I’m aware. The difference in fees compared to MC/Visa for example is staggering, but no surprise if the infrastructure isn’t profit-oriented. I was just making the point, that the ones responsible to make it happen in Europe are making excuses for why it won’t be done. It is true though, that around the time of Pix being implemented there was a boom in financial inclusion in Brazil. But that might have just as well been because of the pandemic and Pix just made it easier for everyone.

And no more data as well. Don’t forget about the consumer data.

A few years back I remember who I believe was a commission leader in Brussels commenting on Pix along the lines of: Pix has given banking access to many Brazilians. We already have a very high quota in Europe, so we will not need an equivalent system… I don’t think there’s much interest in the political sphere for a publicly run solution like this.

Not that I know of. There have been discussions around putting some of that into legislation though. I’m not sure about how serious that is, since most of all of this is done behind closed doors.

Joke’s on us. Remember the ‘great deal’ for 15% tariffs? Guess what was included in that. Yep: Better access to the EU market for US agricultire products and the axing of what they call “unfair” trade barriers. Which includes among others plant-health measures, health regulations, vehicle safety regulations and more generally easier mutual recognition of assessments of conformity.

The problem is more that they make silly unforced errors. Like today, where they made a completely weird strategy call for both or last race, where they had more porpoising than they expected and got DQed. There were more of these errors during the season, albeit not often this consequential. They could have gone into the last few races just fighting it out amongst themselves, but instead they’ve let a third one get in between them.

If I was Oscar Piastri I would be looking at what other teams can offer

This would be even more true, if McL had decided to back Lando at the beginning of the season. It is precisely the equal opportunity in the most competitive car, that would keep him there (rule changes for 2026 notwithstanding). So the argument is exactly the opposite.

Basically the assumption is that the signal x(t) is equal to 0 for all t < 0 and that the integral converges. And what is a bit counter-intuitive: Laplace transformations can be regarded as generalizations of Fourier transformations, since the variable s is not only imaginary but fully complex. But yeah… I would have to brush up on it again, before explaining it as well. It’s… been a while.

I was at the intersection between mechanical and electrical engineering as well as computer science. And worked in/with (electric) mobility, agriculture, medical/rehabilitation tech., solar energy, energy grid, construction and building tech. As well as some very limited stuff with economics. And I intentionally chose my study courses to be able to work in multiple areas and inter-disciplinary. My latest work is more on the business and management side of things and less technical, though.

What are you studying and what direction are you hoping to head in?

Basically two things: 1. Complicated operations in the time domain like convolutions become simple operations in the frequency domain. 2. It is way easier to handle complex numbers and do analysis with them than with explicit frequencies to the point where some things like stability and robustness can be judged by simple geometry (e.g. are the eigenvalues within the unit circle) or the sign of the imaginary part.

EDIT: I forgot the most important simplification of operations: A derivative in the time domain, becomes a simple multiplication by s in the frequency domain. So solving Differential Equations of the system’s dynamics becomes pretty easy without having to go back into the time domain explicitly.

It seems simpler than the Fourier transform, until you realize that the s is a complex number.

Oh, look at that hornet’s nest. I wonder what happens if I poke it

As someone who worked with system modelling, analysis and control for years… I do think the Laplace transform is easier to work with 🙈🏃‍♂️

It’s a bit difficult to advise on such a thing without knowing the people and their situations, so I’ll keep it as general as possible and mention a few common traps. And it won’t be a clear yes or no, because in the end, only you two can make the decision and take responsibility for your own lives.

When people say, that you change a lot during your 20s (or longer for that matter), it’s because of several things, but I’d say the most important are:

First: Your ability to interpret and regulate emotions (the prefrontal cortex is the last part of the brain to fully develop and continues to do so in your 20s). And with that identifying subconscious emotional wounds and patterns driving your decisions, so you can take appropriate action to change your programming where it isn’t helpful. In a relationship context both of your attachment styles are very relevant here.

Second: Identifying and letting go of values and ideas that have been instilled in you by your vicinity (parents, religion, friends, TV, internet, or society in general) and identifying your own intrinsic values and drivers. Or in other words: Learning who you, yourself, really are. I know it feels like you already know, but that feeling can be deceiving. I for one don’t know of a single person who is let’s say 35 and would claim that they truly knew themselves at 20, let alone 17.

So when you say “It has always been my dream to have a family of my own, and that motivated me to propose: why wait if you know what you want?”, I hear some alarm bells going off. I would advise you and your fiancée to be very introspective, where this want came from and whether it truly aligns with yourselves and with your current situation, or whether it came from external influences. This is hard to do at your age, even if there is a chance that you are both already mature enough in that regard. Also be very aware, what marriage actually means. To you, to her, to others (e.g. is it a box to tick off, or is it a gate to real fulfillment?) and legally.

I read in one of the answers that you haven’t had a real fight yet. A primary predictor of relationship success is your way of conflict resolution. Now don’t go looking for artificial conflict to see how you react. But if you for example were to take things in steps, like moving in together before you get married, these conflicts will arise naturally and you would be able to see how that goes. And even if it goes badly at first, if you are both conscious of it and willing, you can both work on the way you react to and communicate during conflict (and in general) to make it succeed. A small word of caution and something to explore (not assuming it’s necessarily the case here): A pattern I see often in couples who “don’t have fights”, is that at least one of the two is avoiding it. Which can be ok, but not if it means always (consciously or unconsciously) abandoning their own boundaries or values.

What complicates all of that, is what people now seem to call “new relationship energy”. Basically the hormonal cocktail of your system that makes you feel so excited and in love with the other person. This leads people to ignore existing and potential friction and romanticize the idea of a future with the partner. While it is possible to “keep a spark alive” for your whole life, if you do it right, this “energy” for a lack of a better word, will wear off at some point. At which time other factors like communication skills, conflict resolution, the emotional depth of the relationship and value/need/want alignment become even more important.

I could go on and on (what’s your plan for education, jobs, place to live, kids, …), but I think these are the most relevant parts to make a decision with both eyes open. The journey can be magical as you get to know yourself and the other person together and witness and be part of the growth together. But it will get bumpy and how you two can navigate those bumps will determine where you’ll end up. No matter the success, it will be a learning experience. If you are willing to learn and act accordingly.

Good luck you two. And don’t forget to enjoy and experience your lives!

Please enlighten us. What reports on ‘McLaren cheating w/ skid blocks’ surfaced a year ago?

If the skids expanded, they would protrude more and therefore be more prone to wear. That is the exact opposite of what the “trick” should do. Furthermore they wouldn’t be flush with the plank after cooling down again for re-scrutineering, which would be weird because that is tightly regulated.

So I don’t know who came up with this rumor, but it makes sense on no level whatsoever.

In some places in the world, some people seem to get incredibly clumsy when they’re near open windows. In others, they have very guilty consciences to the point of killing themselves.

\s for clarity

Ich kann in der Sache die neueste Folge der Anstalt (Abriss-Anstalt) von vor ein paar Tagen empfehlen. Dort werden Missstände der Finanzierung und Subventionierung des sozialen Wohnungsmarktes aufgezeigt. Sowie eben auch wo der neueste “Bau-Turbo” an der Realität vorbei geht.

Can I ask, where you got this? I can’t find it on their site and tineye doesn’t return any results.

Just saw the other day, how (mostly older) TikTokers are mocking and blaming SNAP recipients, their working class peers, for the predicament brought onto them. Absolutely disgusting. If this thing is true, I won’t say that I’m surprised, but man would this be even more disgusting.

Dispicable! Is there a source to this? It seems like they posted it themselves somewhere to brag about their crimes.

Indeed, you are correct. This one is talking only about dysfunction. There are others (like this one or that one ) who look at factors like sensitivity/pleasure and can’t find an adverse effect, but I didn’t mention them, because I can’t see how they came to that conclusion and how the initial data was generated. So I can’t really say, whether that’s a sufficient result. Then, there’s studies like this one which asked males about their function and pleasure and compare between then and before circumcision, but again, that’s based on self-reports, which vary.

Phimosis is a congenital issue

That’s the primary type. There’s also the secondary type, that can evolve through inflammation for example. Which can be part of the pathology with insufficient hygiene.

To preface this: The science seems a bit inconclusive on the exact effects on sexual function or sensitivity. This review paper from 2023 in the Journal “Sexual Medicine Review” suggests that: “Despite the conflicting data reported in articles, the weight of the scientific evidence suggests there is not sufficient data to establish a direct association between male circumcision and sexual dysfunction.”

Unfortunately most papers are paywalled and we’d have to weed through the source papers to judge methodical weaknesses as well, since a lot of it is self-reporting. (I remember reading but can’t find a paper right now, where they tested a more objective pressure threshold that could be felt in circumcised and uncircumcised males and found some difference. But I can’t remember how significant the difference was.)

I’ve met a guy who was bullied in high school so bad for it he got a circ as an adult. (…) I don’t want to make him feel like something’s wrong with him his whole life because I was uncomfortable with the idea.

It’s a value judgement. But if you ask me personally, I would not try to avoid potential (not ensured) bullying by doing a lasting medical procedure. Especially considering that like with every such procedure there is a risk of complications (3.84% overall). Much rather I’d try to be there for him, if there is bullying and see to it, that he doesn’t feel shame around it.

Apparently crazy painful recovery.

That sounds like complications. Generally there’s more complications when it’s for therapeutic reasons and with higher age.

I’ve also talked to women who are generally grossed out by uncircumcised men. And I know women who prefer it the other way round. Again, you know your cultural environment better than me, but I don’t think you should make a decision like this on subjective opinions of some limited anecdotes. Also: Even if these opinions were objectively prevalent, they can change geographically or over time. And: Think about the kind and quality of a relation that falls apart because of something like that.

And last but not least, we have a view of a clinician in this topic who highlights the necessity of teaching him good hygiene to avoid phimosis (or general build up of smegma and its risks) and the role you think you can and want to play in his upbringing. There’s a lot of people around the world who are uncircumcised and I don’t think there is any prevalent medical downside from it. And I would absolutely add as a precaution, that such a procedure, if you chose to do it, should absolutely be made in an appropriate medical facility by qualified doctors.

It’s crazy how much doctors seem to be lawyers arguing against the insurance companies on behalf of patients, instead of actually being able to treat and care for the patients. Can’t imagine, that’s why anyone in medicine chose that career and put in the work for it. And it costs society a lot of money as well, to actually educate and train people to become doctors. It’s almost like the profit motive shouldn’t guide medical care.