Vegetative phase, reproductive phase, then what

I have passed reproductive age.  From the point of view of plants, it is not only passed the vegetative phase, but also the reproductive phase.

It seems that we shouldn't look at life this way, otherwise it's like...

However, photosynthesis provides energy for plants to grow, plants stretch their body under the sun.  This kind of plant life has always been a desirable life. However, in this world, we have to face climate change, face the endless expansion and deforestation by human beings, scary insects, etc.  It seems that plant life is not easy.

我已經過了生育的年齡了，從植物角度來看，那不但是已經過了 vegetative phase，也過了 reproductive phase 嗎？....

好像不能這樣來看人生，不然就好像...。

不過可以靠著光合作用生長、在太陽下舒展身軀的植物人生，一直是一種令人嚮往的生活啊，不過現世要面對氣候變遷，面對人類無止境的擴張砍伐，還有我一直害怕的蟲，植物人生也不見得容易。

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心理的傷，聲音聽得到

這是一個podcasat，值得聽聽

【聰明慢老Ep.25】心裡的傷，聲音聽得到　聲音教練帶你保養聲帶、善用聲音，表達完整的自己

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Application of smart images in agriculture, forestry, fishery and animal husbandry

This is a speech given by Professor Yanfu Kuo from the Department of  Biomechatronics Engineering at the National Taiwan University. Those who are interested in smart images and AI models can listen it.

這是台大生機系郭彥甫老師的演講 "智慧影像在農林漁牧的應用"，對於智慧影像及AI模型有興趣的人，可以來聽聽看喔。

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High Frequency Noise

My colleague was doing 3D printing in the office today.  He did it in the office instead of in the mechanical workspace. The high-frequency noise made me uncomfortable and headache.  I asked him not to do it in the office area, otherwise, I would not be able to work at all. 

In the beginning, he said that he didn't feel anything about the noise, so he thought it wouldn't matter at all.  After I complained 3 times, he finally moved it to another place to carry on his work.

I'm actually a little helpless, why these people could work in such a noisy environment and feel nothing.  Why do they have to speak with a quarreling volume while chatting or discussion things.  Could we just use a normal voice to talk?

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A simple Microwave Brownie recipe

We don't have time to make Brownie from scratch, so we use Ghirardelli Chocolate Triple Chocolate.

Unfortunately, it is too sweet, so we made a little bit of adjustment.

1 pouch mix

+ 100 g flour

+ 1 tsp salt

-> mix well

+ 80 g water (1/3 cup water)

+ 65 g vegetable oil (1/3 cup vegetable oil)

+ 2 eggs

-> mix well

-> Microwave with Medium power (i.e. power 2) for 12 min

-> Microwave with Low power (i.e. power 5) for another 5 min

(note) We added some raisins this time and it tastes OK.

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Losing ourselves

No one was working in the lab at night and on weekends when I studied in the USA.  Security guards even came to drive people home after 7 pm at the USDA.

When working in Australia, people started to leave work from 4:00 pm, and almost no one stayed in the laboratory after 6:00 pm.

At TORI, it is basically the same, people work on regular working hours.  But in the industry, the boss or the cooperative team expects employees to be available and work at night and on weekends. Why! Is the quality of life so unimportant?  What have we achieved while losing ourselves?

I want to get myself back.  I have to change because I don't need to be alive if my life has no me in there.

以前在美國時，到了晚上及週末，實驗室就沒人在工作了。在USDA待超過晚上7點時，警衛就來趕人回家。

在澳洲工作時，下午4點開始就陸陸續續有人開始下班，6點過後幾乎沒人還會待在實驗室。

在 TORI時，基本上也是如此，但是到了業界，業主或老闆或合作團隊都期待員工可以24小時工作和待命。為什麼啊！難道生活品質這麼不重要？在失去自我的同時，我們到底成就了什麼？

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Endless noise

It's a world full of noise, including noise from auditory, visual, and olfactory. 

I am tired of hearing, seeing, and smelling all of these. I don't understand why a person needs to use a loud voice to talk to me when I stand just next to the person.  I don't understand why people need to use super blight flashing neon lights to attract customers, drivers use very bright head and tail lights everywhere.

I'm envious of people who can shut off their five senses anytime at will.

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台南梅嶺竹子尖山步道(Meiling Zhuzijian Mountain, Tainan, Taiwan)

4/4/2022出遊梅嶺竹子尖山：

爬山爬的快軟腳了，下山下到兩腳發抖。二層坪停車場海拔633公尺，我們爬到1109公尺竹子尖山氣象站所在之二等三角點(小百岳#67)，簡直是太累了，今天4/5/2022鐵腿。

看到好多梅子，一般人應該都是來吃梅子雞的，真正去爬山的人很少。

下山時真的是兩腿發抖，每一步階梯都是抖著往下走的，應該是肌肉過度使用造成的。如果停著不動，就會感受到腿在發抖，如果是在往前走的狀態，就是走路姿勢有些奇怪，不時地會抖一下或是奇怪的擺動。

這次真的是好累，因為上下山的坡度，常常是 30 度到45度之間，路旁有繩子可以抓，但是現在一點都不想抓繩子。不過雖然很累，再加上霧濛濛的，但風景真的不錯，曾文水庫及南化水庫都看到了，空氣中瀰漫著草木的清香。

4/4/2022 Travel to Meiling Zhuzijian Mountain:

Meiling Zhuzijian Mountain is the #67 of little One Hundred Peaks.   The Zhuzijianshan weather station is located at the second-class triangle point which is 1109 meters above MSL.

I felt my feet were almost soft when I climbed the mountain, and my feet trembled when I went down the mountain. We parked at the second-floor parking lot which is 633 meters above MSL. We climbed to the second-class triangle point where the Zhuzijianshan weather station is located next to it.

Seeing a lot of plums hanging on plum trees along hiking trails, I think most people should come to eat plum chicken, and very few people actually go mountain climbing.

When I went down the mountain, my legs were trembling. Every step of the stairs was trembling when I walked down. It should be caused by overuse of the muscles. I felt my legs shaking when I stood still.  My walking posture is a bit strange while walking forward, and it shook or swung strangely from time to time.

I was really tired this time. The slope of hiking trails of this mountain is usually between 30 and 45 degrees. There are ropes on the roadside to grab, but I don’t want to grab the ropes at all now. However, although it was very tiring and it was foggy, the scenery was really good. I could see both Zengwen Reservoir and Nanhua Reservoir, and the air was filled with the fragrance of grass and trees.

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13:45:59出發

15:09:19抵達二層坪停車場。前往觀音寺途中，爬了很高很多的樓梯，累。樓梯兩側都是梅樹，爬樓梯常常需要低頭，不然就會撞到梅樹了。樹上結實累累，

15:40到觀音寺，在觀音寺看古梅看風景。

16:00離開觀音寺，開始走觀音步道，也是坡度有些大的路。

路邊看到美麗的葉子

16:17走到稜線步道，開始沿著陡峭山坡一路爬樓梯而上，步道常有繩子可抓，石階有時挺高的，石階或木階多有覆蓋泥土，有些會有些滑。

16:47走到稜線上，到觀音步道岔路，差點走到斷氣。

17:09離開觀景台及工作房，前往竹子山氣象站。

17:17走到可眺望曾文水庫的觀景台

17:22繼續往上爬，走到氣象站所在之二等三角點，風景優美，可見南化水庫。

 

17:32離開氣象站三角點

17:35在觀景台及工作房所在地，拍曾文水庫及夕陽。一路下去找不到梅龍步道，最後決定繼續走觀音步道下山。

竹子尖山山屋旁觀景台的夕陽

陵線步道的夕陽

18:17結束稜線步道，沿著30-40度坡下山往觀音寺。

18:41回到二層坪的車子旁邊，沿路的餐廳及路邊攤都收攤了，只剩下停車場附近幾家還有許多人在吃梅子雞吧！

18:46 在車子外面吃了餅乾糖果。

18:51開車出發回家，下坡跟在烏龜車後面，電池充到滿出來。

20:19到達家裡的停車場，回家婆兒喝酒，公兒煮排骨麵，然後洗洗睡覺。

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Is Power-to-X workable for excess power generation in renewable energy?

如果未來有一天再生能源發電過剩，就可以如其所說以 power-to-X 的方式將這些綠能轉換成常溫下是液體的型態儲存起來使用。不知道技術是否成熟了。

If there is a surplus of renewable energy power generation in the future, the green energy can be converted into a liquid form at room temperature by the power-to-X technology. This green liquid fuel can be stored easily and used in the future. I am just wondering if the technology is mature or not.

https://www.ted.com/talks/jim_hagemann_snabe_the_dreams_and_details_of_a_green_shipping_revolution?language=en

"... convert green electricity into green liquid fuel to power vessels in a process called "power-to-X"..."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power-to-X

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Referendum (公投) - Algae Reef (藻礁), Da Tan, Taoyuan

12/18/2021是台灣公投的日子，4個公投題目，我對其中3個的選擇是非常非常地確定，沒有任何懷疑，任何政黨的說法都無法影響我的理念，只有藻礁這個議題讓我猶豫了。

看著魚與熊掌，我都不想放棄，但是我只能選擇一個啊。5年前的我是不會有這個遲疑的，生態保育優先絕對是我的唯一選項，現在的我，面對長年霧霾藍的天空，卻很希望燃煤電廠漸漸關掉。只是，為什麼在還可以有所作為的時候不選擇其他的方式來做呢？一定要拖到沒有時間了才拿犧牲藻礁或犧牲天然氣發電要我們選擇？

在圈選桌前，我還是在猶豫，雖然最後還是做了選擇，只是內心是既無奈又憤怒。

最後的結果也出來了，支持天然氣三接的人數多於保護藻礁的人數。對我而言，對於所有關心環境保育的人以及被迫做出投票選擇的人，不論最後投的是哪一方，這個結果絕對沒有勝利的感覺，當被逼得走到這一個選擇時，我們都已經輸了。不過即使輸了，我們還是不會放棄選定好要走的路。

在桃園大潭藻礁興建天然氣第三接收站的工程應該是會繼續進行，不論是投給哪一方面的環境保育者，要持續監督整個作業流程，務必讓其對藻礁的影響是最小的。也要持續監督，減少燃煤電廠的比例及總量的承諾要兌現。

更重要的是要要求增加油電水費，特別是工業用油電水費。我相信，唯有讓浪費的行為是會心痛及肉痛時，民眾及廠商才會做到真正的節水節油節電。

12/18/2021 is the date of the referendum in Taiwan. There are 4 referendum topics. I have no doubts about the choice of 3 of them.  Any political party's statement or campaign cannot affect my philosophy. But I hesitated about the issue of algae reefs.

Looking at the fish and bear's paws, I don't want to give up any one of them, but I can only choose one. Five years ago, I would not have had this hesitation. Prioritizing ecological conservation is definitely my only option. Now, facing the haze and smog sky for many years, I hope that coal-fired power plants will gradually be shut down and replaced by gas power plants.  Why the government and company did not choose other ways to do it when they still had a different way to solve this problem.  They delayed the timing until we run out of time and made us choose between sacrificing algae reefs and sacrificing natural gas for power generation.

At the circle table, I was still hesitating. Although I made a choice in the end, I was helpless and angry.

The final result has come out, the number of people who supported the construction of the 3rd connection of natural gas is more than the number of people who prefer to protect algae reefs. For me and for those who care about environmental conservation, we were forced to take a vote between these 2 choices. No matter which side we voted for, there is absolutely no sense of victory in this result. When we are forced to make this choice, we have already lost. But even in this situation, we will not give up.

I believe that the construction of the third natural gas receiving station at Da Tan Algae Reef, Taoyuan, would be carried on. Regardless of which side we were on this referendum, the entire construction should be monitored continuously to minimize its impact on the algae reef. Continuous supervision is required to make sure the promise of reducing the proportion and total amount of coal-fired power plants must be fulfilled.

More importantly, it is required to increase oil, electricity, and water charges, especially for industrial use. I believe that only when the wasteful behavior is heartache and painful, the people and the manufacturers will really save the usage of water, fuel, and electricity.

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