There is something odd with the stats. If we look at individual age groups listed, the cases for unvaccinated is multiple x higher than fully vaccinated. Then if one looks back at "all ages", the cases per 100,000 people are almost the same. Is there a bug with the charts?
In this case it's not relevant, because it couldn't explain these similar magnitude trend lines adding up to something so tremendously different.
The effect is caused by the age data ending in mid-October, before the spike we're looking at in mid-December. So, the age-segregated data couldn't show that spike at all.
This is heartbreaking. But I can imagine a scenario where a grieving billionaire pays a team to continuously generate new VR interactions, even "growing" the child to adulthood over the years.
Thanks for the tip. I have been sourcing for alternatives to ExpressVPN for China. Last year was pretty ok but on a recent trip, it had difficulty connecting 70% of the time and failed in multiple cities inland and on the coast. Seems like I need to setup my own now.
I do this to my kids. I don't know if it helps. (The older one is 9 who eats almost everything and a younger picky eater who is 5.) Getting them to try a wider variety of food is often tough since it is easy to fall back on the usual stuff. Occasionally I have new types of food, I would make a small bitesize and use all the powers I have for them to take the first mouth. If they swallow it without tasting, they get a second mouth of it. They have to describe the taste to me precisely in simple terms, e.g sweet, chunky, sour, like apples etc. Often when they have a conscious bias, e.g. the younger one dislikes anything that resembles white creamy sauce, they will say it is "yucky". Yucky is not a taste descriptor. I sometimes add things they like e.g. bits of chocolate. My goal is to encourage them to focus on the taste and make connections like "this ugly piece of food will taste like chocolate since there is chocolate. Btw it is actually sweet as well". Basically, I am trying to address a unconscious bias in their imagination of the taste. It also helps to understand better what they really like and what is totally unacceptable. For example, taste-wise, tomatoes are off limits to my older one ... for now because you never know when it changes. :) Hope this gives you some ideas.
Has anyone thought about the effects of NOT having google search product and services in China? I read a lot of negativity about how it is ruining the culture and personal beliefs about freedom. Has anyone balanced it with what is the upside to users (not money for Google)?
IMHO there isn't much effect of Google not being in China. Baidu works for Chinese uses. I've seen an argument that Google would be a better, freer experience, but Dragonfly shows that wouldn't really be the case.
I am pretty sure Tolkien books were way less popular before the movies were made. I often see them gathering dust in the library. I will be honest. For someone used to reading fantasy novels from Robert Jordan, Raymond Feist, Anne McCaffrey etc, I find the pace of the books excruciatingly slow. The details are great and the imagination is impressive but it is painful to read... (apologies to LOTR fans)
> I am pretty sure Tolkien books were way less popular before the movies were made
The Lord of the Rings has sold more than 150 million copies over a period of 60 years [0]. The first American edition sold a quarter of a million copies in 1965 alone, and was the New York Times' Paperback Bestsellers list number 1 by the end of the year.
It's not quite up there with the Bible and Koran, but is definitely 'tier 2' if those are 'tier 1'. The films were made because of the massive historical popularity of the books.
Don't get me wrong. I am sure it is a massively popular book.
But I have not found stats that break down the "150 million over 60 years". It was published on 1954 + 60 years = 2014. The movies are made in 2001. So what is the % of sales for 48 years versus the 14 years after 2001? I am not sure really.
Without Tolkien, there would be no Robert Jordan, Anne McCaffrey, or Raymond Feist. Tolkien invented nearly all of the tropes of modern high fantasy. Without Tolkien there would be no D&D. Heck, there might still be role-playing games but they would bear no resemblance to what we have now.
Before the movies I had a hard time convincing people to get past the first 150 pages. And then you have the whole thing about the LOTR taking a different turn when Tolkien made it a larger story and not just a hobbit adventure.
I like LOTR because I like backstories and the whole book is about hearing what's happening behind the mountains. I could never get into Game of Thrones and my girlfriend never made it through LOTR. To each its own.
I used to love LOTR, but after reading Malazan book of the fallen, I can't hold it in very high regard anymore. It paved the way for sure, created a genre even, but as for pure gripping story and overall enjoyment during reading (my primary goals when I choose to read fantasy), it has been surpassed by huge amount.
wait, you think LOTR is too slow but you like Robert Jordan? I'm pretty sure there are entire books in the Wheel of Time where nothing substansive even happens.
This has been blown out of proportion pretty badly. I would agree that Tolkien (even LOTR, and especially some of his other works) is slower reading than The Wheel of Time (I've not read other Jordan). I would attribute this almost entirely to broader differences in literature between their time periods. Writing in the '30s and '40s was just different than it was in the '80s and on.
I get what you mean. Wheel of Time has its slow moments. But then the whole series had a really odd pace. The last 3 books after RJ passed away was too fast and too sudden.
