえ を かける

_________________________

Kanji for 'like', 'be fond of', 'favourable', 'good', 'fine'

好 = kou / konomu / suku

大好き(だ)- daisuki(da) - to be very fond of / to have a great liking for - だいすきだ

好み - konomi - (a) liking / (a) taste / (a) preferance - このみ

格好 - kakkou - (a) shape / (a) form / a figure / appearance(s) - かっこう

格好(の)いい- kakkou (no) ii - attractive / nice-looking / nicely-shaped - かっこう(の)いい

好む - konomu - to like / to be fond (of) / to have a liking - このむ

好き - suki - (a) liking / (a) fondness / (a) love - すき

_________________

Kanji for "thing", "goods", "object"

物 = butsu / motsu / mono

果物 - kudamono - (a) fruit -くだもの

動物園 - doubutsuen - a zoo / zoological gardens - どうぶつえん

荷物 - nimotsu - a burden/ a load / baggage/ freight / goods - にもつ

入れ物 - iremono - a container/ a case - いれもの

忘れ物 - wasuremono - a thing left behind / a lost article - わすれもの

見物 - kenbutsu - sightseeing / a visit- けんぶつ

[asongofstarkandtargaryen]

DAY 10: ECHOES OF THE PAST 🗝️📜 Resurrected Gods & Jon Snow

In various religious we encounter the motif of a dying-and-rising deity. Those deities are linked to fertility as the dying god’s resurrection is mirroring the natural cycle of earthly life’s birth, death and regenaration. One deity among the resurrected ones is the Corn King.

"Corn," the bird said, and, "King," and, "Snow, Jon Snow, Jon Snow." That was queer. The bird had never said his full name before, as best Jon could recall.

ADWD, JON XIII

The Corn King, or as he alternatively known John Barleycorn, is a god who sacrifices himself every winter for the sake of the land and its people, in order to let them have a good harvest. This great King is sacrificed and then reborn  alongside the argicultural cycle.

It’s difficult not to draw an allusion to Jon Snow who leads the Night’s Watch and is sacrificed by his fellow brothers for the sake of their order as they inform him:

Then Bowen Marsh stood there before him, tears running down his cheeks. "For the Watch." He punched Jon in the belly. When he pulled his hand away, the dagger stayed where he had buried it.

ADWD, JON XIII

Jon Snow, following the Corn King’s footsteps is probably going to be resurrected on the next book because his story is far from over. And it is speculated that this time he could return as a King (he’s the secret son of a prince and also named heir of his brother Robb)

One skinchanger can always sense another. Mance should have let me take the direwolf. There would be a second life worthy of a king.

ADWD, PROLOGUE

[writernopal]

Happy STS!

What are the dietary staples of one culture/region in your word and how do they affect the geography, politics, culture, religion and/or economy?

Happy STS! it can be saturday in my heart just for you haha

I'll talk about Mariel's home island of Naren for this one! So Naren is a mountainous, tropical island that is well known for its fertile soil, amongst many other things. This means that argiculture is a very successful practice here! However the plots of land are small and staggered because of the mountains and hills so native flora have the upper hand. These are things like tropical fruits and starches like yuca and taro. The Narenese tend to keep small livestock that are easy to feed off these things, animals like pigs, chickens, sheep, their specially bred Ayla horse, and of course, rams. Context, the island is known as Rameses Emerald, Rameses is the God of Wind and Strength, symbolized by a ram so the animal itself is sacred to them and each family must have one at all times.

All of this means that the people of Naren don't really want for anything. Their population is pretty small, their island isn't densely populated by any means, but this translates into an overabundance of food and given that they also follow Shanta pretty devoutly (Goddess of Love and Life) they believe it's their duty to share their natural bounty with others.

Enter the island of Jala. They are basically the opposite of Naren. Their soil is pretty acidic so its not good for growing food, but the island is inhabited by many large bovine species that thrive on the grasses that can grow there. Their main exports are meat, leather goods, tallow, candles, etc. Between the two islands, they have symbiotic trade and barter system to sustain off each other's unique benefits. This means that people of these groups usually marry one another and will settle on one of the two islands to live their lives. Mariel's parents are this way! Her father, Nigel, is from Naren and her mother, Marion, is from Jala. It's through their mother where she and her siblings get their freckles from. It's said the people of Jala are speckled like robin's eggs so they can blend in with the splotchy earth and their spotted livestock.

[cleanlenins]

I'm going on a research deep-dive to figure out if something I learned in Middle School is true.

Here is what my middle school history teacher taught me. He said something like:

"During the American Civil War, each side had advantages. One advantage the Union had, but didn't utilize at first, was numbers. There was a large wave of immigrants from Europe coming to America, and they went to where there were jobs. Which meant they went to cities. Which means they went to the Industrialized Union and didn't bother with the argicultural, economically unbalanced south.

"However, it wasn't until Grant took control of the Union army that they really played this to their advantage. Recruiters started targetting immigrants, specifically poor immigrants from non-english speaking countries, as soon as they stepped off the boats. They even more specifically targeted demographics that weren't viewed as 'white' at the time, like Irish Immigrants and Eastern and Southern Europeans.

"Grant used this to his advantage in his tactics by employing strategies that overwhelmed the Confederacy by sheer number, sacrificing many immigrant lives as cannon fodder with very little care. Union tactics saw a rise in mortality rates under Grant's control, but it was effective in beating back the Confederacy, which could not keep up with the numbers."

Here is what my deep dive is looking into: Is there any evidence that the Union specifically targeted immigrants to be used as cannon fodder? Was Grant significantly more flippant with the lives of soldiers than his predecessors? Was there actually an increase in mortality after Grant took control of the Union army?

The first thing I am looking into is if they specifically targeted immigrants. I've already found information that starts to contradict that a little bit, because it was REALLY common for Immigrants to volunteer for war in the early days of the USA. Not just the Civil War, but any other skirmishes the USA was involved in before that. From the letters I have read so far, a lot of them viewed it as a self-preservation thing. They came to the USA for a better life, so they needed the USA to continue to exist. So, immigrant sign ups for different wars were always very high.

So, now I just need to see if there is a significantly high proportion of Immigrants in the Union, or if there is actual documentation of the Union pushing for recruiters to target immigrants.

[specialshinytrinkets]

(Masterpost)

Week 2: As Above, So Below

This title may be pretentios, yes, but it reflects well the main difference this AU has from canon "TAWOG" — floating islands.

In this universe, there exist three levels: Above, Below and Horizon. Each three are going to be covered, so strap in for the ride!

(Disclaimer: None of the material here is intended to reflect the real world. It is not metaphorical and should be taken at face value as a part of the worldbuilding. The Alternative Universe "Rolling Dice" is an amateur's work of fiction based on a semi-satirical animated kids' show, and any parallels with real world, including events and people, are coincidental.)

Above:

Ever since the Ancient Days, there have been witnesses of gigantic chunks of the ground rising up in the air, some taking buildings, people, animals and plants along their way. It became a material for mythology, claiming such events are the result of Gods' ways, of them building their homestead. The deaths of those attempting to climb onto the floating islands.

Nowadays, it is recognised that these rocks have different wind currants, temperature, etc., and the unprepared mountain climbers did not have the technology to stay up there for too long. However, due to these conditions, previously unknown chemical elements had developed. And so, a scientific interest has emerged. To accomodate long-time workers, multiple living areas with sustainable resource chain from the ground were built. Not long after, common folk found their way there too.

Currently, Above, as called by the public, is a place of residence for many people of working class and higher. If they manage to keep up with the industrial working pace and hadn't lost their documents in a heist done by infamous Pizza Family, that is... And if not... Another level awaits them.

Below:

The part of Elmore where the main events of the AU take place. Outside of the casino and the detective force standing up against it, there are vertical travelling outposts, vertical and horizontal post offices, convenience stores, train stations, etc. In other words, this part of the population can manage itself, unlike Above, that is dependent on the argicultural output done by Below.

Do not make a mistake, though. Due to most industrial complexes getting built on the floating islands, since the access to minerals is more convenient, Below is considered primitive by many, even by the government. As such, there is a problem in distribution of finances, lackluster working force (most of the youth is aiming for other, bigger towns, or Above, as more advanced option for education and work), resulting in criminal activity in some particular districts, mostly Shadow districts, placed directly under the islands, named as such for lack of sunlight.

Fun fact — casino's owners, before Corpeno's reign, were of lineage of Above residents. Samuel himself is a Below resident from birth, and changed many workplaces before the fateful night, including newspaper office, grocer's, butcher's, fish shop, cleaning service... And has worked on occassions as a medical assistant.

Horizon:

Finally, there is a level unnoticed by many and often unmentioned. These islands are placed in between the two levels, but were given such name, as some have mistaken the placement for one on the horizon.

It is rather mysterious place, with residents rumoured to all be members of Amphibos cult. Not many bothered to investigate it, though... Other notable figures are fortune tellers, with urban legends saying they disappear at the sunrise.

Amphibos used to recruit their new members, blending in on both levels and earning trust of people they see as worthy. Nowadays, such activity died down, to get rid of suspicions. It does not mean it was entirely eradicated, though, and one particularly faithful, albeit naïve, member thought of doing such work in "Rolling Dice". It was unsuccessful, but attracted attention of the owner.

[kaoruko-han]

Hej hej, don't worry so much about the manga page about the smell of vinyards. (And the wine therapy was over the top, absolutely agreed. xD) So, I think the manga goes very far in stirring interest but it also hinges on the reader being totally engaged with the subject matter of wine. The argicultural product itself. But even if alcoholic beverages aren't your thing, there're some interesting aspects about the culture around viticulture which could be interesting? (Like history, production, agriculture - still these aspect are less pronounced than wine as beverage it self.)

Yeah it's very good to spark interest! It made me try wine! I hated it :D

But I still can't stop reading and I love to read about all the aspect about the creations of wine, how other countries develop their own wine... I am french too so I feel some kind of pride when they refer to our country haha

Oh they also did a french remake but like... They whitewashed Shizuku and his dad and made the atmosphere more dramatic that it needs to be honestly.

[julionasurbonas]

I hate to see when nations try to modify the land for the purposes of previously impossible argiculture, guess what happens when you try to irrigate a fucking desert like much of california, droughts, guess what happens when you try to use the Aral sea for growing cotton in the deserts of central asia, you fucking drained it, guess what happens when you try to kill all the sparrows, collapse of the ecosystem leading to even worse starvation.

[jaaamen]

W5 - Customer Segments

Truth be told I never had that much experience with the new argiculture-esque costumers since I don't have any connections to the said costumers we want (Rice Farmers), but that doesn't mean i'm out of the loop... well I am, but I'm more keen on remembering the insights rather than the person that shared me the insights.

This Costumer Segment we had to choose a remarkable character to define our most likely costumer and it's great to know that some of our proposed techniques have already been thought about before and what are the weaknesses behind these techniques.

Best of all, it's not always everyday you get to talk to people who are very experienced on their craft so most of these insights are very reliable in terms of practicality. Finally, the funny part of these costumer segments is that they're very charismatic.

[datajournalismntu]

Is the minimum security prison for bigwigs?

Recently, the issue of minimum security prison in Taiwan has attracted public attention, including the escape of minimum security prison and the application of many powerful people to apply for minimum security prison.

According to the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office, the purpose of establishing minimum security prisons is guided by the concept of penal socialization. It involves eliminating traditional barriers such as high walls, barbed wire, and guard posts, and adopting a low-security management model with fewer guards. This model aims to provide a transitional adaptation phase for long-term prisoners about to leave prison, fostering habits of self-discipline and self-respect. The goal is to gradually integrate them into societal life, encourage self-management, gain the trust of society, and fulfill the function of intermediate treatment. Therefore, minimum security prisons differ from conventional prisons.

To achieve these objectives, it is evident from the institutional design that minimum security prisons, compared to regular prisons, afford inmates more freedom. They are allowed periodic home visits, and within the minimum security prison, inmates can apply to live with their families. While the intention behind minimum security prisons is benevolent, concerns arise due to the apparent privilege enjoyed by affluent individuals. Taking the case of Wei, Ying-chong, the former chairman of Ting Hsin International Group, for instance, he entered a regular prison in July 2017 but was transferred to a minimum security prison in less than five months. Approximately a year later, he was granted parole. Wei Ying-chong's case does not align with the criteria set for long-term prisoners in minimum security prisons, leading to public skepticism regarding the purpose of minimum security prison establishments.

Currently, there are 29 prisons in Taiwan, among which there are four open prisons: Bade Minimum-Security Prison, Ziqiang Minimum-Security Prison, Mingde Minimum-Security Prison, and Wuling Minimum-Security Prison (reformed in September 2023 from the Wuling branch of the Taitung Rehabilitation Center). The number of prisoners in minimum-security prisons is much lower than in regular prisons, and coupled with a more humane management approach, they are often referred to as 'heavens' within the prison system.

Bigwigs stay in a general prison for less than half of their sentence, sometimes even one third of the sentence. Once inmates are transferred to an minimum-security prison, more than or equal to 4 days of the term of imprisonment shall be mitigated every month for the inmates, as per the Statute of Open Prisons.

Minimun-security prisons occupy a vast amount of space. Most of their land are used for argiculture and farming. In total, they account for 65% of the jail land area in Taiwan. This means that these three jails have a larger land mass than 23 regular jails combined. However,  mininum security prisons only hold 2.3% of the total prision population in Taiwan. This huge disparity is easily observed in the chart. 

Reular jails can be divided into various categories. According to the Ministry of Justice, some jails are housing prsioners beyond their origional capacity. These jails are classified as dense prisions. Our prelimimary stacistics indicates that approximately 78% of inmates are living in these jails, which occupy 26.3% of the total land area of all jails in Taiwan. 

The chart compares the size and prision capacity in regular and minimum-security prisons. Although the land area and density of a jail do not directly indicate its living conditions. a larger land area typically suggests less crowding and a better environment for prisoners.

According to satellite images of the same scale, Mingde Minimum Security Prison and Tainan Prison, both located in Tainan, are very different in area and number of prisoners. The area of ​​Mingde Minimum Security Prison is about four times that of Tainan Prison, and the number of inmates is,but it is only a quarter of the size of Tainan Prison. In terms of facilities, the Mingde Minimum Security Prison has a golf course, a dormitory for relatives, a Buddhist hall, etc., and there are also many outdoor planting fields and livestock farms within the area for prisoners to work; however, Tainan Prison only has indoor work areas.

According to the official information of Kaohsiung Prison and Mingde minimum security prison, in addition to the space allocation and facilities of the prison is better than the general prison, the daily schedule of inmates is also different from that of the regular prison.

As shown in the figure, in addition to the difference in getting up and going to sleep every day, inmates in prison have a longer rest time between meals and factory work. Inmates in regular prisons stop all activities and return to their cells after dinner at 5 p.m., and receive music indoctrinations only before going to sleep at 9 to 10 p.m., with stricter control.

Inmates in minimum security prisons can also participate in cultural and recreational activities after a day's work, and the schedule is more diversified and close to normal life.

* notes:

1. Some Regular Prisons have its own minimum security brabnch prison: These branches are not listed separately from the main prison. Therefore, they are not individually presented in the data.

2.Mingde minimum security prison: According to official statistics, the area of the prison is 260.9 hectares. This area calculation does not include the Tainan Prison Rehabilitation Branch located within the region (not specifically marked on the map).

3. Taitung Rehabilitation Center's Wuling Branch Prison: In September 2023, the Wuling minimum security brabnch prison attached to the Taitung Rehabilitation Center was reformed into the Wuling minimum security Prison. However, due to the lack of data on the number of inmates, this facility is not currently included in the statistics.

4. Taitung Prison: In September 2023, Taitung Prison was relocated to the Yenwan Skills Training Institute, and the original prison site was converted into the Taitung Rehabilitation Center. The area and population data for Taitung Prison in this article are based on figures prior to this reorganization.

[despair-to-future-arcs]

Let’s go!

Well... we only got 4 more hours until we are done, I suppose the best we can do is wait...

Ri-Right... I will admit, I really thought I was going on a mission with a kid, it would make me question your Foundation honestly given Hotaru...

Hm? Wait did you really think my daughter was going to join?

A bit... especially given what is in there and seeing as she's a head of a division so I figure...y'know...

Oooh, I see yeah - I know; it's a bit confusing but don't worry, any and all decisions are made by me while Otoha is more comparable to a figurehead given she's an Ultimate or a Lil' Ultimate.

Oh really? So it's like Sonia - I remember she mention she was a figurehead and deny being our leader.

Yeah, that be a good comparison; so while Otoha is helping at the orphanage and doing small things - I mostly take care of all the businesses related to food, charities and even help those with allergies.

You can be surprise how some people think allergies don't exist or they think giving them that food they are allergic to would 'cure' their allergy which is beyond ridiculous if you ask me.

Ah yes... I think I know those types before, they are surely going to be dealing with a lawsuite.

So I assume your Division handles food?

mhm, yes - the 8th Division handles Long-term stable food procurement and make sure that the food they receive is healthy and good for you, we even work with the 11th Division which often deals with farming goods and argiculture.

In fact, our Division has created shelters, food banks and food for the homeless or those that struggling and get them back to their feet!

I see... so that's why the Division was created; I'm sure that's a good thing your doing.

Indeed and it's why I'm on this mission; to put a stop to these factories that you created of course.

...Right.

...

...

[saapasjalkakissa-tg]

Photography: n/a

[life-globe-blog]

Terraced rice fields are seen in northern Vietnam's Mu Cang Chai district Credit: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP via Getty Images