#and the regulations are simpler and friendlier

[kebriones]

Okay so after a very long consultation with my accountant, it turns out that I'm not stupid or hyperbolic. The system in greece is actually extremely hostile to people trying to work. Want to be a freelancer or run a business? There's such crazy tax, so many conflicting and confusing regulations, so many restrictions that it's almost impossible. Oh you're an artist? You're hugely fucked. You know how in other countries you can do both freelance commissions, and also sell like, keychains and prints and have a patreon and make money off YouTube and also maybe do a gallery show if you're lucky? You literally cannot do this here legally, unless for every different thing you want to do, you go apply for it, charge the correct tax, change your type of work etc. of course nobody really checks those things so most people do them anyway, but if you're trying to be safe and fully legal it's basically impossible.

if you want to sell anything physical, you need to have a "base", a physical location that is NOT your house to do so. It's ??,. You cannot be a craftsman from your house and make a living this way. You can only offer services from your house. The tax for selling physical goods is also a whole other can of worms.

Also just the tax percentage and what you have to pay regardless of income is basically designed to make sure you cannot live off of working for yourself unless you have some insane profit.

I mean, it's possible, sure, but it's so confusing and convoluted and difficult to make ends meet if you're trying to be as legal as possible.

[custombuildingfabrication]

Interior Design-Exploring The Craft of Portal Frame Shed

  Portal frame shed can be custom-fabricated and come in a range of sizes. This implies that they may be tailored to support certain loads in structures of diverse shapes and sizes. Weight-bearing concrete or wood items are heavier and less robust than structural steel components. Compared to a hardwood equivalent, a typical carrying-weight steel construction weighs. Because of this, steel frame construction is significantly more robust and long-lasting than options that use typical wood frames.

  Eco-Friendly With Multiple Customisation Options

Because single garage kit is made more efficiently than stick-built structures, they are more sustainable and eco-friendlier. Additionally, you'll discover that prefabricated garages have slightly tighter seams, which makes it much simpler to insulate and regulate the inside temperature.

Prefab garages don't require specialised tools or a professional to install because the sections are designed to connect effortlessly. The putting-together instructions and a few simple tools are all you need. When considering steel as a long-term investment, it is reasonably priced. This is mostly because it takes relatively little upkeep.

  Opt For Skilled Melbourne Garage Builders

Their products' ageless design and adaptability are what make us unique. They have proved successful in creating the best garage sheds for their clients around Melbourne by paying close attention to detail.

Contrary to popular belief, prefabrication does not always equate to bland or uninteresting designs. The prefab garage kit may be customised to match your unique vision thanks to the many customisable design options available. Working with the experts will enable us to locate the ideal prefab garage that can be customised to meet your requirements.

  Steel Saves More Energy and Is Multifunctional

Steel's adaptability in building is one of its key advantages. Steel's tremendous tensile strength makes it possible to construct sophisticated, streamlined designs that are difficult to accomplish with other materials.

In addition, it is sturdy, dependable, and fireproof, requiring little to no more maintenance down the road. High-quality prefabricated steel components offer an airtight and cosy seal for the structure when paired with the appropriate insulation. This insulating quality aids in the building's ability to retain heat in the winter and cool temperatures in the summer. In essence, this lowers the energy required to heat or cool the building.

  Source - https://steelfabricatorsmelbourne.wordpress.com/2024/05/08/interior-design-exploring-the-craft-of-portal-frame-shed/

[georgewagner]

What are energy labels and how are they changing?

Whether you’re dreaming of upgrading to a futuristic smart fridge or just need to replace a washing machine on its last legs, energy efficiency is one thing you shouldn’t ignore when it comes to buying a new home appliance. The more energy efficient an appliance is, the likelier it is to last longer and work better than a model that uses more energy.

Comparing the energy labels of different models is one of the quickest ways to find an appliance that could reduce both your energy bill and your carbon footprint. In 2021, the Label 2020 project is changing the way they work. Here’s everything you need to know about the new UK energy labels in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

What are energy labels?

An energy label clearly points out the energy efficiency rating of a household electrical appliance, in a visual way. Whether you buy the appliance online or in-store, an energy label should be provided with it.

Why are energy labels put on appliances?

Energy labels tell you exactly how much electricity an appliance uses, as well as other information that’s specific to the product category. For example, a washing machine’s load capacity can be found on its energy label. So, energy labels cut down on the time you’d spend researching the overall energy efficiency of an appliance before choosing to buy it.

They also encourage manufacturers and retailers to produce and sell energy efficient products.

How do energy labels work?

At the moment, energy labels use a ranking scale ranging from A+++ to G, with the highest efficiency appliances being awarded Class A+++. The least energy efficient appliances are placed in Class G.

If you buy an A+++ fridge (200L) rather than an A+ one, then you could save £100 over the fridge’s lifetime, according to the Label 2020 project!

79% of consumers look at energy labels when they’re in the market for a new appliance, according to the European Commission. However, research has found that the current ranking scale (as above) is confusing to understand. Plus, many of the appliances available on the market are already in the top two to three ranks, making it hard for consumers to tell which model is the most energy efficient.

How energy labels are changing

From March 2021, a new energy label will be gradually introduced across the UK. New features on the label include:  

An improved ranking scale: A simpler scale of Classes A to G. So, classes A+++, A++ and A+ have been scrapped.

A new QR code: Access useful product information by scanning the QR code featured on the label with your smartphone.

New and adapted icons: New icons showing more product features. For example, there will be a new icon showing a washing machine’s spinning efficiency class. In addition, some of the icons showing product features have been adapted.

Energy consumption will be more obvious: The energy consumption of the appliance will be moved to the middle of the label. This is so it’s more prominent.

What appliances must have energy labels?

From the kitchen to your bedroom, many of the appliances that you use every day are likely to have an energy label on their packaging. The new UK energy labels will be found on:

From March 2021:

Fridges, freezers and wine storage fridges.

Washing machines.

Washer-dryers.

Dishwashers.

TVs and electronic displays.

You can see what the new energy labels for each of these appliances look like on Label 2020.

From September 2021:

Light sources such as lamps.

From 2022 (expected):

The following products will feature the new labels once the relevant UK regulations are in place.

Air conditioners.

Tumble dryers.

Vacuum cleaners.

Water heaters.

Whilst the new UK energy labels are phased in, some products may have both the old and new labels for a short time.

Discover how else the government can help you make your home eco-friendlier, through the Green Homes Grant.

5 home design ideas for 2021

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    Green energy: Boris Johnson’s £160m manifesto pledge to power every UK home with wind power

    Top 10 home improvement ideas for 2021

    How to create a traditional rustic home

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[tanadrin]

I don’t think positive freedom is just “better off;” I think it’s a real problem with purely negative definitions of freedom that they don’t capture important aspects of what an optimally free society is like. To take an example using education: if education is expensive, and you’re not especially well off, the amount of choice you have regarding your future career paths is limited. As in much of Europe, if education is heavily government-subsidized, and you, as an adult, want to go back to school to study, I don’t know, computer science or dentistry or philosophy, you genuinely have more choices w/r/t what you are going to do with your life--you are, in extremely salient ways, more free--than in a society where education is more expensive. Or, healthcare: if going to the doctor regularly for checkups is inexpensive or free, and it’s easier to maintain your health as a result, then as you get older, your choices for what you do every day, how you live your life, are expanded in a very immediate, material sense, bc chronic health conditions that arise bc you can’t afford preventative care will constrain how you live your life.

This is what my “but what are the material conditions?” battlecry is all about. Because yes, in theory in the US the poorer social safety net is what you get in exchange for lower taxes and a lighter government hand in regulating the economy, but while it’s all well and good to say that, in adherence to some abstract ideal of freedom, the US is more free, in actual fact I think solving coordination problems necessary to, e.g., keep the cost of healthcare low is going to result in more people having more real degrees of freedom in how they live their life, vs the very limited benefits you might get with 10% more take home pay or w/e.

And that’s if the economic situation of the average worker in the EU and the US is comparable, if their pre-tax income is roughly the same, and we’re just quibbling about how much active redistribution goes on. In fact, worse employment protections, a low minimum wage, and a capital-friendlier regulatory environment means that I would expect the average worker in the US to be making much less before taxes, on top of benefiting less from redistribution, so that their comparable European counterpart, in a similar job and a similar-size city or town, probably has substantially more freedom in how they live their life, in what sudden changes they might want to make, or not make if the status quo suddenly turns against them, how they want to educate their kids, where they want to live, where they want to go on vacation, etc, etc.

And I don’t make this comparison breezily: I can compare the life friends and relatives of mine are living in the US, and the life friends and relatives of mine are living here, and I can say that it certainly seems to me that the ones here have less stress, less uncertainty about their future (from purely an economic perspective), and more choice--in other words, more freedom in their day-to-day lives--than anybody I know in the US. That may change as your income increases. In fact, I don’t doubt that it does--I think if you are wealthy and can use capital to command the work and resources of others, you probably have a lot more freedom to do so in the US! But that kind of freedom a) only comes at the expense of others (it presupposes a degree of economic coercion), and b) only exists for a very small part of the population. It would be very weird to me to have a definition of freedom in which the freedom to have power has more weight than the freedom to live your life how you choose.

Negative freedoms are important--but the idea of a clear divide between negative and positive freedoms, and the idea that the former is somehow simpler, or more atomic, is an artifact of liberalism (classic/historic liberalism I mean) and how liberal philosophy was developed. I don’t think the liberal account of freedom is entirely coherent. It’s useful; it’s important; but it’s not enough on its own.

i feel like my worst instinctual opinion is that america (culture) is based. i mean i guess this is sort of inevitable. theres the general thing where like....if you have a certain value system, youre gonna think that a culture with that value system is good, like, tautologically (if i think about this too much it fucks me up. yud loves meta-ethics and like, sometimes i forget that actually object-level ethics is good. being biased towards your own value sytem is good. thats what it means to have a value system. anyway)

but yeah. i mean obviously american culture is flawed but like. i think it generally has a stronger dedication to freedom of all kinds (esp speech) than a lot of other cultures, and that causes some bad things (like, yknow. sometimes regulation important)

imo the main bad thing about american culture (i mean. except for the bigotry. obviously the bigotry is rough) is the religiosity. thats my take

[jesseneufeld]

10 Keto Hacks to Try…Or Not

When I say “hack” or “biohack,” what does that call to mind for you? Taking 20 supplements per day, shining special lights into your ears, stem cell injections? Simpler things like wearing blue light blocking glasses or turning your shower to cold for 30 seconds?

The term has become ubiquitous in modern parlance, to the point where its meaning has become blurred. On the one hand, hacking can be about optimizing—taking your health and fitness to the next level once you have the basics dialed in, or adopting strategies aimed at living well over 100. On the other hand, a hack can also be a shortcut or trick designed to reap certain benefits without putting in the usual work. (Whether that’s a clever maneuver or a form of “cheating” depends on the context and whom you ask.)

Since the keto diet has reached such massive popularity, there’s also great interest in hacking keto. This probably isn’t surprising since a keto diet is more restrictive than other ways of eating. Any tactic that might make it easier would therefore be welcome. Also, there’s a lot of hype surrounding the keto diet right now. Yes, it will naturally attract people who aim to optimize their health and who want to squeeze the greatest possible effects out of keto. And…occasionally it may attract people who are looking for a quick fix rather than a long-term solution. Some will assuredly be set up for disappointment when it turns out that keto isn’t a panacea. Results aren’t always forthcoming on people’s desired timeline, so they look for tricks to kick it into high gear.

As you’d expect, then, there are lots of resources promoting “keto hacks.” Most of these turn out to be basic common sense tips for any diet: set realistic goals, plan your meals, know how to read ingredient lists, find an accountability partner. This is all great advice, but it’s not about keto per se. Likewise, a lot of so-called keto hacks are just the Primal Blueprint Laws: move a lot (don’t be sedentary), lift heavy things, avoid sketchy oils, sleep. Everyone should be doing those things, keto or not.

In my view, a keto hack is a strategy that goes beyond the basics of ketogenic eating (i.e., drop carbs and increase fat) to do one of the following:

Get you into ketosis quickly

Make a keto diet easier and/or more enjoyable

Enhance the effects of ketosis and/or increase ketone levels

Mimic or achieve ketosis without having to strictly restrict dietary carbs

Let’s look at 10 common keto hacks and see how well they jibe with the Keto Reset and Primal approaches.

1. Ingredient Swaps

This one is the most basic, aimed at making keto easier and more enjoyable by taking higher-carbs foods you already know and love and swapping in keto-friendlier ingredients. Think zoodles with pesto and parmesan, almond flour mug bread, cauliflower rice in everything.

This also includes swapping traditional sugars/sweeteners for things like stevia and monk fruit. I’m on the fence regarding the sweeteners. If using keto sweeteners judiciously makes keto sustainable for you, they’re fine in moderation. (Search MDA for articles about the pros and cons of specific options.) However, if they keep your sweet tooth raging and your cravings high, they’re not worth it.

Verdict: Definitely, but be mindful about using keto-friendly sweeteners.

2. Manipulating Your Macros

Once you have the hang of eating basic keto macros, you can choose to strategically manipulate your intake of fat, protein, and carbs. You might want to do this if there’s still room for improving how you feel day-to-day or if you want to make faster progress toward your goals. Dropping dietary fat to lose body fat is one of the advanced strategies described in The Keto Reset Diet. If you’re struggling with hunger, changing your ratio of fat:protein might help. Experimenting with a cyclical or targeted keto approach falls into this category as well.

Verdict: Yes! The Primal+keto approach encourages self-experimentation and finding your personal “sweet spot.”

3. Going Carnivore

More and more people are starting with keto and moving on to carnivore nowadays. For some people it’s about the simplicity—eat meat, don’t eat other foods, done. Other people use carnivore as the ultimate elimination diet because they are desperate to solve the mysteries of their gut or other health issues that paleo/Primal/AIP/keto couldn’t fix.

The jury is still out on whether the carnivore diet is safe long term. As with keto, it surely depends on how you implement it. Are you truly eating nose to tail—organs, skin, blood, glands? That’s very different than only eating ground beef and ribeye. Personally, I doubt that it’s optimal compared to a diet that is at least somewhat omnivorous, but we need more data. Furthermore, I haven’t seen evidence that it’s superior health-wise to Primal+keto for the general population. Of course, if it profoundly changes an individual’s health for the better, that’s a different story.  

Verdict: As a short-term experiment, sure. As a long-term diet, I’d need a good reason. (Not wanting to make a salad wouldn’t be good enough for me.)  

4. Measuring Ketones and/or Blood Glucose

This falls into the category of self-quantification—not exactly a hack so much as a tool that biohackers use to track how their bodies respond to different stimuli. For individuals who are dealing with medical issues for which blood sugar regulation or ketone levels are important, measuring is a must. For the rest of us, tracking can be a useful tool, especially to see how these markers are affected by specific foods or quantities of foods. Some people simply like gathering data, and that’s cool too.

Just remember that higher ketone levels are not in and of themselves the goal (except in specific medical situations). Ketone and blood glucose levels do not directly predict weight loss or other outcomes, although they can give you some clues about what’s going on in your body.

Verdict: A useful tool for learning about your body, but not necessary if you’re doing keto for general wellness or weight loss. Subjective measures often suffice.

5. Incorporating MCT Oil

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) can be especially useful for supporting a keto diet and are traditionally used in keto fatty coffee recipes. MCTs are digested differently from other fats, going directly to the liver where they can be converted into ketones. The increased ketone production is probably why some people report experiencing greater mental clarity or appetite suppression when they incorporate MCT oil into their diets. Research also suggests that MCTs increase the thermic effect of food and promote greater body fat loss, a benefit to those hoping to lose weight with keto. They might also positively affect gut health.

Because MCTs can raise ketones even when consumed alongside high-carb foods, using MCTs might allow you to still reap some of the benefits of ketosis on higher-carb days. MCTs can also be used alongside intermittent fasting to enhance ketone production and stave off hunger. (Mark’s official decree about whether MCT oil breaks a fast: “technically yes, but realistically no—and it may even enhance your fasting experience when consumed in moderation.”)

On the other hand, an over-reliance on fatty coffee can crowd out more nutrient-dense breakfast options, and MCTs are still calories (though energy efficient ones). If your weight loss stalls, and you’re consuming a lot of MCT oil, that might be the problem. It’s possible to have too much of a good thing.

Verdict: Thumbs up! Start slowly because MCTs can lead to disaster pants if you’re unaccustomed to using them.

6. Taking Exogenous Ketones

Commercially available ketone salts or ketone esters can be used to raise blood ketones above the levels that are typically achievable with diet alone. They are somewhat controversial in the keto diet world, at least in the corner that we inhabit with the Keto Reset. However, I think the research into their possible applications for medicine, sport, and cognitive performance is intriguing.

I’m less enthusiastic about exogenous ketones as a weight-loss supplement. Yes, exogenous ketones can support a ketogenic diet by suppressing appetite, increasing energy, and being used to extend fasting. They do not, however, cause fat burning and weight loss, which is often how they are portrayed to consumers.

Verdict: Unnecessary and expensive. If you have the funds and want to experiment, by all means do so, but check out Mark’s take on exogenous ketones before you buy.

7. Intermittent Fasting

Keto folks love intermittent fasting. Eating in a compressed window during the day makes it easier to control caloric intake and regulate insulin production over a 24-hour period. Some people notice marked improvements in gut health by giving their guts a break from digesting food all the time. As with MCTs and exogenous ketones, intermittent fasting can “make up” for the effects of a somewhat higher-carb diet, allowing you to loosen the reins on the carb restriction a bit and still be in ketosis some of the time.

Many people also find that they naturally slip into a compressed eating window once the appetite suppressing effects of keto start to kick in. In The Keto Reset Diet, Mark recommends starting by delaying the first meal of the day until hunger ensues naturally. This is a gentle way to introduce intermittent fasting.

There are important cautions here though. Women need to be more mindful about fasting and caloric restriction than men, as do high-volume athletes. Intermittent fasting can be stressful on the body, so if you are already under a lot of stress from work, family, health issues, poor sleep, or heavy training load, now is not the time to start.

Verdict: Yes! Start by building a foundation of fat-adaptation first through Primal and ketogenic eating.

8. Fat Fasts, Egg Fasts, Etc.

None of these strategies is actually fasting for the record. They’re very-low-carb eating plans that allow a very limited range of foods. Usually they’re aimed at breaking through a weight loss plateau. If they work, it’s likely due to caloric restriction (it’s boring to eat a lot of the same food all the time). Otherwise, the purported benefits are the same as the regular ol’ keto diet: reduced appetite, increased satiety, and insulin regulation.

To me, these don’t pass the sniff test of “optimizing health.” Indeed, if you look at the “rules” for any of these, there are always myriad warnings about not doing them for more than a few days, if you have certain medical conditions, or if you are already low body fat. You can break through weight loss plateaus with other methods and still get plenty of nutrients.

Verdict: No thanks.

9. Fasted Exercise

This is another of the advanced strategies in The Keto Reset Diet, meaning it should only be undertaken once you have acclimated to the keto diet. Mark recommends working out fasted to help accelerate the process of fat- and keto- adaptation and to promote mitochondrial biogenesis and autophagy. Research has also shown that fasted exercise can improve insulin sensitivity, fat-burning, and endurance.

Note that while it can yield beneficial hormonal and metabolic effects (and is probably useful for endurance athletes), training fasted might not be optimal for people looking for muscle gains. Also, fasting can increase the stress of a workout, so if you already struggle with excess stress or cortisol, this strategy is probably not for you.

Verdict: Yes, once you are fat- and keto-adapted. You need not conduct all workouts fasted to reap the benefits.

10. Sprinting

Mark just wrote a very comprehensive two-part series on sprinting (Part 1, Part 2), so I won’t rehash it all here. Suffice it to say sprinting has tremendous adaptive hormonal effects, and it upregulates fat-burning, which all keto folks want. Sprinting can help deplete glycogen stores and get you into a state of ketosis faster. On the flip side, sprinting in a somewhat glycogen-depleted state (as keto folks generally are) enhances the benefits.  

You can adapt sprinting to different fitness levels and physical abilities, so don’t avoid sprinting just because you’re not a runner. If you’re stalled out on your weight loss or fitness goals with your current diet and exercise routine, or if you want to take your fitness to the next level, throwing in the (healthy) stress of sprinting might be just the ticket.

Verdict: Go for it!

Final Thoughts: Use Your Brain (AKA Primal Blueprint Law #9: Avoid Stupid Mistakes)

I feel it’s important to mention that you can be successful and happy with a keto approach that involves none of these hacks. Also, of course, some of these might be inappropriate for your unique situation. With any hacks, understand why you are doing them, as well as the possible benefits and downsides. Don’t try something just because you saw it on YouTube or heard about it from your neighbor if it doesn’t feel right to you.

Most of all, don’t get sucked into the “keto harder” mentality where you just keep pushing and pushing your body to achieve better/faster results to the point where you go way past what is healthy or necessary for you. Be mindful about keeping self-imposed stressors in the “adaptive” category, and don’t compare your journey to others’.  

Do you practice any of these? Do you have questions on other keto “hacks” you’ve heard about? Share your thoughts below, and thanks for stopping in today.

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