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lesbemums · 3 years

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Honestly, the amount of time I spend talking and stressing about sperm is ridiculous, especially for a lesbian!!! Straight people, and especially the majority that don’t have fertility issues, have no idea how good they’ve got it.

My wife and I have both always wanted 3 children. However, making our son cost us around £8000. We both work full time and our jobs pay enough to live on, enough to put a way a bit of money each month, we’re comfortable! But it’s just not cutting it when it comes to saving for a second child. We’re worse off now than when we didn’t have a kid, our outgoings are higher having an extra person to feed and clothe and entertain. We’re running a second car and had to take a loan out to buy that second decent car when my old one broke down suddenly. I worked out that at the rate we can save, we can only do IUI twice a year. And it has a success rate of max 20%. How depressing is that? If we wanted to do IVF, it would take us YEARS to save for it. We really hoped we could have a two year age gap between our first two. And the third? We’ve pretty much had to give up on the idea of a third.

We’re in the UK so we don’t have things like insurance, all of our costs are out of pocket. The NHS won’t help in our area until we have 6 failed IUIs under our belts, that will cost us roughly £18,000. Whereas a straight couple has to try via the conventional method for 1 year and fail to get pregnant. Which is FREE. I get that they can’t automatically help us just because we lack sperm but it’s very frustrating.

I was really hoping to be able to afford to try twice more before the end of the year but the costs just keep adding up and making it less likely. Thanks to Brexit, there’s an extra 20% VAT on all things imported into the UK from Europe. Our sperm is shipped from Denmark due to the UK’s shortage, which means roughly an extra £200 per vial of sperm we ship over (we already pay 20% VAT on the sperm when we buy it as well!!!). (I totally voted against Brexit btw and feel even more justified in doing so now.) It also costs €300 for shipping. My wife’s blood test checks ran out in June so we’ve got to fork out for those to be done before our clinic will do my IUIs. Once we get the sperm shipped to our clinic, they will charge us £400 to store it. Currently they’re still charging £100 per COVID test as a precaution (over-cautious in my opinion), so if they don’t get rid of those by the time we try again, it’ll cost us £200 per cycle as they require 2 each time. So it’s not just the £1000 per vial of sperm and £1500 per IUI cycle. It’s mounting up.

My mum and step dad have been really great through all this. They gave us money to help out before we made our first, that bought my wife’s first properly reliable car (and a bit extra when we couldn’t quite swing it), they bought our travel system for kiddo #1 which was pricey! And they’ve already given us £2000 to make #2 which is gone already after the first attempt and all pre-testing that I needed. They’re going to help out again in a few months by paying for a round of IUI too, which I’m so grateful for. But still I’m not sure we can afford the 2 rounds by the end of the year! I’m now even at the point of considering asking for help from other family members. I’ve literally never asked for money my whole life.

I’m really reluctant to have to do any fertility stuff January - March because of the sporadic but often quite bad snow that we’ve got the last few years. It’s a 60 mile drive to our clinic and I had a car accident due to the snow in 2018 so I have major anxiety about driving in the snow. And my wife has major anxiety about motorway driving after a lorry knocked her off the road shortly after my accident. So driving around that time is not ideal. But can we afford the tries we’re hoping for before that? I don’t know.

The next stress is our sperm donor’s stock is running out. Every time I look it’s gone down, and in fact since I last looked, it’s gone down by about 30 vials. There’s only 60ish left total, 23 left of the MOT20 that we buy. The other vials are an extra €400 as they’re MOT30. We’re buying 2 vials for our 2 attempts, but will have to keep a check on them and buy more if we can if it gets crazy low. We really want to use the same donor if we can, so our kids can at least be genetic half siblings. Our donor has no quotas left for UK, which means that there are 10 families that have bought sperm from him in this country. That’s not counting how many from Europe where they don’t have a cap in most countries. So the remaining sperm could sell out FAST with that many people using it!

With the sperm stock being so low, we’ve decided only 2 more IUI attempts and then it’s time for IVF. We’re hoping to avoid having to do something so invasive but we can’t afford to keep trying IUI if the sperm is going to run out. We can’t afford to buy that many vials. The only hope we have of doing IVF is taking out a loan. This stresses me out further since we already have a loan for our car and our outgoings are high. When I’m off on maternity leave, most of that time I’ll only be paid statutory maternity pay which is about £150 a week. It’s good that we get paid, I know a lot of countries don’t get that, but with that much of a pay cut, we’ll be living pay check to pay check, and if we take out loans, I don’t know if we’ll even be able to get by.

If I could live my life without ever having to hear about straight people getting knocked up by accident, that would be great, thanks! It’s so hard to not have access to sperm. Also, if people would stop telling us that there’s ‘no good time to have a kid’ and that everyone thinks they won’t be able to afford it (when they’re clearly not thinking about the fact that we’re concerned about the cost of MAKING a child, not keeping one alive).

All I want is another child, my body knows it’s time, I’m yearning for a baby that doesn’t even exist yet. Waiting is killing me, and not knowing how much time it will take is the worst. And the ultimate agony is knowing that we can’t just keep trying. It feels like we’re in the process of trying since our first failed IUI in May, but each month there’s no chance of success. Every month when I start getting PMS symptoms, the very same symptoms as you might get in early pregnancy, I get sad because I know it’s just PMS. There’s no chance of a baby.

I just want my baby.

#iui #fertility treatments #if you read all this you deserve a medal #just need to get my frustration out

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brn1029 · 4 years

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Get those tin foil hats ready to go!

The 10 greatest conspiracy theories in rock

By Emma Johnston

In a world where fake news runs rampant, rock'n'roll is not immune to the lure of the conspiracy theory. These are 10 of the most ludicrous

Conspiracy theories, myths and legends have existed in rock’n’roll for as long as the music has existed, stretching all the way back to bluesman Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads in exchange for superhuman guitar skills, fame and fortune.

There are those who believe Elvis Presley and Jim Morrison live on, others who think the Illuminati control the world through symbolism in popular culture, and plenty of evangelical types with their own agendas trawling rock and metal songs for secret messages luring the innocent to the dark side.

Let us take a look, then, at rock’n’roll conspiracy theories ranging from the intriguing to the ludicrous, as we try to separate the truth from the codswallop.

Lemmy was in league with the Illuminati

Few men have ever been earthier than Lemmy, but one conspiracy theorist claims that the Motorhead legend didn’t really die in December 2015, instead “ascending into the heavenly realm” after making a “blood sacrifice pact” with the Illuminati.

A “watcher” of the mythical secret society some believe are running the world – despite evidence that is at best flimsy, at worst straight from The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown’s discarded notebooks – told the Daily Star: “Lemmy signed up for the ultimate pact – he signed his soul to the devil in order to achieve fame and fortune.”

While we can only imagine what the great man would have to say on the matter, there’s one word, in husky, JD-soaked tones, that we can just about make out coming across from the other side: “Bollocks.”

Paul McCartney died in 1966

As you might expect from the most famous band that has ever existed, there are enough crackpot theories about The Beatles to fill the Albert Hall. From John Lennon’s murder being ordered by the US government, who, led by Richard Nixon, suspected him of communism (the FBI actually did have a file on Lennon, but the story is spiced up by the man behind murderlennontruth.com, who apparently believes author Steven King was involved due to, uh, looking a bit like Mark Chapman) to Canadian prog outfit Klaatu being the Fab Four in disguise, there are plenty of tall tales more colourful than a Ringo B-side.

The most enduring, though, is the notion dreamt up by some US radio DJs that Paul McCartney died in a car crash in 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike. They came to this conclusion having studied the cover of Abbey Road – McCartney’s bare feet on the zebra crossing apparently symbolising death, while others found “evidence” in the album’s opaque lyrics. There were a lot of drugs in the 60s.

Gene Simmons has a cow’s tongue

It’s easy to see why all kinds of far-fetched stories sprung up when Kiss first took off in the 1970s. The fake-blood-spitting, the fire, the demon-superhero personas – middle America clutched its pearls and word spread that these otherworldly weirdos’ moniker stood for Knights In Satan’s Service. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.

It was Gene Simmons’ preposterous mouth that got the nation’s less voluminous tongues wagging though. So long and pointy is his appendage, and so often waggled at his audiences (whether they asked for it or not), that eventually the rumour spread around the world’s playgrounds was that he’d had a cow’s tongue grafted onto his own. The bovine baloney is, of course, bullshit, but Simmons has admitted it's one of his favourite Kiss urban myths.

Supertramp predicted 9/11

The Logical Song may be Supertramp’s calling card, but one man in the US stretches common sense to the limit having come to the conclusion that the artwork for their 1979 album Breakfast In America gave prior warning of the terrorist attacks on New York on September 11, 2001.

Look at the album cover – painted from the perspective of a window on a flight into the city – in a mirror, and the ‘u’ and ‘p’ band’s name appears to become a 911 floating above the twin towers, while a logo on the back features a plane flying towards the World Trade Center.

So far, so coincidental, but when our intrepid investigator falls down a rabbit hole of Masonic interference, strained Old Testament connections (“The Great Whore of Babylon – Super Tramp”), and the title Breakfast In America reflecting the fact that the planes crashed early in the morning, things get really tenuous.

It’s fair to say it’s unlikely a British prog-pop band had prior knowledge of the terrorist attacks 22 years before they happened. But maybe Al Qaida were really big fans.

Stevie Wonder can see

Stevie Wonder is a genius. That fact is not up for dispute. The soul/jazz/funk/rock/pop legend was born six weeks prematurely in 1950, and the oxygen used in the hospital incubator to stabilise him caused him to go blind shortly afterwards. But his love of front-row seats at basketball games, the evocative imagery in his songs, and the fact that he once effortlessly caught a falling mic stand knocked over by Paul McCartney (who, let us reiterate, did not die in 1966) has caused basement Jessica Fletchers to muse that he’s faking his blindness as part of the act.

Wonder himself, a known prankster, has great fun with his status as one of the world’s most famous vision-impaired musicians. In 1973, he told Rolling Stone: “I’ve flown a plane before. A Cessna or something, from Chicago to New York. Scared the hell out of everybody.”

Dave Grohl invented Andrew W.K.

When Andrew W.K. first broke through in the early 2000s, dressed in white and covered in blood, his mission was serious in its simplicity: the party is everything. He took his message of having a good time, all the time, to levels of political fervour. But rumours of his authenticity have been doing the rounds from the start.

Reviewing WK’s first UK show at The Garage in London, The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis wrote: “One music-biz conspiracy theory currently circulating suggests that Andrew W.K. is an elaborate hoax devised by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl.”

As time went on, the theory gained traction – Grohl was believed to be the mysterious Steev Mike credited on the debut album I Get Wet. And as W.K.’s style changed over subsequent records, and his own admission that there were legal arguments over who owns his name, whispers began that he wasn’t even a real person – he was a character, played by several different actors, an attempt to create the ultimate Frankenstein’s frontman.

"I'm not the same guy that you may have seen from the I Get Wet album," W.K. said in 2008. “I don't just mean that in a philosophical or conceptual way, it's not the same person at all. Do I look the same as that person?" The jury is out, but if this is a great white elephant concocted just for the sheer hell of it, we kind of want this one to be true.

Jimi Hendrix was murdered by his manager

An early victim of the 27 club, the death of Jimi Hendrix was depressingly cliched for a man so wildly creative: a bellyful of barbiturates led to him asphyxiating on his own vomit, according to the post-mortem. But in the years following the grim discovery at the Samarkand Hotel in London on 19 September 1970, a different theory was offered by the guitarist’s former roadie, James “Tappy” Wright.

In his book Rock Roadie, Wright claims Hendrix was murdered by his manager, Michael Jeffery, who he says force-fed his charge red wine and pills. The motive? He feared he was about to be fired and was keen to cash in on the star’s life insurance. One thing we do know for certain is Jeffery won’t be able to give his version of events, as he was killed in a plane crash over France in 1973.

The 50th anniversary of Hendrix's tragic passing was "celebrated" with the release of Hendrix and the Spook, a documentary that "explored" his death further and was described by The Guardian as "a cheaply made mix of interviews and dumbshow dramatic recreations by actors scuttling about flimsy sets in gloomy lighting." Sounds good.

Courtney killed Kurt

Courtney Love is no stranger to demonisation from Nirvana fans. When Hole’s second album, the searing, catchy, feminist, witty, aggressive, vulnerable and unflinchingly honest Live Through This was released, days after Kurt Cobain’s death, rumours almost immediately started up that Love’s late husband wrote the songs. That was insulting and sexist enough, but nowhere near as damaging as the conspiracy theory that Love hired a hitman to kill Cobain amid rumours they were about to divorce.

After Cobain’s first attempt to take his own life in Rome, the Nirvana frontman was eventually convinced to go to rehab following an intervention by his wife and friends. He ran away from the facility, and the private investigator hired by Love to find him, Tom Grant, eventually became the source of the idea that Love and the couple’s live-in nanny Michael Dewitt were responsible for Cobain’s death shortly afterwards.

His claims, made in the Soaked In Bleach documentary, include the notion that Cobain had too much heroin in his system to pull the trigger of the shotgun, and that he believed the suicide note was forged.

People close to Cobain (and the Seattle Police Department) have refuted the theory, including Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg: “It’s ridiculous. He killed himself. I saw him the week beforehand, he was depressed. He tried to kill himself six weeks earlier, he’d talked and written about suicide a lot, he was on drugs, he got a gun. Why do people speculate about it? The tragedy of the loss is so great people look for other explanations. I don’t think there’s any truth at all to it."

The CIA wrote The Scorpions’ biggest hit

Previously synonymous with leather, hard rock anthems and some very questionable album artwork, West Germany’s Scorpions scored big with Wind Of Change, a power ballad heralding the oncoming fall of the USSR, the end of the Cold War, and a new sense of hope in the Eastern Bloc.

In a podcast named after the 1990 song, though, Orwell Prize-winning US journalist Patrick Radden Keefe follows rumours from within the intelligence community that the song was actually written by the CIA, as propaganda to hasten the fall of the ailing Soviet Union via popular culture.

“Soviet officials had long been nervous over the free expression that rock stood for, and how it might affect the Soviet youth,” Keefe is quoted as saying. “The CIA saw rock music as a cultural weapon in the cold war. Wind of Change was released a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and became this anthem for the end of communism and reunification of Germany. It had this soft-power message that the intelligence service wanted to promote.”

It's a convincing theory, but one that is disputed by Scorpions frontman Klaus Meine: “I thought it was very amusing and I just cracked up laughing. It’s a very entertaining and really crazy story but like I said, it’s not true at all. Like you American guys would say, it’s fake news."

There are satanic messages in Stairway To Heaven

The great comedian Bill Hicks had something to say about people searching for evidence of devilry in rock’n’roll: “Remember this shit, if you play certain rock albums backwards there'd be satanic messages? Let me tell you something, if you're sitting round your house playing your albums backwards, you are Satan. You needn't look any further. And don't go ruining my stereo to prove a point either.”

The memo didn’t get through to televangelist and stylus ruiner Paul Crouch, who in 1982 attempted to scare the Christian right into believing Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven was stuffed with demonic meaning, and that played backwards it revealed the following message: “Here’s to my sweet Satan/The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power is Satan/He will give those with him 666/There was a little toolshed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.”

Guitarist Jimmy Page, of course, is no stranger to the esoteric, making no secret of his interest in occultist Aleister Crowley and the attendant magick, and there were even rumours the band made a Faustian pact to achieve fame and fortune. But hiding messa

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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 years

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Pluralistic, your daily link-dose: 26 Feb 2020

Today’s links

Brave autolinks 404s to the Wayback Machine: The internet’s time-traveling, privacy respecting, ad-busting browser.

Clarence Thomas admits he blew it on Brand X: A very safe mea culpa from the man who helped kill Net Neutrality.

Medicare for All would be the biggest take-home pay increase in a generation: Even if my taxes went up by six figures (!), I’d still save money.

The Smithsonian publishes 2.8m hi-rez images into the public domain: Tired: “It belongs in a museum!” Wired: “It belongs to the world!”

McMansion Hell visits 1971: Before “lawyer foyers” there were “paralegal foyers.”

This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019

Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

Brave autolinks 404s to the Wayback Machine (permalink)

A new feature in Brave’s excellent, privacy-centric browser: when you visit a dead page, it automagically checks to see if there’s a cached copy in the Internet Archive and directs you to that instead.

The Archive is crushing it. Working with Wikimedia, they’ve linked every book citation in Wikipedia to the relevant passage in a scanned book in their library section.

Brave’s plugin works on 404 (page not found) errors, and also for 408, 410, 451, 500, 502, 503, 504, 509, 520, 521, 523, 524, 525, and 526 errors (451 is “page censored!”).

https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/26/21154096/brave-browser-wayback-machine-404-internet-archive-lost-pages

Clarence Thomas admits he blew it on Brand X (permalink)

In 2005, Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion in Brand X, a case that ratified GW Bush’s FCC’s power to interpret both the statutes and jurisprudence of telcoms law however it wants, overriding judges.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/04-277.ZS.html

That decision meant that GWB’s FCC could arrange telcoms rules to suit the Big Cable donors GWB relied on. It meant that Obama’s FCC could reverse those rules and impose net neutrality. It meant Trump’s FCC could reverse Obama’s FCC and kill net neutrality.

Now, Thomas has written a dissent in Baldwin, a new case published Monday, in which he admits that he blew it in Brand X, by giving political appointees from the administrative branch the power to overrule both Congress and the courts.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/19-402_o75p.pdf

When the Ajit Pai decision to kill net neutrality was brought before a circuit judge, she called it “unhinged.” Then she upheld it, because Brand X tied her hands.

Unfortunately, Thomas is the sole dissent in Baldwin, whose appeal SCOTUS will not to hear, leaving Brand X unchallenged. Given Thomas’s historic cowardice when it comes to challenging the establishment, this is a nice safe way to mea culpa without risking wrath of plutes.

“Although I authored Brand X, it is never too late to ‘surrende[r] former views to a better considered position.’ Brand X appears to be inconsistent with the Constitution, the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and traditional tools of statutory interpretation. Because I would revisit Brand X, I respectfully dissent from the denial of certiorari.” -C. Thomas.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/02/clarence-thomas-regrets-ruling-that-ajit-pai-used-to-kill-net-neutrality/

Medicare for All would be the biggest take-home pay increase in a generation (permalink)

UC Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman: “Because this is my lot in life, I will note again that Medicare for All would lead to the biggest take-home pay increase in a generation for working families, because it would replace private health insurance premiums (a huge privatized head tax) by taxes based on ability to pay.”

https://twitter.com/gabriel_zucman/status/1232295342185558018

We pay more than $2000/mo for gold-plated healthcare from Cigna through my wife’s blue-chip employer, where she is an exec. When my daughter broke a bone, our ER visit to the preferred hospital (across the street from corporate HQ) cost $2700 in excesses.

The kid didn’t even see a doc. $2700 in out-of-pockets was for a Tylenol, an X-ray, and a one-minute consult with a physician’s assistant, who referred us to an orthopedist. The ortho and ER initially refused to treat my daughter unless I signed a binding arbitration waiver.

Cigna also just declined a pain therapy course recommended by my specialist, head of a prominent university’s pain clinic whose papers on the therapy are the most-cited in the field: “It’s experimental.” It will cost me $52,000 in out of pockets if I want to proceed.

So, keeping track: we’re currently spending $24k/yr on health care, and about the same in out-of-pockets, and our care is being rationed. If I want the care the top specialist in the region recommends, that’s another $52k.

Our inadequate private care, literally the best we can buy, would cost us $100k this year if we got the care our doctors recommended; $50k if we decided to ignore their advice and not get that care.

That is to say: if Medicare For All raised our taxes by ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, we’d be breaking even. And getting better care. I grew up with Canadian healthcare, then 13 years of NHS UK care. The US system, at the very highest tier, is so much worse than either.

The Smithsonian publishes 2.8m hi-rez images into the public domain (permalink)

The Smithsonian has released 2.8 million hi-rez images into the public domain!

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/smithsonian-releases-28-million-images-public-domain-180974263/

The images include reproductions of both 2D and 3D artifacts in the Smithsonian’s collection, from all 19 Smithsonian museums, hosted on an open access platform:

https://www.si.edu/openaccess

200,000 more images are slated for inclusion in 2020, and the scope of the whole project is to digitize all 155,000,000 images in the Smithsonian’s collections and dedicate them to the public domain for any use, including commercial use. It’s part of a “digital first” strategy that eschews hypothetical licensing revenue from art books and penny-postcards in favor of serving the public mission of a museum.

Here’s a crib from a keynote I gave about this to the first Museums and the Web Europe conference in Florence — museums have both an ethical and practical duty to serve the public rather than relying on plutes and licensing.

https://mwf2014.museumsandtheweb.com/paper/glam-and-the-free-world/

Tldr: the public will support you and demand your preservation when austerity-crazed governments want to de-fund you. Plutes won’t — they’ll just offer to buy your collection for their mansions.

Anyway, this is amazeballs. The possibilities for remix, fine art, new work, and computational historical research are endless. This is the Smithsonian we pay our taxes for. It’s a brave, principled move. Go, Smithsonian go!

McMansion Hell visits 1971 (permalink)

The luckiest people in the world have never heard of McMansion Hell because they get to discover Kate Wagner’s superb dunks on architectural excess, cynicism and ill-founded optimism for the very first time!

Lately, Wagner’s been doing a “Yearbook,” revisiting proto-McMansions from 1971 to trace the primitive ancestors of today’s hulking atrocities. The latest installment is a $1.2m, 5000sqft titan in Morris County, New Jersey.

https://mcmansionhell.com/post/610960530721636352/the-mcmansion-hell-yearbook-1971

This beast predates the modern “lawyer foyer” and instead sports a “paralegal foyer,” which ” lacks the transom window above the door that enables the entryway to be seen from the street.”

I could listen to Wagner riff on bad kitchen design ALL DAY.

The realtor’s just rendered a bunch of virtual furnishings into this empty room! Wagner: “Personally I’d love to have a copy of the software that lets you 3D decorate random real estate listings – it’s like the Sims but for realtors.”

Wagner signs off with a promise of a “Brutalism Post.” Swoon!

This day in history (permalink)

#15yrsago: Dismantling fear, uncertainty, and doubt, aimed at Wikipedia and other free knowledge resources https://web.archive.org/web/20050301003539/http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/free_issues/issue_02/fud_based_encyclopedia/

#15yrsago: HOWTO break HP printer cartridge DRM https://constitutionalcode.blogspot.com/2005/02/cartridge-expiration-date-workarounds.html

#15yrsago: @Aaronsw asks why Stanford professors include so few astrologers http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/001588

#15yrsago: Why John Gilmore won’t show his ID at airports http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/05058/462446.stm

#5yrsago: World War 3 Illustrated: prescient outrage from the dawn of the Piketty apocalypse https://boingboing.net/2015/02/26/world-war-3-illustrated-presc.html

#1yrago: Youtube ignored repeated reports about explicit suicide instructions spliced into cartoons on Youtube Kids https://pedimom.com/youtube-kids-scare/

#1yrago: New Orleans reduced homelessness by 90% (and saved a fortune) by giving homeless people homes https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/02/19/new-orleans-reducing-homeless-hurricane-katrina

#1yrago: Trump made history: introducing tax cuts made him LESS popular https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2019/02/trump-choose-unpopular-president.html

#1yrago: How the payday loan industry laundered policy by paying academics to write papers that supported its positions https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/02/25/how-payday-lending-industry-insider-tilted-academic-research-its-favor/?utm_term=.92930478ab59

Colophon (permalink)

Today’s top sources: Naked Capitalism (https://nakedcapitalism.com/”), Glenn Fleishman (https://twitter.com/glennf).

Hugo nominators! My story “Unauthorized Bread” is eligible in the Novella category and you can read it free on Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/01/unauthorized-bread-a-near-future-tale-of-refugees-and-sinister-iot-appliances/

Upcoming appearances:

Canada Reads Kelowna: March 5, 6PM, Kelowna Library, 1380 Ellis Street, with CBC’s Sarah Penton https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cbc-radio-presents-in-conversation-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-96154415445

Currently writing: I just finished a short story, “The Canadian Miracle,” for MIT Tech Review. It’s a story set in the world of my next novel, “The Lost Cause,” a post-GND novel about truth and reconciliation. I’m getting geared up to start work on the novel now, though the timing is going to depend on another pending commission (I’ve been solicited by an NGO) to write a short story set in the world’s prehistory.

Currently reading: Just started Lauren Beukes’s forthcoming Afterland: it’s Y the Last Man plus plus, and two chapters in, it’s amazeballs. Last week, I finished Andrea Bernstein’s “American Oligarchs” this week; it’s a magnificent history of the Kushner and Trump families, showing how they cheated, stole and lied their way into power. I’m getting really into Anna Weiner’s memoir about tech, “Uncanny Valley.” I just loaded Matt Stoller’s “Goliath” onto my underwater MP3 player and I’m listening to it as I swim laps.

Latest podcast: Gopher: When Adversarial Interoperability Burrowed Under the Gatekeepers’ Fortresses: https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/02/24/gopher-when-adversarial-interoperability-burrowed-under-the-gatekeepers-fortresses/

Upcoming books: “Poesy the Monster Slayer” (Jul 2020), a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-poesycorypreorder&utm_content=na-preorder-buynow&utm_campaign=9781626723627

(we’re having a launch for it in Burbank on July 11 at Dark Delicacies and you can get me AND Poesy to sign it and Dark Del will ship it to the monster kids in your life in time for the release date).

“Attack Surface”: The third Little Brother book, Oct 20, 2020.

“Little Brother/Homeland”: A reissue omnibus edition with a very special, s00per s33kr1t intro.

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cleverwordsandotherstuffilike · 5 years

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Good Things That Happened in 2019 (or may have happened depending on whether they are true facts)

• The Indian Navy welcomed its first-ever woman pilot.

• Austria named its first female chancellor.

• The European Commission elected its first female President.

• Women now lead five of the major parties in Finland's parliament.

• Macedonia was renamed, bringing an end to a decades-long dispute with Greece.

• Montgomery, Alabama, elected its first black mayor in 200 years.

• Indonesia raised minimum age for brides to end child marriage.

• Saudi Arabian women are finally allowed to travel independently.

• Taiwan became the first place in Asia to pass a same-sex marriage legislation.

• Botswana ruled to decriminalize consensual same-sex relations.

• Northern Ireland legalized same-sex marriage.

• Ecuador joined neighboring countries in legalizing same-sex marriage.

• Iranian women were officially allowed to attend a soccer match for the first time in 40 years.

• Iguanas were reintroduced to Galápagos island after 184 years.

• More places are banning single-use plastics.

• Humpback whales recovered from near-extinction in the South Atlantic.

• A tortoise believed to be extinct was found after 100 years.

• A rare black leopard was spotted for the first time in nearly 100 years.

• Scientists discovered 71 new species this year.

• Veterinarians harvested eggs from the world's last two northern white rhinos to help save the species.

• Canada banned the trade, possession, capture and breeding of whales, dolphins and porpoises, passed a Fisheries Act containing a legally binding requirement to rebuild fish populations, and unveiled new standards for marine protected areas, banning all oil-and-gas activity as well as mining, dumping and bottom-trawling.

• Scientists may be able to spot Alzheimer's 16 years before symptoms begin.

• The World Health Organization stopped classifying transgender people as mentally ill.

• Algeria and Argentina officially eliminated malaria this year, and the WHO said that in the last eight years, malaria infections in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam dropped by 76%, and deaths fell by 95%. India also reported a huge reduction in malaria, with 2.6 million fewer cases in 2018 than in 2017.

• The CDC announced that cigarette smoking among US adults has reached an all-time low of 13.7% (a decline of two-thirds in the last 50 years) and in the UK, the number of cigarettes being smoked fell by nearly a quarter between 2011 and 2018.

• Heart disease rates in the UK are on the decline - it's still the leading cause of mortality, but deaths have decreased by almost half since 2005.

• In Rwanda, 95% of babies currently receive vaccinations for rubella, measles and polio, and it's also on track to be the first country to eliminate cervical cancer.

• Two men may have been cured of HIV.

• Stroke rates for US adults over the age of 65 have decreased by one third each decade for the last 30 years, new diabetes cases have declined by 35% since 2009, the longest decline since the government started tracking the statistic, and under the Affordable Care Act nearly 2 million diabetics, have now received access to health insurance.

• A new vaccine for typhoid reduced cases by more than 80% in trials, and is now being used to immunize nine million children in Pakistan.

• Malawi eliminated the world’s most common infectious eye disease, trachoma, the second African country to do so after Ghana. In 2014 more than eight million people were at risk. Today, that number is zero.

• The AIHW said that more people are surviving cancer in Australia than ever before. Since 1989, the mortality rate has dropped by 32% for men and by 21% for women.

• A woman became the first living HIV-positive kidney donor in the world.

• Africa marked a significant milestone in the quest to eradicate polio.

• The Philippines passed a Universal Health Care Act, entitling all of its 107 million citizens to health insurance and medical treatment, and Malaysia started providing free healthcare insurance for the country's poorest 40%, providing coverage against 36 critical illnesses.

• Russian officials reported that alcohol consumption has decreased by 43% since 2003.

• Karen Uhlenbeck became the first woman to win mathematics' most prestigious prize.

• The UN released its latest figures on pneumonia, showing that the number of children dying from "the ultimate disease of poverty," has decreased from 6,410 per day in 1990 to 2,216 per day in 2017.

• In the biggest breakthrough for cystic fibrosis in decades, a new drug that targets the genetic roots of the disease was approved by the FDA.

• The Global Burden of Disease Report said that between 1990 and 2017, the number of kids and teenagers dying around the world decreased by more than half, from 13.77 million to 6.64 million.

• Emma Haruka Iwao broke the world record for calculating pi.

• Senegal became the first African country to begin providing free treatment for women with breast or cervical cancer (the leading cause of cancer deaths), and Mali announced it would begin providing free healthcare for pregnant women and children under five.

• We got to see the world's first close-range image of the far side of the moon.

• The Antarctic ozone hole was the smallest on record since its discovery.

• NASA completed its first all-female astronaut spacewalk.

• We captured the first-ever photo of a black hole.

• Water was detected for first time on a planet outside our solar system.

• The Toronto Raptors delivered Canada its first NBA title.

• Halima Aden became the first model to wear a hijab and a burkini in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

• Eliud Kipchoge became the first athlete to run a marathon in less than two hours.

• In Kenya, poaching rates have dropped by 85% for rhinos and 78% for elephants in the last five years, in South Africa, the number of rhinos killed by poachers fell by 25%, the fifth annual decrease in a row, and in Mozambique, one of Africa’s largest wildlife reserves went an entire year without losing a single elephant.

• An unprecedented conservation effort returned the Mexican Grey Wolf from the brink of extinction.

• Canada became the first country in the world to protect more than 10% of its ocean waters.

• The city of Seoul shut down all its remaining dog butcheries this year, and the Netherlands became the first country in the world to eliminate all stray dogs.

• In 2019, the United States passed a new law outlawing animal cruelty, China issued guidelines stating that from 2020 non-animal testing will be the preferred method for cosmetic products, and in Australia, cosmetics companies were banned from using data derived from animal testing.

• "Sesame Street" announced the launch of a new show to help refugee children

• In July, Ethiopia smashed the world record for tree planting. Led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, millions of Ethiopians planted 353 million trees in 12 hours.

• India reported that its population of tigers has risen by over a third since 2014.

• Since 1990, France’s forest areas have increased by 7%, in Nepal, satellite images revealed that forests expanded from 26% in 1992 to 45% in 2016, and Costa Rica announced it has doubled its forest cover in the last 30 years; half its land surface is now covered with trees.

• The sudden awareness of the power of the tree.

• 93 per cent of households in India now have access to toilets, and 500 million people have stopped having to go to the toilet out in the open, according to research published by The Economic Times.

• The growing consumer backlash against environmental waste.

• The numbers of companies successfully experimenting with four-day working weeks.

• New York became the second state to ban single-use plastic bags.

• By March 2020, Luxembourg intends to become the first country in the world to scrap fares on all public transport, in a move aimed at alleviating its chronically bad traffic congestion.

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bantarleton · 6 years

Text

10 big myths about World War One debunked

From the BBC article.

1. It was the bloodiest war in history to that point

Fifty years before WW1 broke out, southern China was torn apart by an even bloodier conflict. Conservative estimates of the dead in the 14-year Taiping rebellion start at between 20 million and 30 million. Around 17 million soldiers and civilians were killed during WW1.

Although more Britons died in WW1 than any other conflict, the bloodiest war in our history relative to population size is the Civil War, which raged in the mid-17th Century. A far higher proportion of the population of the British Isles were killed than the less than 2% who died in WW1. By contrast, around 4% of the population of England and Wales, and considerably more than that in Scotland and Ireland, are thought to have been killed in the Civil War.

2. Most soldiers died

In the UK around six million men were mobilised, and of those just over 700,000 were killed. That's around 11.5%.

In fact, as a British soldier you were more likely to die during the Crimean War(1853-56) than in WW1.

3. Men lived in the trenches for years on end

Front-line trenches could be a terribly hostile place to live. Units, often wet, cold and exposed to the enemy, would quickly lose their morale if they spent too much time in the trenches.

As a result, the British army rotated men in and out continuously. Between battles, a unit spent perhaps 10 days a month in the trench system and, of those, rarely more than three days right up on the front line. It was not unusual to be out of the line for a month.

During moments of crisis, such as big offensives, the British could occasionally spend up to seven days on the front line but were far more often rotated out after just a day or two.

4. The upper class got off lightly

Although the great majority of casualties in WW1 were from the working class, the social and political elite were hit disproportionately hard by WW1. Their sons provided the junior officers whose job it was to lead the way over the top and expose themselves to the greatest danger as an example to their men.

Some 12% of the British army's ordinary soldiers were killed during the war, compared with 17% of its officers. Eton alone lost more than 1,000 former pupils - 20% of those who served. UK wartime Prime Minister Herbert Asquith lost a son, while future Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law lost two. Anthony Eden lost two brothers, another brother of his was terribly wounded, and an uncle was captured.

5. 'Lions led by donkeys'

This saying was supposed to have come from senior German commanders describing brave British soldiers led by incompetent old toffs from their chateaux. In fact the incident was made up by historian Alan Clark.

During the war more than 200 generals were killed, wounded or captured. Most visited the front lines every day. In battle they were considerably closer to the action than generals are today.

Naturally, some generals were not up to the job, but others were brilliant, such as Arthur Currie, a middle-class Canadian failed insurance broker and property developer.

Rarely in history have commanders had to adapt to a more radically different technological environment.

British commanders had been trained to fight small colonial wars; now they were thrust into a massive industrial struggle unlike anything the British army had ever seen.

Despite this, within three years the British had effectively invented a method of warfare still recognisable today. By the summer of 1918 the British army was probably at its best ever and it inflicted crushing defeats on the Germans.

6. Gallipoli was fought by Australians and New Zealanders

Far more British soldiers fought on the Gallipoli peninsula than Australians and New Zealanders put together.

The UK lost four or five times as many men in the brutal campaign as its imperial Anzac contingents. The French also lost more men than the Australians.

The Aussies and Kiwis commemorate Gallipoli ardently, and understandably so, as their casualties do represent terrible losses both as a proportion of their forces committed and of their small populations.

7. Tactics on the Western Front remained unchanged despite repeated failure

Never have tactics and technology changed so radically in four years of fighting. It was a time of extraordinary innovation. In 1914 generals on horseback galloped across battlefields as men in cloth caps charged the enemy without the necessary covering fire. Both sides were overwhelmingly armed with rifles. Four years later, steel-helmeted combat teams dashed forward protected by a curtain of artillery shells.

They were now armed with flame throwers, portable machine-guns and grenades fired from rifles. Above, planes, which in 1914 would have appeared unimaginably sophisticated, duelled in the skies, some carrying experimental wireless radio sets, reporting real-time reconnaissance.

Huge artillery pieces fired with pinpoint accuracy - using only aerial photos and maths they could score a hit on the first shot. Tanks had gone from the drawing board to the battlefield in just two years, also changing war for ever.

8. No-one won

Swathes of Europe lay wasted, millions were dead or wounded. Survivors lived on with severe mental trauma. The UK was broke. It is odd to talk about winning.

However, in a narrow military sense, the UK and its allies convincingly won. Germany's battleships had been bottled up by the Royal Navy until their crews mutinied rather than make a suicidal attack against the British fleet.

Germany's army collapsed as a series of mighty allied blows scythed through supposedly impregnable defences.

By late September 1918 the German emperor and his military mastermind Erich Ludendorff admitted that there was no hope and Germany must beg for peace. The 11 November Armistice was essentially a German surrender.

Unlike Hitler in 1945, the German government did not insist on a hopeless, pointless struggle until the allies were in Berlin - a decision that saved countless lives, but was seized upon later to claim Germany never really lost.

9. The Treaty of Versailles was extremely harsh

The Treaty of Versailles confiscated 10% of Germany's territory but left it the largest, richest nation in central Europe.

It was largely unoccupied and financial reparations were linked to its ability to pay, which mostly went unenforced anyway.

The treaty was notably less harsh than treaties that ended the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War and World War Two. The German victors in the former annexed large chunks of two rich French provinces, part of France for between 200 and 300 years, and home to most of French iron ore production, as well as presenting France with a massive bill for immediate payment.

After WW2 Germany was occupied, split up, its factory machinery smashed or stolen and millions of prisoners forced to stay with their captors and work as slave labourers. Germany lost all the territory it had gained after WW1 and another giant slice on top of that.

Versailles was not harsh but was portrayed as such by Hitler, who sought to create a tidal wave of anti-Versailles sentiment on which he could then ride into power.

10. Everyone hated it

Like any war, it all comes down to luck. You may witness unimaginable horrors that leave you mentally and physically incapacitated for life, or you might get away without a scrape. It could be the best of times, or the worst of times.

Many soldiers enjoyed WW1. If they were lucky they would avoid a big offensive, and much of the time conditions might be better than at home.

For the British there was meat every day - a rare luxury back home - cigarettes, tea and rum, part of a daily diet of more than 4,000 calories.

Remarkably, absentee rates due to sickness, an important barometer of a unit's morale, were hardly above those of peacetime. Many young men enjoyed the guaranteed pay, the intense comradeship, the responsibility and a much greater sexual freedom than in peacetime Britain.

#ww1 #world war 1 #first world war #world war one #history #military history

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garym23-blog · 6 years

Text

Sharing my experience of Prostatitis- I hope it helps somebody..

Hello, my name is Gary Mehmet. I am a 43 year old man who has over the past two years, been suffering with prostatitis. I am now in a position where I feel much better than since this illness began- about 85-90% better. I still have the odd relapse, which can cause pain for a few days, but I can see huge signs of progress and so in the spirit of wanting to pass something on that might help somebody else looking for help in this area, maybe somebody who does not have any idea how this may have come about or where to go for help or what to ask, I wanted to type something about my experience. I am just an ordinary man, average intelligence and definitely no writer, So I cannot promise you an exciting or super witty read, but if you can get through what I have written in one piece, then I hope you find something helpful in getting the help you need. so here goes, I am going to try and share something of my experience..1,2,3.

How I believe this started:

It was early March 2017. We were away for a few days on the Isle of Wight with our newborn son, Jamie. The first I knew, was overnight, waking to go to the toilet and physically being unable to. I sat and waited and waited and I pushed as far as I could but nothing. I could not pee. That was really the only sign.

There was a lot of stress in my life at this time, not really too interesting; usual things really, divorce in 2014 after 16 years together, an unhappy career in hotel corporate sales lasting 15 years on and off, an altercation with a bully in 2013, which sent my life into a spiral that I am still trying to recover from. That's not normal, you say? Really? Well, there you go. We are all different. I have faced some challenges and made my decisions, some of which I regret but none of which I can change. And I have experienced my share of pain, like anybody else. I am doing my best to move on and to grow as a Man. But looking back on where Prostatitis fits into all of this, it seems to me that this particular illness followed this period of time, so stress may have brought this condition on..

My experience with the NHS

I have been to see a few doctors in the UK. initially, we rushed from the Isle of Wight to visit a drop in 24 hour emergency centre in Hastings. I was seen by a nurse who asked for a sample. I was amazed that I was able to produce this, but I did manage to pee a little and it hurt to do so. The feeling was a like a burning sensation. The sample was screened under something like an ultra violet coloured lamp and the nurse said, this was definitely a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). I was soon after seen by a doctor, who said that this type of infection was very uncommon for a man because of the length of our ……. Apparently this doctor did not believe in bedside manner. He got straight to the point and I will be honest, I did worry.

I was sent off from this appointment with my urine sample and asked to bring it to a local hospital for further testing. I handed my sample to a member of staff at the department of the hospital, as advised. And that was that. I was told the results would be with my local GP in about a few days time.

I went to see my local GP, in Ashford, Kent and my sample had been lost... But a message later came back saying everything was clear..(which seemed strange to me because no further explanation was given as to the connection between the sample being lost and everything now being okay) So, not sure what to make of that, but that was that.

The doctor prescribed antibiotics and I took antibiotics for a good few weeks. I think I went through 2-3 courses of antibiotics. When I ran out, I would make a new appointment and ask a doctor for another. Each doctor said something a little different, like it might be in my mind, ‘you need to stop worrying..’ ‘this is an aftershock in the body after a UTI and it will settle on its own..’ and ‘your prostate feels a little enlarged, we can arrange for you to see a urologist..’ a process, I discovered would take around 12-16 weeks. The NHS is not the best system, but I experienced care by a variety of doctors who were all doing their best to help me.

I cannot remember exactly how long antibiotics seemed to help me for.. I remember feeling better taking them than not, otherwise I would not have asked for more, but it never took the pain away and when the course ran out, the pain would return fully. For me, this mostly meant pain at night, in the centre of my groin (I cannot describe it better than that) just a deep and low- medium level pain that I imagine like a storm brewing... I was unable to lie on either side and would wake several times at night sometimes 2-4 times an hour and I remember having a very difficult time trying to go. In the day time, I would feel the need to go, try to go and then be sitting for up to 45 minutes trying to..you know..go... I could not sleep well, I could not wake up and slowly, I started losing all energy and becoming anxious and tense.

Before, I got the chance to see the Urologist via the NHS referral system, My wife and I had decided to move to Germany for a few years, a bit of space from the pain of the past few years and a transfer opportunity that had come up for my wife, meaning we could go immediately. My wife had friends and family near Munich.. So, we decided we would rent our home and go… And that was July 2017.

It is now March 6th 2019, we are still here. I am having a challenge learning German, but I have learnt a lot and continue to learn as the weeks go by. I have been approached by companies out here for work, which is great, but mostly sales roles and I am trying not to do this. I have spent a period looking after my son, until we could get him into a local Kita (early stage nursery) and a period sorting my health out, because up until the last 2 months, I have not been able to get through a single day consistently well. (Oh and top of prostatitis, I have developed a new chronic allergy to Birch Pollen and as luck would have it, we have a huge collection of said trees right outside our apartment.. I wheeze at night and cannot sleep; either because of wheezing or prostate problems... It has been a strange and uncomfortable experience. I am not saying it is worse than anybody else's only that for me, I have found this very difficult to manage my health day to day, steaming every surface my wife and son touch as they come home, tablets to lessen allergic reactions, asthma inhalers, nasal sprays, (in the past few months, I have also been through a course of injections (‘desensibilisierung’) to help my body), humidifiers to help clean the air and various air purifiers We have recently found a good one and it is really helping, but it is early days. Hell broke loose when the birch pollen exploded mid-late last march.. It is only the 6th March..

Anyway, sorry back on track.. What next?

‘Urologists and Doctors a plenty’ in Germany

It is easy to see doctors out here, in Wolfratshausen and Munich. Everything is private but affordable. I have seen several doctors and the experience has been mixed. in this time, I have seen urologists both old school and an homeopathic urologist. I have had the cystoscopy, which actually really hurt.. Sorry if you don't know what that is-- well..It involved a tube with a camera on the end of it and that is inserted into the tip of your urethra and pushed on and on and on (it seemed) until they (the doctor and nurse) could see what was going on in the bladder and prostate areas. A numbing jelly is applied to the tip of your penis and then comes the tube. It should not be painful and foremost I dont think it is. Why was it painful for me then? I’ll come back to that in a minute. Anyway, this examination revealed nothing. I was then sent to a local General Doctor, who also could not think how to help me. No signs of cancer, my prostate did not seem ‘interesting’ to the Urologist anyway, normal for my age not big, not small, but fine.. And as I said, the doctor had little help to offer, at all, in fact. My wife and i came out of the appointment both shaking our heads in disbelief.

But, I think it is worth noting that I was not offered more antibiotics by this urologist or any other doctor, which actually, I appreciated. At the urologist, the first thing you do other than show your health insurance card and say I have an appointment.. Is go and pee in a cup and leave it for a nurse or other professional to check for signs of infection.. This happens before you walk into your actual appointment..

Online Learning..

My wife and I were doing a lot of research on the type of Urologist, we thought could help us. Normally, I understand that we should not as untrained professionals do our own research and self-diagnose.. My experience so far, was that this was not a simple matter and I needed to try and educate myself a little- I found a book, which I will come to, a little later and that helped me to learn some things but otherwise the research was to really find a doctor we believe could help us.

From the doctors, we had seen until now, it seemed to us, like we needed a certain sort of doctor to do that. It had felt for a while like we were being talked to but not listened to. I would prepare my notes on what I was experiencing, thinking this might provide clues that would help the doctor in identifying meaningful signs that would lead to a clear diagnosis. But nobody seemed to listen to us, until this point.. So we started searching through the websites of any urologists we could find until we found somebody we thought looked or sounded like they might be interested in listening to us.

Through this research, we found a nice female Urologist in Munich and we went to see her a few times. She did ask us questions, not to me, of course, (Deutsch ist sehr Schwierig..) but to my wife. And to her credit, she listened. Every doctor tests the urine sample but this lady asked for a semen sample.. She said I could go home to do this but I offered to assist, for the sake of expediency of course, after excusing myself for a short break to the toilet. This seemed to make her nervous as her face flushed, so my wife offered to bring a sample in the next day.

This test result was again clear. So no luck there. But after explaining my symptoms, this doctor prescribed a course of three tablets:

Tamulosin

Trospiumcholrid

Diclofenac

This combination seemed to create a whole new set of problems. I seemed to develop severe symptoms, which I did not understand. It feels really strange to admit that I could not at this time make the connection, in my mind, between these new symptoms and the new medication. I thought my illness had just taken a turn. It took several weeks before I started to question the medication being perhaps harmful and not helpful.

In this time, I had become highly sensitive to eating almost anything- of course foods like Sauerkraut were off limits (far too acidic) but so seemed most meats, vegetables (Peppers for example), fruit (no more apples or strawberries) and even, can you believe it, beer!!!! (my weekend treat, was gone!), jam, sugar, apfelsaft/Juice even tea.

After nearly two months, I felt likei was on my knees and I asked my wife, sorry, will refer to her by name (veronika or Vroni for short), Vroni set up the appointment and we went back to see her a few days later. I brought my notes and the doctor seemed keen to hear but after listening to me, encouraged me to stay on the medication..

I was not comfortable doing this, so off we went again in search of a new doctor, to help.

Back to Wolfrathausen..

We went to a Urologist in Wolfratshausen (a different man within the same clinic as my first appointment here). This man was part English and had spent time living in England and it was for these reasons, where I knew I stood a better chance of communicating directly with the doctor and not through my wife, that we chose to see him). He was a straight talking old man, who spoke very directly and told me that I should not expect a full examination on seeing him(we had called and made an appointment to see a urologist and had explained our symptoms..) and that were other patients waiting.. In the short time, we were with him though, the usual tests were conducted ie on my urine, a manual prostate exam (don't ask... okay, you lie on your side and the man wears a very thin plastic glove, applies some lubricant and.... Yep, you guessed it :) ) and he asked about the medication I had been taking. On hearing of the mecication I mentioned earlier, he very quickly told me that this sort of medication was only given to elderly men who are too old to be operated on and that this was far too heavy for me and strongly advised me to come off them immediately. He also told me that he did not believe diet had anything to do with my condition and that was just voodoo nonsense..

Great off the tablets then... but I still think diet is part of the problem..

Up until now, i had been trying to approach every doctor with an open mind and willing to try whatever was asked of me. But over time, I was starting to realise that I had to listen to my body and sometimes challenge advice given and because I was doing this and because there are more than one urologist available here in Bavaria, Germany, I eventually found my way to the doctor I have just mentioned and I felt confident now to come off the tablets. And it helped me. A lot. The food sensitivities eased within a few days and I was now back to where I was before with just a ‘straightforward’ set of prostate related problems.. taking too long to pee in the day, unable to sleep at night and waking to go between 2-11 times per night, trying to go, pushing, only able to go standing not sitting, never feeling emptied.

Looking into Homeopathy..

I had been reading as much as i could. I had come across the idea of an alkaline diet possibly helping- the concept of helping reduce the body’s acidity level being helpful for inflammation, so I thought there might be something in that.. After reading very briefly, I decided it was definitely not for me- the diet seemed so restrictive, like I would not be able to eat anything again- okay bit of an overstatement- but my meaning- it was not for me to be so restrictive with my eating ie no milk, no sugar, no meat, no bread, no pasta, no alcohol.. So I said no to that and we moved on. There had to be another way..

But looking into diet and connection with prostatitis got me thinking about other natural ways to help the body recover rather than the harsh chemicals/tablets I had been exposing myself to, so far. As luck would have it, we found an homeopathic urologist (again a lady) in Wolfratshausen.

This doctor did an ultrasound (like for a pregnant lady) of my bladder/prostate area and this was the first time, something more specific about my problem was shared with us.. She told us that the lining to my urethra looks damaged and that this was part of the problem.. Not quite sure how it happened, though... I came to thinking about a period in summer 2016, I had worn the same (yes, I am ashamed to admit this, but in the spirit of disclosure and trying to help somebody else, here it is..), the same pair of sports shorts for a few days without underwear. To ride my bicycle to the gym, have a workout, take a quick dip in the pool and a few minutes in the sauna and then even showering with my shorts on before riding home… I know, yuck!

I still don't know why I did this. The shorts were very comfortable and with a quick drying material.. I might not have the best personal habits but when I go out, I am quite serious about hygiene. This episode was an unusual one for me and perhaps in this time, an infection found its way into my urethra. When I really do think back to that time, my penis did seem to itch a little after a few days, I just did not think anything of it at the time so… I guess there it is… maybe that is where it started..

Natural treatments… From this point, we just trusted this doctor implicitly and did everything she said. She did not seem to want to ask me any questions, only tell me what to do, don't eat apples, no apple cider vinegar, drink lots of water, Fresh espresso is fine (phew!!), pineapples warm- are good, lemon water is especially good- to alkalise the body and so on.

We went home with a list of foods that were good or not good for me and we started making some changes. I don't remember them all, but a few habits that stuck-

Out

Apples

Strawberries

Kiwis

Wine

Weiss bier

Fruit juice

Fruit teas

Instant coffee

Vinegar (ie balsamic)

Lemon water

Espresso (mild)

Pineapple (warm)

Monitoring my water intake and especially the colour of my urine- looking for a nice bright yellow or clear colour- this actually really helped. I had much more comfortable days when my urine was light yellow/clear- that for me was from drinking 2-2.5L water per day.

Several weeks went by and it definitely felt like we were seeing progress I was getting more sleep and though still having difficulties when I did wake, in the day time, going to the toilet was starting to ease. I still could not go comfortably sitting down, but I was going easier than I had for a long time and that was great.

But things got worse. Again.. After several weeks, things seemed to get worse again. Not sure why. I was following the guidelines.. I was not happy being home alone and often deeply upset over not being able to see my children in England and other things but otherwise, not sure- though perhaps there is exactly the problem- stress/depression..?

We returned to the Urologist, again with a set of notes on how we were experiencing things. The doctor listened for a short time then interrupted us and gave us a new set of guidelines including a homeopathic - suppository (another thing to stick up the …. I think you know.. But if not, look it up.. )

I was advised when I awoke at night, in pain, to come away from bed and drink a cup of lemon water (hot/cold are both fine- I like mine hot- 1 whole lemon freshly squeezed with some chopped fresh ginger and honey- delicious!!) and if that did not help, then I should take the suppository.

I tried this a few times and I have promised myself to never, ever do it again. I am not going to describe anything further about it only to say, no. never again. Discomfort not worth it.

At this point, we felt we had again reached a limit with a doctor because again this doctor, as nice as she was, wanted to talk to us more than listen and when we did, we were often interrupted and we were just given a random list of new things to try when she saw us back at her door. I truly appreciate and respect this particular doctor. She helped us see that diet was a key in all of this, to limiting symptoms (not curing them) and that natural treatments could help us.

We wanted to keep following this line of enquiry and see if we could still make further progress because I was still living in pain and not ready to accept that this is how it will be, indefinitely.

The help we needed was right under our noses, so to speak..

As it turned out, my father in law had been also suffering with problems in the bladder/prostate area. He had been experiencing ‘spotting’ (blood) in his urine. This was tested and it was found that he had signs of cancer. He is a former teacher and has a very extensive health cover policy, far greater than the basic one I have. Teachers out here are all very well looked after out here. My father in law had been in and out of a well known private hospital (Klinikum Grosshadern) in Munich, where he had been treated and operated on. After several months, he has had the tumours/growths cut out and is reported to be completely cancer free, which is great news. After so much time when we were both seeing doctors about the same area of the body, finally, we talked about the doctor he was seeing. A specialist called Dr.Magestro.

Ordinarily, I would not have been able to see him because of our policy not covering his services. But, there was an opporutnity to go along to an open ‘surgery’ style session where I could share my experiences with an admin lady who would see if I fit some sort of criteria to be seen by this doctor. I did go along and was given an appointment and that was the start of a breakthrough, for me.

A breakthrough. Finally.. I remember seeing Dr.Magestro, very nervous and scared he would not waste much time with me. Of course, I took a lot of notes with me. I had also recently come across a book entitled- ‘A headache in the pelvis’ by David Wise and Rodney Anderson Which was very, very interesting to me- it is a massive book though at over 600 pages and as motivated as i am, I am also regrettably quite lazy when it comes to reading (okay, Vroni I admit it, yes I like buying books and lining them all up to read but, am very slow in getting round to reading them.. Conscious clear.). Anyway, I had been reading for a few weeks as much as I could before arranging to meet this doctor, in order to try and appear a little more knowledgeable because I thought that would make me less of a time waster and perhaps more of an interesting patient.. (I did not know any better at the time. I only knew this was an opportunity and I did not want to waste ie)

In a short time, I read about how doctors conventionally trained in Urology do not get much, if at all modern training on Prostatitis. It has long been suffered by people and there are different types ie:

Bacterial Prostatitis

Non bacterial prostatitis

Chronic Prostatitis

Pelvic pain syndrome

(Sometimes the problem is even NOT THE PROSTATE!)

I saw through what I read that the ideal situation for a doctor in this area is that they find an infection and throw some antibiotics at it- which wil help clear the infection, mostly. But the problem is where there is no sign of infection.. Doctors have limited time and resources at their disposal to try and investigate this matter further. It is complicated. (The book talks about a meeting point between mind and body often being in the Pelvis region.)

I have read anecdotes about doctors who will tell patients they are fine, to go home and make love to their wife because they are okay, as a placebo technique that can in itself create a reduction of symptoms- showing the power of the mind. But I read that this is also a limited strategy that only removes the symptoms for a short period- maybe a few weeks or months. I also read about doctors who, as part of a study, deliberately told patients during examinations that they had the signs of cancer, to then note how the body of that patient would start to show signs of stress and an increase in certain symptoms, to then tell the patient they had made a mistake.. Sneaky, eh?! But also reinforcing the power of the mind to heal or hurt itself.

I learnt that prostatitis is often but not always connected with a UTI. I learnt that pharmaceutical companies and health insurance companies do not invest much in prostatitis and that this has a knock on effect on the priority that Urologists may give to patients with this condition. I read how people whose analogy includes the remains of a tailbone, in the same way as a dog will tuck in its tail when stressed, people can clench this area and over time this can give way to prostatitis like symptoms. Stress seems to be definitely involved.

Pain leads to anxiety, which leads to tension and this becomes a cycle.. Treatment has to focus on breaking that cycle and only in the past 30 or so years have a few specialised doctors at Stanford University been at the centre of pioneering treatments focused on a sort of three way treatment system involving a urologists care, physiotherapy to help loosen the tightened areas of the pelvis and psychologist/counselling to help with stress and other underlying issues. That is mostly what I recall from my reading. But please see the book yourself and do not take my word for it. I am just an ordinary guy with average intelligence..

But I hope you get some idea here, that I really tried to educate myself on this area, at least as much as I could.

Back to the appointment..

Okay, after the introductions, Dr. Magestro patiently invited me to explain my symptoms and he really listened- finally!! And more importantly, he asked questions back to me and made notes… He went through the usual examinations on my urine, manually checking my prostate and then asking for a further sample after the prostate examination, to get this time a sample from the actual prostate (sorry, cannot explain better than that) which would, he said shed some more light on what had been going on the past several months. The doctor was going to carry out some extensive tests to find the problem.

I remember at this point, feeling quite tearful, that we were finally in front of a doctor who really wanted to listen and help. The doctor was going to see me, as continued research into this area that he was involved in. We were invited back in 2 weeks time for the results..

The results..

We were nervous and for some reason a little excited to go in and find out what was wrong and how to put it right.. So you can imagine how we felt when the Doctor said he found… nothing…. I remember him asking questions at the beginning of the appointment about what we thought might be wrong, listening and nodding as I tried to explain my thoughts and memories only to then say, that he found nothing..

Keep calm and keep moving forwards..

We discussed this revelation and we brought up many memories of other doctors who had said the same thing but that we were still suffering and we needed help. The doctor assured us and told us that this was actually not uncommon and that he treated many people of all ages in all walks of life including politicians, sports stars, pilots and that he was going to put together a plan to help find a cure involving (and it was so good to hear him say this..) his care to oversee things, a physiotherapist and maybe a psychologist. I knew I had found somebody special in this doctor, who listened and wanted to keep going to find a solution. He also labelled my condition as non bacterial prostatitis.

Because I did not have health cover for access to this doctor, we agreed on a flexible 6 weekly appointment. Dr. Magistro offered to try different treatments with me and to see after a period of 6 weeks how things were going and then review and change as necessary. He said he would do as much as he could to help and if necessary, pass me on to other colleagues to focus on other areas of care that might help. He also said that he was sure within 6 months, we can fix this problem (that was such beautiful music to my ears)..

And...?

We were initially prescribe a Verikur and Quercetin. One of these medications was supposed to relax the bladder, the other to reduce the urgency or frequency I felt, to go..After a few weeks, I made a decision to cut out the Verikur because I felt I was having a hard time with it. I stayed with just the Quercetin and I cut that down from 2 tablets x2 per day (after breakfast and dinner) to just one dose a day, I chose that to be in the evening after my main meal and a few hours before bedtime.- when my problems start to kick in.

From the start the feeling was great. I got a good night sleep and mostly only woke only once. That for me, was the biggest sign I have seen, since this whole thing began, that allowed me to believe that I could get better...

How are things going now? It has been about 3-4 months now since our first appointment with Dr.Magestro. I have found that Quercetin, has really helped me. I still have a few occasional nights where I wake 3-4 times they tend to be when I am stressed - I am working on that- but otherwise, I might wake 1 or 2 times and… get this… I am able to sit down and pee.. Should I admit that?! Too late.. And I can go while seated.. And in the middle of the night when I can hardly keep my eyes open, this is really helpful (I can remember swaying on my feet in times gone by, eyes closed because I was so tired and pushing myself to go)

So early days, but this simple supplement has made a positive difference. I just wanted to share this with you- so you can discuss with your urologist or doctor.

I am still going through my recovery process and of the three pillars of therapy, I have only looked at one, so this is really early stage but of course, I still hope one day to be completely free of prostatitis. I cannot pretend to be an expert in any of this, but I know more than I did when I first developed this problem and I know how difficult it was back then to find helpful information and that is why I wanted to try and share something of my experience. I hope it may help somebody to have a better idea where to look (with the help of a good doctor/urologist) for their own answers. But, if you have got this far, I am sorry to take such a long time to make my point. Conciseness and me do not seem to go together. My wife and last wife, do have an ability to switch off and on, while I talk so.. there is that..

You may feel like nobody understands you suffering in this way, especially if you are younger than 45 years old. Just please know that you are not alone and that lots of people have had and will have this condition but that urologists (and definitely not GP’s) are not all very well trained in this area. There are however very good doctors and urologists out there. Your mission is to find that doctor, for you; someody who

has experience in the area

wants to help you- Of course all doctors want to help- but in my experience, I have to say some more than others..

will listen as well as talk with you

you feel comfortable with.

But I would stress the first three points- beggars cant be choosers, afterall!

I hope one day prostatitis is a better understood and more easily treated condition. Until then, all we can do is try to help each other.

Wishing you health and happiness

All my best

Gary Mehmet

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agiliuxcloudinsurance · 6 months

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Using Agiliux to Streamline Insurance Broker Operations and Maximize Efficiency

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globallaunchbaseindia · 2 years

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Evolution of Entrepreneurship with Global Warming

As heat waves are making headlines in the summer of 2022 in Europe. The UK and Europe witnessed the highest temperatures ever experienced in the regions. The deadly heat wave had broken temperature records across Europe. The hot summer weather broke through another peak, with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius recorded in some parts of the UK. Driven by the cause to protect their precious planet, there were many entrepreneurs and investors who were making plans to help address this at the same time.

No doubt, the high temperatures resulted from a combination of global and local factors. On a global scale, climate change has pushed up temperatures. This is generally clear all over the world. However, the record-breaking temperatures being experienced in Europe cannot entirely be attributed to climate change. These kinds of previously unheard-of high temperatures are typically the result of peculiar confluences of regional warming processes, which heighten the already high baselines brought on by climate change. In this case, a low-pressure system over the European region was found to attract hot air from northern Africa. It is also stated that the Arctic Ocean's unusual warming is a factor.

The Rise of the Climate Tech Industry

Climate-tech startups are engaged in minimizing the effects of climate change, decarbonizing the global economy, and developing new lucrative business models. Several companies that fall under the category of mitigation production are working on the alternative clean industry, renewable energy, engineered-carbon capture, and naturally based carbon removal. While businesses that specialize in adaptation, work on issues like agricultural protection, water recycling, climate insurance, or environmental protection.

Climate Tech Startups' Investment in Europe

Startups in the climate technology sector had a good start to the year and may see continued interest as the current energy crisis encourages investment in green technologies.

Figure 1

Figure 1 shows that during this climate change France raised 881 million in the first quarter, whereas Germany raised the investment by 441 million and Denmark at the lowest with 73 million.

Startups are proposing alternatives to the problem. Increased energy efficiency will reduce the need for cooling in buildings altogether. The biochar-based concrete admixes being developed by Berlin-based startup EcoLocked even claim that they will do so while sequestering carbon. The method used by EcoLocked keeps carbon that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere in concrete. Additionally, the carbon adds density to the concrete, boosting insulation and lowering the energy needed to heat or cool structures made of the material.

Heat pumps are also a solution that has gained increasing investment and attention as a lower-carbon way to heat and cool homes. Although the technology is now available, there are still substantial obstacles to installing more of them.

Emerging technologies that will be vital for fighting climate change

AI-Based Air Conditioner: Artificial intelligence (AI) can regulate air-conditioning to keep city dwellers cool, comfortable, and content throughout the next blaze. With extreme temperatures becoming increasingly commonplace, heating and cooling services are surging in demand. That includes HVAC experts in areas with typically temperate climatic conditions.

For example, Düsseldorf-based prop-tech startup Dabbel is using AI to drive energy efficiency savings in commercial buildings.

Digital Twins: Digital twins could also help us to fight heat waves by analyzing the effects of increased temperatures on housing, wireless networks antennas, solar panels, and public transport. Digital twins are already being used by the power industry to help forecast and calculate the risk of wildfires, enabling the industry to prevent them from becoming roaring blazes.

For example, Destination Earth – The new digital twin of the Earth will help tackle climate change and protect nature

Modular floating wind: A floating wind turbine foundation with both strong technical and commercial capabilities. It is designed using a modular method for serial production in the current global supply chain, enabling quick scale-up and low cost for the next generation of wind turbines.

For example, The floating windcatcher released by Norwegian startup Wind Catching Systems (WCS) stands 324m tall and looks like the above schematic.

Space technology: Space technologies have led to several inventions that benefit the environment and save energy. Vehicle carbon dioxide emissions are being decreased by satellite-based systems, wind turbine efficiency is increasing according to remote sensing technologies, and solar cell output is increasing thanks to data from weather satellites.

For example, Aistech Space generates affordable, recurrent, high-resolution thermal imagery of the planet to provide a new perspective of Earth’s changing resources.

Carbon capture: The most significant greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), concentrations of which have increased by almost 50% since the industrial revolution began. Carbon collection, utilization, and storage technologies are among the innovations being employed to lower CO2 emissions - with the Net Zero Teesside (NZT) project being an excellent example.

Blockchain Implementation: The implementation of blockchain technology in the battle against climate change should serve as a positive example for those skeptical of its merits. As an increasingly green-focused organization, the EU is taking active steps to incorporate blockchain technology into its climate change strategy in several ways. In collaboration with other international entities such as the UN and the World Bank, the EU is taking necessary measures to encourage businesses and national governments to follow in their footsteps.

For example, Carbon Footprint uses blockchain technology to provide full transparency on the carbon offset projects

Biotechnology: Agriculture faces serious threats from climate change. Agricultural disruptions result in issues with the food supply, which pose a serious danger to geopolitical stability. As a result, biotech companies will play a crucial role in the struggle to create innovative methods for agricultural systems all over the world. Crop science will be a major focus of these advancements, but processing and enrichment will also be important.

For example, Mushlabs biotech startup developing the next generation of sustainable alternative proteins using fermentation and fungus.

Smart Grid: It is a big term that refers to some different technologies, but the area smart grids in particular that are worth investing in to help during heatwaves are microgrids and distributed power generators. The term microgrid refers to a variety of technologies that can provide electricity at or near the point of energy consumption. Each microgrid would only serve a small local system, such as ones powering campuses or municipalities.

For example, GRIDVISE Optimizes Microgrids that are Under Design, at Project Stage, or in Operation.

Today, we have a pressing need to reach net zero emissions and this objective needs to be taken incredibly seriously by companies if we want to avoid another heatwave and halt climate change.

Conclusion

Technologies over technologies are being built today to save the planet. Climate-tech companies have been growing rigorously and the interest of investors has been captured with technologies that not only get them profits but also claim to change the world, eventually. While we’re at it, the climate is still changing rapidly, and surprisingly not enough is being done about the situation. We’re so engrossed in capitalizing on this calamitous situation, that solving the real problem has taken a backseat. If we’re to save ourselves, we need to focus on climate. As investors, we need to focus on businesses that work on-ground to deal with climate change and whose core proposition is climate, rather than climate tech.

We are observing investors firmly supporting an increasing number of climate-tech startups as heat waves take over and discussions about climate change begin to pick up steam once more.

Written By: Jagriti Shahi

Key Contributors: Anubha Chicki and Kiran Gange

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jayanthitbrc · 2 years

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Financial Institutions Can Effectively Evaluate Investment Opportunities Using The Global Market Model

Financial institutions are laser focused on recent developments in markets, keeping a close watch on all the factors that might influence their business. To avoid being misled by unauthenticated data, financial institutions rely on the Global Market Model (https://bit.ly/3zlJAtW) to provide the most updated scenario of various industries across geographies and forecast periods. By using crucial data on numerous market areas provided by the GMM, financial services can track and appraise investment opportunities while also laying a solid foundation for decision-making. The market intelligence tool can also be utilized to aid customers in developing and improving business plans with reliable and accurate data. Furthermore, financial organizations can develop insurance and banking products by analyzing market size and forecasts on 81 financial services markets across 60 geographies; market reports covering financial services sectors such as cards and payments, insurance, banking, investments, lending and broking; and market indicators including number of bank branches, ATMs, cards, and assets under management. These insights help financial services assess market potential for their products and evaluate a spectrum of risks, helping them quickly react to changes in the market. To gain a better understanding of our services, we advise a free demo or trial to walk through the platform yourself. Request Complimentary Access To Understand The Benefits Of The Global Market Model: https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/global-market-model/demo-request The Global Market Model is among the best market intelligence software globally that is available to corporates, consultancies, and other entities. The online subscription-based market intelligence database provides you with valuable insights on the growth potential of various markets and the future opportunities that can be leveraged. The GMM tool assists you in analyzing market sizes and benchmarking your company against competitors. The portal provides access to 3000+ global markets and metrics across 27 industries and 60 geographies, including historic and forecast data with timely insights, analytics tools, a comprehensive taxonomy, and more. The GMM platform is the ideal market intelligence system for crucial market data essential for your business growth. Access our latest insight on trends and strategies that are constantly updated in our database to stay on top of market developments. Request customized datasets across markets, geographies, and industries and have them delivered within 72 hours. Our 24-hour customer and analyst support teams are available to address any queries you have, ensuring that you make the best use of our platform. Boundless information, all at the click of a button. View Our Video To Understand How The Gmm Platform Can Benefit Financial Service Providers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_ylikeitu8&list=PLXNDdIugU5z7oFMFs09oFXL7Z5eE3XYFm&index=7 The World’s Most Comprehensive Database The Business Research Company’s flagship product, Global Market Model, is a market intelligence platform covering various macroeconomic indicators and metrics across 60 geographies and 27 industries. The Global Market Model covers multi-layered datasets which help its users assess supply-demand gaps. About The Business Research Company: The Business Research Company is a market intelligence firm that excels in company, market, and consumer research. Located globally it has specialist consultants in a wide range of industries including manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, chemicals, and technology. It has offices in the UK, the US and India and a network of trained researchers in 28+ countries globally. Contact Information: The Business Research Company Europe: +44 207 1930 708 Asia: +91 88972 63534 Americas: +1 315 623 0293 Email: [email protected] Follow us on LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/company/the-business-research-company Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tbrc_info Check out our Blog: http://blog.tbrc.info/ Or get a quick glimpse of our services on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC24_fI0rV8cR5DxlCpgmyFQ

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idyoma · 3 years

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What to Know About Travel in Europe After Brexit

Travel in Europe After Brexit

As of January 2020, the UK began the lengthy process of leaving the EU. As the majority of Brits voted to leave the EU in the ongoing Brexit debate, there will be some definite changes to travel in Europe after Brexit. At 11PM on December 31st 2020, Brexit was officially put in place and Britain is no longer an EU member, so what does this mean for your future travel plans?

We know for certain that travel guidelines have changed since January 2021, so here are some of the key points to remember when booking your next big Europe trip. Before you leave for your chosen EU destination, don’t forget to brush up on your language skills with Idyoma.

Travel in Europe After Brexit

• EHIC 200

• Mobile Roaming 200

• Passport 200

• Driving License and Insurance 200

• Visas 200

• Vaccinations 200

• Easiest Destinations for Brits 200

Why You Need EHIC to Travel in Europe After Brexit

An EHIC is a European Health Insurance Card. Previously this card offered all EU citizens entitlement to the relevant state healthcare services of the country you were visiting. This would give you access the local healthcare system at a reduced cost or for free. For example, if you broke an arm in Germany, you could present your EHIC card at the hospital to show that you were able to use the healthcare services as an EU resident. However, this no longer applies if you’re a UK resident.

Previous EHIC cards are valid until their shown expiry dates, but you cannot apply for a new EHIC card under the new UK government Brexit legislation. Instead, a replacement scheme was rolled out in January 2021 called the Global Health Insurance Card or GHIC. The GHIC is similar to the old EHIC, as it gives the holder free or reduced cost use of state healthcare In reciprocal countries like Australia and New Zealand. Unlike its name suggests, the GHIC doesn’t currently cover EEA states such as Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Iceland. Also, if you have an existing or long-term illness you should probably seek out independent health and travel insurance to ensure you’re covered.

You can apply for the new GHIC card for free on the NHS website.

Mobile Roaming

One thing yuo might have considered when thinking about travel in Europe after Brexit is your mobile! Mobile roaming can be a tricky one to figure out when entering a new country. Previously, free mobile roaming was guaranteed in the European and Schengen areas, but this ended on December 31st 2020. While mobile roaming isn’t guaranteed, many phone operators aren’t actually planning to introduce fees for roaming. You need to check with your individual phone operator to find out if there are any particular charges you could incur if you use roaming data while on holiday in an EU country.

Thankfully, there is a new law that adds a little bit of protection for you. While you browse the internet in another country, you won’t rack up enormous roaming data charges. If there are charges for mobile roaming in your destination country, then you will receive a notification when charges reach £45. No further charges for using internet can be incurred unless you clearly opt-in to continue using roaming internet data at a cost. If you check with your provider well before leaving the UK, though, you’ll be made fully aware of any possible fees for mobile roaming.

To Travel in Europe After Brexit You’ll Need a Passport

As a lover of travel, you probably know that until 2021, UK citizens with a valid passport were able to travel freely within Europe. From January 2021 UK citizens must renew their passports earlier than they may have previously expected, to ensure it’s still valid. Your passport must have at least six months left before its expiry date, on the day that you travel. If your passport is even a week or a day short of six months remaining validity, you may not be allowed to travel to EU countries or EEA states.

As before, travel rules for travel to Ireland apply. Travel in Europe after Brexit is undoubtedly going to be a litle trickier. But you must also still be aware of the COVID guidelines and quarantine rules of your destination country, so you’re prepared to enter safely and know that your passport won’t expire while you’re away.

If you want to check whether or not you need to renew your UK passport before your travel date, the British government have provided a useful online tool. You can also apply for a new passport from the government website. Remember that it can take up to a few months for passport applications to be fully processed and for you to receive your valid passport, so it’s a good idea to sort out your passport well in advance of booking any trips to EU destinations.

Driving License and Insurance

Feel like braving the winding Italian countryside roads on your next travel adventure? Previously as a UK citizen, you will have enjoyed a lot of freedom with your EU driver’s license but driving in the EU as a UK citizen has changed just a little.

There were some concerns that Brits would be required to apply for an international driving permit in order to drive throughout the European Union countries. The final Brexit deal terms instead dictated that all UK driving licenses, providing they’re valid and the driver also has insurance, are still valid for use in the EU. This means you can still rent cars on your holidays to the EU and drive with your usual license. The complication comes when you want to bring in your own vehicle to drive. In this case you’ll also need to apply for a Green Card which proves you have a car insurance policy in place, as well as a GB sticker to be displayed on your vehicle. Funnily enough, these rules also apply if you are driving from Northern Ireland to the Republic, where a Green Card is required.

Visas

When it comes to travel in Europe after Brexit, there is speculation that you will need to apply in advance to visit the EU from 2022, as a British citizen. The new ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation Scheme) you’ll be required to pay 7 Euro for a three-year pass (not unlike a visa). Before you can leave for your destination, you will also need to specify which country you will arrive in and the exact address of where you’ll be staying for the first night in that destination country.

That may sound a bit complicated, but for now as a tourist, you don’t need to apply for a visa for short trips to EU and EAA countries. You’ll be allowed to stay in that country for up to 90 days within any one 180-day period. If you want to stay longer than those 90 days in an EU country, you’ll need to get a visa or a travel permit specific to your circumstances.

Bear in mind that travel to Ireland is still the same as it has been regarding visas. Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Croatia have different rules, however, so time spent in those countries does not count towards your 90-day total visiting allowance.

Because of the confusing changes and specificity of rules depending on your destination, the EU created a ‘short term stay visa calculator’ so you can figure out how many more days you are allowed to stay in a European country. In short – check the visa rules around your specific destination country and stay aware of how long you’re allowed to remain there on your trip.

Vaccinations and Border Restrictions During Travel in Europe After Brexit

As of writing this article, there is still some debate on whether ‘vaccine passports’ will be required from British travellers to cross into European borders. What’s certain for now is that the UK is not exempt from border restrictions that may prevent travel into the EU borders. The UK is currently under third-party travel restrictions when it comes to the EU, and many Brits trying to holiday in the EU have reportedly been turned away as their trips were not deemed essential in the current global climate.

Japan, South Korea, and Australia are enjoying special allowance to enter EU borders due to their unique negotiations and lower COVID rates. EU officials have commented that there are no current plans to introduce the UK into this special border allowance. The global pandemic situation is likely to change, though, as will UK travel guidelines within the EU, so it’s best to check with your destination country before booking and taking your trip.

Easiest Destinations for Brits to Travel in Europe After Brexit

With Brexit completed and Britain entering new negotiations regarding travel within the EU, it’s looking like EU travel will still be just as possible and equally enjoyable. But which European states are going to be the easiest destinations for Brits to Travel in Europe in Europe After Brexit, even with new restrictions? Currently the countries below are some of the best EU destinations to British citizens. By offering easy and high quality healthcare accessibility, easy immigration policies, and having a high percentage of English-speakers, these are the top countries to visit after Brexit as a UK citizen:

• Spain and France

• Mainland Portugal

• Germany

• The Netherlands

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ukimmigrationmatters · 3 years

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Exclusive free training for my Money Tips Podcast followers!

Welcome To The Course, Mastering Money The S.M.A.R.T Way Without Working Any Harder!

Lesson #6

TRACK YOUR INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

Welcome to the final module and congratulations on sticking with it. Winners are finishers!

If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.

Peter Drucker

In this module, we are going to put it all together starting with monitoring your income and outgoings.

Tracking your income and expenditure is the foundation of gaining control of your finances and accumulating wealth. Unless you know where your money is going you cannot make savings or accumulate cash, which is why I keep repeating this.

Keep a spreadsheet, or an app and you’ll be amazed at the results.

Good businesses and governments keep accurate records, and produce monthly management accounts. They use cashflow forecasts to project forward to anticipate peaks and troughs and nasty surprises.

When working as a financial adviser, I found that the average person had no idea. A regular annual spike in expenditure, such as Christmas or a service on the car, seemed to come as a big surprise to them.

People in this position were invariably broke or living close to the edge. They constantly worried and argued about money because money controlled them rather than the other way around.

Any large bill would send them deeper into debt.

Things always seemed to go wrong for them, or that’s how they perceived a car breakdown or the boiler packing up over the Christmas holidays.

One family I met actually felt that the whole world was against them. The husband, despite being a skilled and intelligent design engineer, was the main problem. He was at odds with everyone and always going to court to dispute late payment fines or parking tickets. He would say things like, “it’s just our luck” or “the system’s a con”.

The wife said to me, “we just want to be normal”. I could see that the negativity and poverty mindset of the parents was being passed on to their six children who all looked slightly downtrodden and worried.

In reality, their “disasters” were no different to the things that happened to everyone else. Things go wrong and break down, especially when they are old or not serviced.

When you are in control of your finances you will still have problems. However, the difference is that you will be able to deal with them quickly without borrowing. You will have a contingency fund and insurance cover for breakdown and repairs or things that happen unexpectedly in our lives, like the death or injury to a breadwinner. That’s what wealthy people have!

You will know you exactly where your money goes and where you can make savings.

Additional income when economising is not enough.

Mastering money is not just about saving money or cutting back. You obviously need to earn well and keep earning, learning and improving.

You can only reduce your expenditure so far. If you want to improve your lifestyle you will have to increase your income. Struggling businesses cannot just cut costs and staff in order to survive. They need sales and revenue.

You can increase your revenue in a number of ways. For instance:

· Change your job or business

· Upskill to become more valuable to the marketplace

· Take a part-time job or start a part-time home-based business.

How many hours do you work each week?

The majority of people in developed countries work between 35 and 40 hours a week, unless you live in France where some work closer to 30 hours! This is not the case in Asian tiger economies.

Take the example of immigrants who usually progress rapidly in a country like the UK or US. Migrants I know don’t just work a 40-hour week. They take all the overtime offered or have part-time jobs in the evenings and weekends. While others are watching all the ‘bad news’ about the economy on TV, they are out earning money for their own u’conomy!

I know many migrants who came to the UK with “nothing to declare” and no contacts, but quickly prospered.

I meet migrants at seminars. Some have learned how to make money in property using none of their own money, which is handy, because they didn’t have much to start with!

Others have started online businesses in their spare time or leaned how to trade stocks and FOREX.

If you don’t think you have the time, take a look at how much time you spend watching TV or on social media. Instead of wasting time on social media, I now make money on social media.

The future is HERE NOW, watch out!

AI, automation and self-driving vehicles are no longer science fiction. Millions of jobs in the west will disappear over the next ten to twenty years, and some predict even sooner. There has never been a more pressing time to learn new skills and upgrade your knowledge.

Jobs no longer last for 40 years and governments around the world have already talked about how to reskill millions of workers who will become redundant when the machines take over, or someone in The Philippines or India can do the job faster and cheaper.

Only 10% of people keep learning after leaving school or college and many never read another book. Where do you think they are in the earnings league?

You don’t need to go back to years of formal education to reskill. There are thousands of inexpensive vocational courses available at evening colleges and increasingly online. Universities offer part-time courses, from short diploma to master’s degree, specifically aimed at mature and working students. I know, because in 2017 I gained a degree in leadership and management from my local university. All the lectures and tutorials were held at the weekend to suit working students who wanted to improve their prospects and expand their mind.

Summary Lesson 6

Tracking your income and expenditure is the foundation of gaining control of your finances and accumulating wealth. Wealthy people know exactly what’s coming in and where their money is going.

Action Steps

· Start your money tracker spreadsheet now

· Record all money coming in and going out of your household

· Look ahead and anticipate peaks and troughs in income or expenditure

· Look for ways to earn extra money

· Think about your job in the future

· Never stop learning and upskilling.

Congratulations on reaching the end of this course!

You have learned how to Master Your Money and become a S.M.A.R.T Money Manager. Using this simple management system will help you to:

· Spend wisely and avoid debt

· Manage and respect your money

· Accumulate wealth over time

· Review your finances on a regular basis

· Track your income and expenditure

Finally, take responsibility for where you are today. Your current bank balance reflects your lifetime decisions, habits and actions. Don’t blame the government, the taxman or your parents.

As one of my mentors, Jim Rohn once said, “If you’re forty, in good health, living in America and broke, something is wrong”.

We all have the opportunity to educate ourselves, learn from leaders in our field, get a better job or start a business, save and invest and build a better life.

Yes, some lucky people born into wealth have a leg up in life, but that doesn’t exclude you from the millionaire’s club. Membership to the club is still open and every year millions more join it!

Someone else becoming rich doesn’t deprive you or mean there’s not enough to go around – that’s a ‘scarcity’ mentality. Quite the opposite in fact. Wealth is expanding, wealthy people employ more people, successful business people employ people and help make others rich too.

I repeat. There are more opportunities today to become financially free than there has ever been in 7000 years of recorded history.

Thank you for joining me on your journey to becoming a S.M.A.R.T Money Manager. Remember to follow the action steps. TAKE ACTION!

There are more examples and practical steps to getting rich and being happy in my book, Yes, money can buy happiness, which you can find on Amazon.

Thank you for listening to this course! I hope you enjoyed it and are following the action steps.

Would you like to take the next step towards becoming financially free?

Bonus Lesson

You have now learned how to manage you money the S.M.A.R.T way. I have created a special bonus lesson to take you to the next level by showing you how you can create more income!

I will send you the bonus lesson if you follow the steps below and watch my free video training. Just email once you have registered.

Millionaires and millionaire habits have been studied and documented at academic levels for the last hundred years. We know exactly what the millionaire habits and traits are, as success leaves tracks. All you have to do is follow their tracks to become wealthy and financially free!

If you would like to learn more about investing and managing your money, become a professional property investor, or would like to be financially free without working any harder, watch this free on demand training.

I will give a special free gift which can help you to immediately transform your finances when you attend the online training.

Click on this link to watch the free training now https://bit.ly/3wLWqx2

#money #financial #freedom

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